| It’s always fun to find one of those 1980s, East Village throwback-type galleries. You know, the ones who favor a brutal sort of figurative art that kicks the cobwebs out of the old thinking process. If you are like me, head over to Aidan Savoy Gallery to catch a potent, two-pronged exhibition titled “A Piece Apart.” The concept here is to have dozens of artists submit one of their more familiar works with a separate pair of painted, sculpted, drawn or collaged eyes on five-inch, square wood panels. Why eyes? The curator’s uncle runs an eye clinic in the Philippines where he performs eye surgery on the poor and the blind. |  |
A Piece Apart – D. Dominick Lombardi
It’s always fun to find one of those 1980s, East Village throwback-type galleries. You know, the ones who favor a brutal sort of figurative art that kicks the cobwebs out of the old thinking process. If you are like me, head over to Aidan Savoy Gallery to catch a potent, two-pronged exhibition titled “A Piece Apart.” The concept here is to have dozens of artists submit one of their more familiar works with a separate pair of painted, sculpted, drawn or collaged eyes on five-inch, square wood panels. Why eyes? The curator’s uncle runs an eye clinic in the Philippines where he performs eye surgery on the poor and the blind. Part of the money made from the sale of the artful eyes will go to the clinic.
As mentioned earlier, the whole show has this sort of Juxtapoz, Hairy Who, Street Art aesthetic. What I found of particular interest was how the artists changed their style or approach to art making when faced with the five-by-five inch eye panels, while others did not. Louis Cordero’s eye pair had a certain Eastern, albeit drippy, psychedelic esthetic while his funked-out version of the Pieta was pure, Western, ghetto and street-inspired insanity. Dalek’s eye offering was one of the few disappointments in the show since they are too simple and weak. However, his regular genre piece was a noteworthy example of his regular iconography, which saves his butt.
Jason Porter has a sort of Ben Shann thing going on in his painted collage eyes while his other work was this sort of strange, 1950s-looking collage of a creepy kid. Jordan Awan’s knitted, ski mask-wearing duo was nicely contrasted by his Johnny Appleseed painting—a well executed narrative piece. Matt Leines turned his five-by-five on end, creating a diamond playing card motif eye, while his other work was this bone-adorned, hairy skull with hypnotic eyes and “kulture kitsch” to spare. Lara Agulto’s two eyes had this retro, Peter Max thing going on, and her other offering was intricate and fine.
My favorite work in the show, hands down, was by Anna Sea. The etched glass on one of her eye pieces and the sweet little oval painting which comes off looking like a retablo, with its prosthetic hand and skull. Amazingly designed and executed.
