"August Geometry" at Marcia Wood Gallery

. Walk-Through: "Summer Show at dm contemporary 
. Walk-Through: "Going Big"on the Lower East Side 


Atlanta in August is a bit hot for my Northeast sensibility, but when my longtime gallerist and friend, Marcia Wood, decided pretty much at the last minute to organize a show centered on geometric abstraction at her gallery, I was there. Drawing from her roster as well as some invited artists, Wood put together a fabulous show in her new midtown space. I'm in the show, so this is not a review or even a report, but a Walk-Through--a visual visit to the exhibition, which is up through September 5.

Update, August 26: "This inspired group show is situated somewhere between a trip into non-Euclidean spaces and the sort of mathematical surrealism Lewis Carroll inserted into Alice in Wonderland."--Jerry Cullum for ArtsATL 

Panoramic view shot from the center of the gallery looking toward the entrance. Click pic to enlarge

With the entrance at my left shoulder and the office at my back, I'm going to take you on a clockwise tour of this front gallery and then of the large middle gallery, and then of a cozy back gallery.

From left: Scott Eakin; on right wall: Justin Rabideau, Jeff Conefry, Kevin Finklea

Scott Eakin, Broken Color Series #18, acrylic on panel; gallery photo

Justin Rabideau, Filling in the Blanks, salvaged wood shims and plaster

Jeff Conefry, Untitled "Support", acrylic and panel

Kevin Finklea, Free Falling Divisions #18, poplar-clad poplar on birch veneer

We're in the middle gallery now, looking toward the front. That's Scott Eakin's painting in the distance. Here from left: Clark Derbes, Finklea, Frances Barth, Conefry

Clark Derbes, Hunter, carved and polychromed elm

Continuing along that first long wall: Finklea, Barth, Conefry, Mary Judge, Richard Harris

Kevin Finklea, Geary Street, acrylic on sapelle

Frances Barth, This is "hideaway," acrylic and ink on panel; gallery photo

Jeff Conefry, Untitled "Flat"

Mary Judge, Dome Deco II, oil on canvas

Detail below

Clark Derbes carved and polychromed elm sculpture, Aldous, with Harris, Finklea and Derbes on the wall behind

Kevin Finklea, For the Will of Persephone #2, acrylic on Baltic plywood

Clark Derbes, Gregory, carved and polychromed silver maple

Stepping back to see three additional pieces, described below:

Clark Derbes, Moses, carved and polychromed maple

Duncan Johnson, Tusk, wood

Jeff Conefry, Untitled, acrylic

With Derbes's totemic Aldous in the foreground (and note the color shift in this different view), we turn to the third wall of the main gallery . . .

Scott Eakin, Justin Rabidean, Joanne Mattera

Moving into the corner . . .

Joanne Mattera, Bask, encaustic on panel (triptych) and . . .

. . . Chromatic Geometry 6, encaustic on panel

We're now facing the fourth wall of the gallery 

Gudrun Mertes-Frady, High Wire, oil and metallic pigments on linen

(I shot it from an angle so that you can see the metallic shimmer of the line)

Before we exit the gallery we're going to do an about face and walk to the back gallery . . .

. . . where we see the work of Richard Harris, Tom Flowers, Justin Rabideau, Duncan Johnson, and Scott Eakin

Richard Harris, Untitled Asemic Shape #3, acrylic on canvas
Detail below

Justin Rabideau, Shim #7

Tim Flowers, Imprint (ELB), oil on panel; gallery photo

Installation below

We're walking back out. I put this panorama in because I love the way it shows the space, as well as the placement and scale of the work
Click pic to enlarge

In the office: Eakin, Derbes, Conefry

Jeff Conefry, Two Stripe, acrylic and linen on panel

Bearing in mind that this is a Walk-Through and not a review, allow me nevertheless to offer a few comments.The revival of geometric abstraction--or perhaps just the continued long life of this particular mode of expression--is allowed a good deal of latitude in Marcia Wood's selections. There's a strong sense of materiality in many of the works.

