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8.12.2015

"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.  

8.04.2015

"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 hereJM 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