LOOK INTO MY OWL

The small scale paste-ups by Barbara Kruger make up the current show at the Skarstedt Gallery in NYC. “Pre-Digital” exhibits forty-four works dating from 1980-1992.

The pieces are composed of photographs and type on paper.The largest of the collages in this show measures eleven by thirteen inches. Many of the works were photographed and enlarged to the monumental scale that developed into Kruger’s personal canon.

Barbara Kruger has spread her art into many media including billboards, merchandise, video and audio installations. Her instantly recognizable style has been received and expounded upon by a new generation of artist. “Pre-Digital” is an excellent opportunity to examine the seminal declarations on an intimate scale.

Barbara Kruger
Pre-Digital 1980 – 1992
18 March – 18 April 2009
Skarstedt Gallery
NYC

The mixed media collage works of Jane Maxwell are on view through the end of March at the Caldwell Snyder Gallery.

In these canvas and panel works Maxwell explores the ideals that Western culture imposes on the female figure. Food issues are acutely imparted in the choice of antique produce crate labels as collage material. It’s a cunning play on the common practice of objectifying body parts as selections from the grocer. The artist reminds us that beauty is not uniform, allure can be found in otherwise castaway material.

The textured surfaces are built up with layers of beeswax and methodically deconstructed with rigorous sanding and peeling. The figure ground reversals that take place in the compositions reflect personal translations of societal pressures.

Jane Maxwell
Recent Works
1-31 March 2009
Caldwell Snyder Gallery
San Francisco

The contemporary tapestries of Margret Eicher are on view at Bernhard Knaus Fine Art in Frankfurt. The title of the show is, “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” with each position in the trinity being thoroughly explored.

In the past wall tapestries were a luxury reserved for the wealthy. The carpets were hand stitched and often took years to complete. Eicher has short circuited this lengthy process by piecing together collage elements in a computer and weaving them with a digital loom.

The content of these large wall coverings is current and often comical. Margret Eicher pays tribute to the ancient history of the tapestry with a muted palette, canonical compositions and ornamental borders.

Margret Eicher
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
29 January – 14 March 2009
Bernhard Knaus Fine Art
Frankfurt, Germany

The culture jammed imagery of Jani Leinonen is the current offering at the Moeller Snow Gallery. It is the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York City.

For this show, Leinonen chose Cap’n Crunch as the central figure in this series of tuned cereal boxes. The packaging is not replicated, instead, oil paint has been applied directly to the surface. This use of material is an interesting play on the planned obsolescence of consumer culture.

These paintings register as blatant gags with a decidedly dark humor. The content draws strength from exposing the ease in which cultural norms can be subverted. The lesson served alerts the viewer to their shared unconscious threshold of conformity.

Jani Leinonen
Rejected Ideas for Cap’n Crunch Advertisements
3 February – 14 March 2009
Moeller Snow Gallery
NYC

In two weeks time Hasted Hunt will be exhibiting photographs from Andreas Gefeller. The large scale works originate from the ongoing series, “Supervisions.”

Gefeller arrives at these results through a series of collaged photographs. He paces his subject releasing the shutter at intervals effectively mapping the area. Each detail shot is seamed together forming an odd perspective on the whole.

The element of time plays a vital role in these visual tapestries. Each piece of the map was rendered separately in varying conditions. The differences register as slight shifts in atmosphere and light across the entirety.

These works exhibit a way that photography can successfully break with traditional methods of art making. For instance, if a painter was working on a portrait certain rules are generally practiced. Beginning with a fully realized depiction of a nose and moving along completing each feature in turn would generally cause the composition to suffer. Gefeller determines his composition initially and is then free to capture the details.

The final prints are huge, some measuring more than eight feet on the long side. Head over to Hasted Hunt for the opening and see for yourself.

Andreas Gefeller
5 March – 25 April 2009
Hasted Hunt
NYC

The photo collages of Vibeke Tandberg are currently showing on the first floor of Gió Marconi in Milan. The title of the exhibition, “THE HAMBURGER TURNS IN MY STOMACH AND I THROW IT UP ON YOU. LIQUID HAMBURGER. THEN I HIT YOU. AFTER THAT WE ARE BOTH OUT OF WORDS.” originates from “Loveletter” a 16mm film that is also being screened at the gallery.

The film depicts the artist’s hand writing and continually adjusting sentences pacing the film and the poem that results from the activity. “Loveletter” acts as a point of embarkation encouraging the viewer toward a deeper understanding of the still imagery.

Vibeke Tandberg is primarily concerned with questioning identity and the stereotypes that arise from such a quest. Her multimedia efforts juxtapose extremes in order to classify the deception of self against the equally inadequate practice of external perception.

Vibeke Tandberg
THE HAMBURGER TURNS IN MY STOMACH AND I THROW IT UP ON YOU. LIQUID HAMBURGER. THEN I HIT YOU. AFTER THAT WE ARE BOTH OUT OF WORDS.
30 January – 19 March 2009
Gió Marconi
Milan, Italy

A lively installation of work from Debo Eilers is the current show at On Stellar Rays. “I’ve got $3,000 in my wallet” is the title of the exhibition and refers to a piece of writing by Francesca Lacatena.

The document concludes with, “Being a pedestrian can be a luxury, so why not to flaunt the grace of this state. We are all potential detainees. But you, you keep your love lockdown and let American art go straightforward. I’ve got $3,000 in my wallet.”

The text is a great compliment to the showing of artworks. It conveys a lack of desire to edit the creative process in favor of maintaining flow. The collage and assemblage pieces contain disparate materials and ideas that are corralled with the use of a hyper color palette.

The installation itself is mesmerizing. The exhibition as a whole does not convey that it was delivered to the gallery in the typical manner. I’m left with a lingering feeling that the art grew into the space.

Debo Eilers
I’ve got $3,000 in my wallet
4 January – 14 February 2009
On Stellar Rays
NYC