As a participant and viewer, I can say that I appreciate the finely crafted and finished, with Kevin Finklea's sculptures a prime exponent; the handcrafted with a strong sense of the hand, as Clark Derbes's and Duncan Johnson's works demonstrate; and a strong provisional sensibility, as evidenced in the work of Jeff Conefry and Justin Rabideau.

Wood has selected paintings that are more generally precise in their angles and curves, but Frances Barth's abstraction evinces an organic rigor, and I must thank Wood for suggesting we bring out a large triptych of mine from storage in which intuition rather than measurement was the guiding force.

And did I mention that I love the title of the show? August Geometry is not just a late-summer exhibition but one in which geometric abstraction is celebrated, maybe even exalted.

More info on the gallery website and Facebook page.  

"Going Big" on the Lower East Side

.

Sometimes Facebook just can’t contain itself. Going Big is what happens when 111 artists who know one another largely through posts and comments on social media come together in real time in and space: a cross between a mini MoMA and community block party with art.

A big space for Going Big at Central Booking Gallery on Ludlow Street. The show is up through August 28. Details here. JM panorama

“The show came about as a desire to see everyone’s work in one place together," says curator Suzan Shutan.

Shutan and her colleague Susan Carr, both working artists, had the idea to rent out the Central Booking Gallery on Ludlow Street for the month of August while regular programming was suspended for the summer. They invited 80 artists, a number that mushroomed to 111 as a few artists invited others. In the spirit of democracy, they allowed the show to expand to include everyone on the list.

Their brilliant salon-style installation creates visual and conceptual links between and among the works. And the exhibition spaces—a gallery, alcove, and library—provide plenty of breathing room. All of the works are small, but the ideas are not. Hence the title.

Also, note the curators, Going Big refers to the "seemingly limitless potential of artists finding kindred creative spirits online, as well as to the expanding exhibition possibilities this creates in both far-flung locations, and better-known metropolitan centers.” Artists from 19 states are represented.

Allow me to take you on a walk through of the show. The opening image above will orient you. At the end of the walk through you’ll find a list of Exhibiting Artists, along with some links to online articles and videos. 

We have walked into the gallery that's the brightly lit space in the previous photo. We start at left, which is the other side of the support wall and will make our way clockwise around the room. Fred Gudzeit photo

These photographs come from numerous sources, as indicated. Big thanks to Fred Gudzeit for most of the installation shots, which allow you to see the exhibition wall by wall. The artists supplied images of their own work. I filled in with a couple of panoramas that help give a sense of the overall installation. Going Big runs though August 28 at Central Booking, 21 Ludlow Street, New York City. Gallery hours are Thursday – Sunday, 12 noon to 6 pm. More info here.

Three works at left, from top: Louise Waber, Barbara Slitkin, Bascha Mon

Fred Gudzeit photo

Full view of the wall that's seen in perspective above with selected images following
Fred Gudzeit photo

Ravenna Taylor

Jeanne Heifetz

Jon Cowan

Andy Cunningham

Continuing clockwise, with selected images following
Fred Gudzeit photo

Karen Schiff

Roy Staab

Fred Gudzeit

Megan Geckler

Anne Russinof

Brian Cypher

Susan Scott

Corner installation, clockwise from left: Joan Mellon, Barbara Marks, Joanne Mattera, Susan Breen. Barbara Marks photo

Joan Mellon

Barbara Marks

Joanne Mattera

Next wall, with selections following. Fred Gudzeit photo

Peter Reginato

Judy Pfaff

Heidi Pollard

Beverly Fishman

Grace Graupe-Pillard

Karen Schifano

Continuing along the long wall with selected images following. Fred Gudzeit photo

Judy Rifka

Taro Suzuki

Steven Baris

Julie Torres

Sky Pape

The long wall moving into the corner. Fred Gudzeit photo

Jill Vasileff

Robert Gregson

Ricardo Paniagua

Elizabeth Gourlay

Ruth Hiller

Doug Holst

Connie Goldman

From the corner we're going to walk into the alcove . . .

