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Olafur Schmolafur.
Artists Choose Artists
Artist Annell Livingston writes about my work for the new blog, Vasari 21, founded by Ann Landi. Click pic for info and a link
Recent Solo: "Silk Road"
"Joanne Mattera: The Silk Road Series" was at Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Larchmont, New York, May-July. Some paintings are available for viewing at the gallery. Click pic for gallery info
Recent: August Geometry
More than just a summer show. Au-gust: adjective, respected and impressive. At the Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta. Click pic for info
Recent
I'm having a great year of exhibitions and catalogs. This volume, published by Space Gallery, Denver, on the occasion of the exhibition, "Pattern: Geometric|Organic," is viewable online and available for sale as a hard-copy volume. Click pic for exhibition info and a link to the catalog. That's my "Chromatic Geometry 29" on the cover
James Panero Reviews Doppler Shift
Writing in The New Criterion, Panero calls Doppler Shift "a smart group show, " noting the work of "artists who interest me most these days." There's a nice shout out to Mary Birmingham, the curator; to Mel Prest, who originated the concept; and to me, among others. Click pic for the review
"Textility," curated by Mary Birmingham and myself for the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit (where Birmingham is the chief curator), looked at contemporary painting, sculpture and work on paper in which textile elements were referenced or employed. The exhibition is over, but you can see this exhibition on line. Click on the links below to read and see more.
Review of Textility
Click pic to access review. Then click on page images to enlarge them for legibility
Thank You, Ivan
Ivan Karp, legendary art dealer, 1926-2012. Photo by Melanie Eve Barocas. Click pick for my tribute to Ivan, where your comments are welcome
New Digital Prints
Above, "Silk Trail 386." Below: "Silk Trail 339." Both 2012, unique digital prints on 11 x 8.5 inch archival Epson paper. Click either image to see more and find out where they are available
Miami Nice from Artcritical
December 2, 2011: “ . . . stand-out exhibits at Aqua included . . . the funky abstractionist stable of Conrad Wilde Gallery of Tucson, Arizona, amongst them the sensual encaustic monochromes of Joanne Mattera and the biomorphic reliefs of Ruth Hiller."--David Cohen, artcritical.com. Click pic for entire review. Above: John Dempcy, Hiller, Mattera
Miles Conrad, director of Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson, and me at the Aqua Art Fair. Photo: artcritical.com
Haller holding a photograph of himself with Morandi in the early Sixties. Click pic for story
7 comments:
C'mon, tell me how you really feel.
Chris, I like the "First Mathew Barney, and now this," and "no clapping, man, he's napping." I get that! Not everyone is raving, John Lacayo withdrew any excitement, for ex.
It's the All-Olafur-All-The-Time that has pushed me over the edge. I mean, I liked the moss wall well enough at SFMoMA, but now art institutions and galleries and cities are just getting on line to show anything out of the guy's sketchbook.
Chris, you nailed it early on.
On one level I completely agree with Chris and Joanne -- it's a damn circus -- and a very expensive one at that. The waterfalls seem to really push it over the top (so to speak).
On the other hand, my 12 year old daughter really related on a gut level to many of the pieces. She really GOT the sort of quiet phenomenological or meditative aspect of the work, and of course wasn't rubbed by the hype or the hardware.
Maybe the simpler early work is his history, and Olafur will ultimately become a large-scale environmental designer.
The waterfalls are lame...feels like amateur night.
The bridges are so much more imposing and impressive than the waterfalls they dwarf.
But I'm not picking on Olafur's waterfalls per se. I'm not even picking on him. It's the all-Olafur-all-the-time juggernaut I'm reacting to. You can't turn around without another Olafur show or project being shown, reviewed, installed, planned, conceived or considered. Yes, some of his work is appealing--I liked his moss wall at SF Moma, for instance--but the Olafur juggernaut is in overkill, er, overdrive at this point. Either the guy has a PR firm that won't quit, or curators and editors are sticking with Olafur because it's safe (I mean, who doesn't like a waterfall?), and this is the summer and it lets them coast a little while still remaining "relevant." Or both.
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