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11.14.2012

Viva Chelsea! Part 2

Viva Chelsea, Part 1

"I'd like to remind everyone that Chelsea is open
I fear people think that all the galleries are closed due to the horrific images and sad articles, but all the galleries, especially the ones who sustained damage, would be happy to have visitors. 
And better yet, if you've been eyeing a piece
of art . . . buy it." 
--Sara Jo Romero, a partner in Schroeder Romero & Shredder,
on Facebook


Helen Miranda Wilson, Time of Night, 2012, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches, at Lori Bookstein Gallery
 
 
Helen Miranda Wilson's solo show, New Paintings, was up at Lori Bookstein Fine Art on Tenth Avenue when the storm hit. The gallery did not sustain major damage, and the show continued until November 10. I loved these small gems of color, with compositions that conjure Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland, or perhaps waterfalls and mandalas.
 
 
Installation view with Strike to the right of the column
 
Below: Strike, 2011, oil on panel, 12 x 12 inches

 

Installation view showing Forsythia and Lion
 

Lion, 2012, oil on panel, 11 x 14 inches
 

Forsythia, 2012, oil on panel, 12 x 12 inches
 Images of the paintings from the gallery website
 
 
 
Regine Schumann at DeBuck Gallery, September 13-October 25
 
 
I first became familiar with Regine Schumann's luminous work at the art fairs in Miami. There as here, most of her work is meticulously crafted phosphorescent plexi that challenges a viewer's perception of space through reflection and refraction while dancing with its own shadow.

 
Installation views, above and below
 
 
Looking at the work in daylight, I remembered an installation of Schumann's that was shown under blacklight in Miami. I guess I just needed to wait until dark, because this is what I found on the gallery website
 
 Image from DeBuck Gallery website  


Installation view of Omar Chacon's solo, Bacanales Tropicales, at Margaret Thatcher Projects, September 6 - October 20
 
Below: Detail of Bacanal Chitiga, the painting at left above


 
A bacanal is, of course, a bachanal, a riotous orgy of pleasure. In this case, the pleasure is provided through color--an orgy of saturated hues and intense visual movement. What I didn't know about the work until I read the press release is that these drops and circles of color are not dripped onto the painting, but prepared beforehand and adhered to the surface, collaged into dense layers. It's the perfect structural complement to a bacanal, no?
 
 
View from the small viewing room
 
 
Thatcher Projects was one of the galleries hard hit by the flood water that surged into 23rd Street at the height of superstorm Sandy. Bill Thompson's solo show of luscious urethane forms had just opened. The gallery quickly closed for repairs (and may still be as of this writing), but on Facebook Thatcher posted this: "I will be extending Bill Thompson's show into the beginning of 2013."
 
 
Installation view of Bill Thompson's solo show, Swell, at Margaret Thatcher Projects, which will be extended into the new year. These two images from the gallery website
 
Below, an aqueous form with the oddly prescient name: Surge

 
 
In the meantime, Schroeder Romero & Shredder on 26th Street is open. Ken Weaver's Requiem for the Immortal, a Faustian tale told in baroque-operatic style, opens tomorrow night. Go visit!
 
At Schroeder Romero & Shredder: Ken Weaver, Lux Mundi, 2007, oil  paper, 30 x 22 inxhes
 


2 comments:

Tamar said...

Helen Miranda Wilson's paintings are indeed gems, and I found them to be simultaneously vibrant and meditative. It was a wonderful exhibit! And thank you for the close-ups of Chacon's work, a show that I unfortunately missed.

Joanne Mattera said...

Blue Eyed Critic: You posted the following message in "Contact Me," which is not where the conversaton is, so let me post it here:

"Ahem. Chelsea is OPEN! No need to run old material."

Thank you for commenting, but I feel compelled to point out that a show from last month is not "old material." I am not the New York Times. I'm an artist with a studio practice who posts about twice a week, doing my best to bring my readers the most "material" possible.

For most readers of this blog, the date of the exhibition is not nearly as important as seeing the shw in installation views and individual images. And there's nothing "old" about the work I show here.

The "Chelsea is open" quote is from Sara Jo Romero of Schroeder Romero & Shredder. I wanted to acknowledge the truth of her comment, but I also wanted to show the images I have.

There's one more post of shows from earlier in the fall. Then I go to Miami and will be posting throught the month of December. I hope that coverage won't be considered "old material" if it takes me a few weeks to get it all in.