Demitra Copoulos cast plastic at Portrait Society Gallery, Milwaukee, at Aqua Art
If there's one thing I learned at these fairs it's that if you see one unusual object or idea, it's very likely you'll run into something similar--not a trend but a coincidence, often with a high WTF factor.
Fans of the Fairs
Not to be confused with satisfied attendees (or the much-appreciated A/C that cooled all the venues):
Not to be confused with satisfied attendees (or the much-appreciated A/C that cooled all the venues):
.jpg)
Above, at ABMB: Spencer Finch, Wind (Through Emily Dickinson's Window, August 14, 2012, 3:22 p.m.), 2012, fan, dimmer, lan box, at unidentified gallery
Below, at Untitled: Arielle Falk's bladeless fans at Auxiliary Projects, Brooklyn
Below, at Untitled: Arielle Falk's bladeless fans at Auxiliary Projects, Brooklyn
. . . . .
Stovetop Cooking
One is a conceptual piece, the other an elaborately constructed full-scale stove.
Above, at ABMB: Mika Rottenberg, detail of Tss Tss, at Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York City
Below: Do Ho Suh, detail of Specimen Series: 348 West 22 Street, New York , NY 10011, USA- Stove, 2013; polyester fabric, at Lehman Maupin Gallery, New York City
In Rottenberg's piece, above, water from the A/C overflow drips into a frying pan that's placed on a turned-on hotplate. The tss tss of the title is the sound the water makes as it hits the hot pan.
"I love it," I heard Don Rubel say, as he walked by it.
"Careful, hot," said the guard.
Do Ho Suh, known for constructing entire, minutely detailed rooms out of sewn fabric, here offers an apartment stove in a vitrine
. . . . .
On a Roll
Mr. Whipple would have loved these. Just don't squeeze the ziggurat.
At NADA: Ken Kagami cast bronze and paper toilet paper rolls, at
(I think) Misako & Rosen, Tokyo
.
Below, at ABMB: Martin Creed, title unknown, stacked toilet paper, at Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York City
. . . . .
Call 1-800-Mattress
Tell them you saw these in Miami:
Above, at ABMB: Guyton/Walker, installation of painted mattresses, all untitled, 2013, at Green Naftali, New York City
.
Below, at Untitled: Ezra Johnson, Slumping Toward Bethlehem, 2013, mixed media, at DNA Gallery, Provincetown, Mass.
. . . . .
Even though there were plaid grids seen throughout the fairs, I wouldn't call them a trend but more of a confluence of concept, executed in different materials. (Well, maybe that makes them a trend.) I love all of them.
At Untitled: Kelly Jazvac, Mat, 2013, salvaged adhesive vinyl and rope, at Diaz Contemporary, Toronto
Installation view below
At Miami Project: Cheryl Donegan installation of fabric and mixed-media collages, at David Shelton Gallery, Houston
Below: Closer view of one work
Above and below, at NADA: Michelle Grabner, flashe on panel, various sizes, at Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago
At NADA: Peter Schuyff, Untitled, 1986, oil on canvas, at Sorry We're Closed Gallery, Brussels
Detail below
. . . . .
Two on a Match
The paintings of Josef Albers are an art fair staple, perhaps because he painted so many of them in his lifetime, and they're brilliant, and in secondary-market sales they probably bring in a bundle. The surprise here was coming across these fabulous bound-book installations and then looking for, and finding, a painting that related almost perfectly
Above at ABMB: Fernanda Bragatiero, Not Abstract, 2013, handmade books on stainless steel shelves. at Galerie Elba Benitez, Madrid
.
Below, Josef Albers, Homage to the Square, Waiting, 1954, oil on canvas, at Tibor de Nagy Gallery
. . . . .
Bring Your Office to the Fair Day
The big fair has had its share of installations--including bodegas, fruit stands, a sewing factory, a banana-laden VW van, a canteen truck selling art, and more--but this is the first time it had a business office and office supplies.
At ABMB: The entry to Wang Yuyang's office, an installation at Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing
The office itself seems to be out of the late-Eighties. As you're standing there breathing, you realize it's not the quiet whoosh of your own breath you're hearing. The contents of the entire office---all the equipment, plus the office furniture and even the packaged reams of paper--are impressively fabricated simulacra in plastic or rubber that expand and contract slightly. The effect was not cartoonish but kind of terrifying, actually
Above and below: closer views of the installation, where everything was expanding and contracting
At NADA: There was a copy machine sitting quietly (not breathing, as far as I could tell) in the booth of The Still House Group, Brooklyn
And back at ABMB, in an art-or-trash moment there was this box full of printer parts
. . . . .
Poker Face
It took a moment of viewing this monochromatic abstraction to realize what its components were. I photographed it, mostly for the surprise factor. But the work didn't make it into a post until I read a related news item on line. Apparently one way to deal with a bad hand is to change the game entirely.
Above, at ABMB: Not sure (possibly Eric Wesley at Bortolami, New York City)
.
Below, from a recent news item online:
Below, from a recent news item online:
. . . . .
Eva and Adele
You don't have a total art fair experience unless and until you see Eva and Adele, the bald and genderless Berlin couple whose fussy sartorial expression is a combination of haute kitsch and basse couture. Since their costume is their art ("Wherever we are is museum"), they don't seem to hang out or talk with other fairgoers but rather engage in a lot of seeing and being seen.
At ABMB: Eva and Adele pose for someone else's camera. I just took advantage of the photo op
Telling them apart, below: Adele is on the left
Telling them apart, below: Adele is on the left
And that brings us to the image of the sculptures that open this post. When I saw these cast plastic wigs at Aqua Art, I knew I had a conceptual coincidence
Demitra Copoulos cast plastic at Portrait Society Gallery, Milwaukee, at Aqua Art
That's it for this year's posts, Fair Well, from Miami. Farewell. Thanks for reading. Feel free to share the links to these posts.
If you are enjoying these posts from Miami, please consider making a yearly donation of $20 to support my blog. The cost in money and time to attend and report on the fairs is significant for an artist with an ongoing studio practice. A link to PayPal is on the right sidebar close to the top of the page (look for the red type). Any amount is welcome. Thank you.
2 comments:
Thanks Joanne. That was a great tour.
Joanne
I recently visited MOCA Cleveland where Michelle Grabner had a gallery filled with her solo show there.
So I am really glad to see further examples of the checks pattern that she and other artists are working with. Thanks for posting them. Best wishes and Happy New Year.
Post a Comment