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12.20.2012

Fair Game: Brains. Who Knew?

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The posts so far:
Miami Overview
Domestic Affairs
Painting in the Big Box
More Painting at More Fairs 
 
ABMB: Jan Fabre, The Golden Jelly of the Brain, 2012, marble, 11 x 6 x 9 inches, at Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris
 
 
The life-size object carved in white marble took my breath away. In a fair in which art and money are intertwined, this material expression of humanity transforming into spirituality was both out of place and perfectly positioned to offer a moment of introspection from the madding scene. Buddhism tells us that from the Seventh Chakra at the top of the head emerges the thousand-petaled lotus of enlightenment.

None of the other brains I saw during the fairs came close to that first work in terms of beauty or power--and some seem firmly rooted in the dark Id--but I do think it was significant that there were so many brains on display. Here, see what I mean:
 
ABMB: Thomas Zipp, Loathing, at Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna
 
ABMB: Two more from Zipp, there from Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Berlin. The word fetish appears frequently, and the text seems to have come from a therapist's notes

 

ABMB: Fred Tomaselli at Cohan Gallery, New York City
Closer view below

 

Pulse: Lisa Nilsson paper collage at Pavel Zoubok, New York City.
This is a medically accurate cross section of the head, rendered in Japanese mulburry paper and the gold books
 

Above and below, Context: Emilio Garcia at Black Square Gallery, Miami

 

Miami Project: Leigh Salgado at Coagula Curatorial, Los Angeles.
Detail above showing the dimensionality of the artist's drawing, achieved by creating a net of netative space via an X-acto blade

 

ABMB, Art Nova: Peter Kogler at Galerie Mezzanin
Views above and below

 

NADA: Nicolas Ceccaldi at Real Fine Arts, Brooklyn
 
Back in a few days with a look at some sculpture, and then the wrapup 

5 comments:

Nancy Natale said...

What brought this brain fascination on? It must be like the money craze of a couple of years ago. I guess it's the herd mentality or brainwaves in the ether. Thanks for your compilation!

Tamar said...

Hmm.
Apparently, the brain was on the mind of many artists. Who knew artists thought about thinking?

annell4 said...

Well it makes me think, wonder....hummmmm

Julian Jackson said...

A couple of years ago skulls had a similar moment. These works of brains seem a little more hopeful. Are artists telling the world (once again) what it needs more of? That and, of course, love. Is it time to tell Jim Dine to begin dusting off those hearts? Am I thinking too much? Off to look up solipsism.

CMC said...

Hummm, interesting. One year I think it was trees.