. . . with a better view of the back wall below. Fred Gudzeit photos

. . . and selected images below

Barbara Laube

Mary Bucci McCoy

Blossom Verlinsky

Backing our of the alcove and turning to the right, we have come almost 360 degrees, with selected images following. Fred Gudzeit photo

Donna Ruff

Binnie Birstein

Susan Carr, curator

Richard Bottwin

Tracey Physioc Brockett

On the right: where we started; on the left: where we have just ended up
Ahead: the library, where we will enter next. Fred Gudzeit photo

We'll take the view wall by wall. Fred Gudzeit photo

Betty Carroll Fuller

Around the corner, with two works below that are visible only in extreme perspective here
Fred Gudzeit photo

Marc Salz

Susan Cutler Tremain

We continue along the library wall with this painting by Tamar Zinn

Altoon Sultan

Kevin Daly

Bonny Leibowitz

Continuing along the wall . . .
Fred Gudzeit photo

Nancy Baker

Another view of the wall with Bernard Klevickas sculpture in foreground
Bernard Klevickas photo

With Klevickas's sculpture on right, we have turned the inside corner to the last two walls
Fred Gudzeit photos above and below

Left wall with a selection of images following

Suzan Shutan, curator

Nancy Natale

Krista Svalbonas

Large bookcase with selected images below. Fred Gudzeit photo

Laura Moriarty

Diane Englander

Gerry McLean

Helen O'Leary

Rita Valley

Joyce Miller

Panorama of library with first gallery in distance. JM photo

. . . . . .

Exhibiting Artists

A

Julie Alexander

Meg Atkinson

B

Nancy Baker

Steven Baris

Marion Belanger

Binnie Birstein

George Blaha

Caroline Blum

Richard Bottwin

Susan Breen

Valerie Brennan

Tracey Physioc Brockett

Joy Bush

C

Susan Carr

Jane Catlin

Galen Cheney

Cameron McMunn Coffran

Jonathan Cowan

Helen Crawford

Andy Cunningham

Brian Cypher

D

Kevin Daly

E
Jonathan Edelhuber

Diane Englander

F

Pam Farrell

Beverly Fishman

Joan Fitzsimmons

Betty Carroll Fuller

G

Nick Gaetano

Kyle Gallup

Frankie Gardiner

Megan Geckler

Connie Goldman

Kathy Goodell

Elizabeth Gourlay

Grace Graupe-Pillard

Robert Gregson

Fred Gutzeit

H

Carl Hazlewood

Jeanne Heifetz

Debbie Hesse

Ruth Hiller

Doug Holst

J

Noe Jimenez

K

Bernard Klevickas

Susan Knight

Richard Kooyman

L

Janet Lage

Barbara Laube

Bonny Leibowitz

Karleen Loughran

M

Eliot Markell

Barbara Marks

Joanne Mattera

Mary Bucci McCoy
Gerry McLean

Phillip J. Mellen

Joan Mellon

David Miller 

Joyce Miller

Bascha Mon

Laura Moriarty

N

Nancy Natale

Jordan Nodelman

Carolyn Louise Newhouse

O

Helen O’Leary

P

Liz Pagano

Ricardo Paniagua

Sky Pape

Melanie Parke

Judy Pfaff

Heidi Pollard

Susan Post

James Prez

R

Carol Radsprecher

Rashmi

Peter Reginato

Judy Rifka

Elizabeth Riley

Donna Ruff

Arlene Rush

Anne Russinof

S

Carol Salmanson

Marc Salz

Karen Schifano

Karen Schiff

Julia Schwartz

Susan Scott

Assunta Sera

Dee Shapiro

Suzan Shutan

Barbara Slitkin

Andrew Small

Roy Staab

Maggie Sullivan

Altoon Sultan

Taro Suzuki  

Krista Svalbonas

T

David Taylor

Ravenna Taylor

Julie Torres

Susan Cutler Tremaine

Jeanne Tremel

V

Rita Valley

Alan Van Every

Jill Vasileff

Blossom Verlinsky

W

Louisa Waber

Peter Williams

Y

Rebecca Young

Z

Tamar Zinn

Links to Reviews and Videos

Brian Edmonds, Curating Contemporary blog

Grace Graupe-Pilard's reflections on the show: via blog and video 
Anne Russinoff, Gallery Travels blog 

Rob Scher, Bedford and Bowery

. A very short video of the installation 

The Going Big Facebook group, which is now public

I'll post additional links as they are published