LOOK INTO MY OWL

A “mid-career”exhibition surveying the work of Fred Tomaselli opens today at the Brooklyn Museum. Yesterday afternoon we had an opportunity to preview the exhibit and grabbed some photos to share. It had been nearly a year since L.I.M.O. had a chance to catch up with Fred and it was no surprise to find him in good spirits on the eve of this hometown honor.

The exhibit is a staggering affair. When encountering one of these mixed media masterpieces in the context of a group show, the Tomaselli stands out. His work often alienates itself in this manner. Moving through four rooms of his oeuvre, however, is an experience that one doesn’t question. It’s a larger than human experience not unlike the Great Pyramid or a hurricane. There is no temptation to insinuate and no need for review. Get to the Brooklyn Museum pronto!

Fred Tomaselli with Night Music for Raptors, Brooklyn Museum, 2010.

Fred Tomaselli, Field Guides, photo collage, gouache, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 2003.

Fred Tomaselli, Red Butte, hemp leaves, acrylic and resin on wood panel, 1994.

Fred Tomaselli, Red Butte (detail), hemp leaves, acrylic and resin on wood panel, 1994.

Fred Tomaselli, Big Raven, acrylic, photocollage and resin on wood panel, 2008.

Fred Tomaselli, Fungi and Flowers, leaves, photo collage, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 2002.

Fred Tomaselli, Fungi and Flowers (detail), leaves, photo collage, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 2002.

Fred Tomaselli, Echo, Wow and Flutter, leaves, pills, photo collage, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 2000.

Fred Tomaselli, Feb. 24, 2009 (detail), gouache and collage on printed watercolor paper, 2009.

Fred Tomaselli, Multiple Landscape, saccharin, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 1995.

Fred Tomaselli, Multiple Landscape (detail), saccharin, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 1995.

Fred Tomaselli, Toytopia (detail), photocollage, gouache, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 1995.

Fred Tomaselli
8 October 2010 – 2 January 2011
Brooklyn Museum

One week before her latest solo show, “Boom & Bust” at Winkleman Gallery, Joy Garnett gave us the lowdown on her new work and let us take some photos around her SoHo studio. We had a look at some paintings, including several slated for her exhibition, before being packed for delivery to the gallery. Joy also gave us a preview of some new prints and the work that went into the color separations.

The most notable change in this recent work is the dissolution of horizon. Literal detachment from the natural world has pushed her efforts further toward abstraction. The energetic action paintings display a refreshing confidence in tools, composition and color. Some of her source material, declassified photographs of massive man made and natural explosions were on hand. It was particularly interesting to learn that her reference for a painting does not stem exclusively from a specific image. Her gestures and color selections initiate from living with large amounts of source imagery and are represented on canvas as a culmination of this visual knowledge.

We left Joy Garnett’s studio feeling frisky and craving to see more paintings. Luckily, the opening reception for “Boom & Bust” is rapidly approaching. Friday, October 15th from 6-8PM, we’ll see you there.

Joy Garnett
Boom & Bust
15 October – 13 November 2010
Winkleman Gallery
NYC

We are finally in New York for “the season.” Many challenges were bested to get here but it was worth the hurry to have the opportunity to preview this show which will open to members today and to the public on October 3rd at the Museum of Modern Art.

“Abstract Expressionist New York” covers a period in time and a group of artists that have been important to me on a personal level for several decades. I thought hard about how I wanted to approach the exhibit and the advantages I hoped for by showing up in person to look at paintings that were already quite familiar. Somewhere in the Midwest, Nebraska or Iowa, I realized that I wanted to get close, I wanted to get a sense of texture from these masterworks. Here is a selection of details from pieces on the fourth floor. The camera got close enough to garner throat clearing from several guards but no paintings were injured.

Philip Guston, Edge of Town (detail), oil on canvas, 1969.

Jackson Pollock, White Light (detail), oil, enamel and aluminim paint on canvas, 1954.

Robert Motherwell, Pancho Villa, Dead and Alive (detail), cut-and-pasted printed and painted papers, wood veneer, gouache, oil and ink on board, 1943.

Willem de Kooning, Woman, I (detail), oil on canvas, 1954.

Arshile Gorky, Agony (detail), oil on canvas, 1947.

Lee Krasner, Untitled (detail), oil on composition board, 1949.

Ad Reinhardt, Number 43 (Abstract Painting, Yellow) (detail), oil on canvas, 1947.

Willem de Kooning, Painting (detail), enamel and oil on canvas, 1948.

Philip Guston, Painting (detail), oil on canvas, 1954.

Mark Rothko, No. 5/No. 24 (detail), oil on canvas, 1948.

Jackson Pollock, Gothic (detail), oil on canvas, 1944.

David Smith, Cubi X (detail), stainless steel, 1963.

Robert Motherwell, Elegy to the Spanish Republic, 108 (detail), oil on canvas, 1965-67.

Abstract Expressionist New York
3 October – 25 April 2010
MoMA
NYC

“Unforeseen Behaviors,” Carter Hodgkin’s first solo exhibition at Denise Bibro Fine Art is now showing through the middle of October in NYC.

Carter Hodgkin, Willy Nilly Routine, oil, acrylic and inkjet on canvas, 2010.

The vast majority of painting draws inspiration from an external source. Reference, even kept to a minimum, is that which binds the work to a shared world.

In these paintings the artist has chosen to visually recreate patterns left by atomic sized particulate impacts. She animates the action and extracts single frames of interest to be recrafted in paint. The results serve as a reminder of the unseen frictions that make life interesting.

Carter Hodgkin, Quantum Dissipation, oil, acrylic and inkjet on canvas, 2010.

Hodgkin has earned her place among an exciting new breed of artist. The directions that technology has been offering these visual pioneers encourages limitless possibilities in form, composition and communication. Currently, great success has been achieved in the fusion of traditional and digital media but there is cause to wonder if the remnant of human touch need exist in the future.

In order to take such strides, reviews of computer assisted imagery may need to overcome irrational embarrassments and accept that humanity and technology will continue an unwavering course of integration.

Carter Hodgkin, Grand Theft Fall, oil, acrylic and inkjet on canvas, 2009.

Carter Hodgkin
Unforeseen Behaviors
9 September – 16 October 2010
Denise Bibro Fine Art
NYC

Cordy Ryman’s second solo exhibition with DCKT Contemporary goes on view tonight and runs through the end of October. The opening is scheduled for Sunday September 12th at 5pm. We’re not in NY yet but you can be sure that this is one show we’ll see when we get there.

Cordy Ryman, 536 Days, acrylic, enamel, graphite, Velcro and Gorilla Glue on wood, 2010.

Most painters begin by stretching canvas and priming endlessly with gesso. Cordy Ryman creates his ground from wood and other materials granting the surface power equal to color and composition. The resulting work is a well balanced hybrid of painting and sculpture.

Cordy Ryman, Wave Bias, acrylic, enamel, graphite and ink on wood, 2010.

Recycling is a major theme in these pieces. Many of the new works like “Wave Bias” (above) were created from parts of a large scale installation exhibited in his first solo show at the gallery. The use of powerful bonding agents and resins connect disparate materials in unusual ways.

Cordy Ryman, Strapped Strips, acrylic, enamel, graphite, metal, Styrofoam and studio sweepings on wood, 2010.

Ryman has also chosen to create a site specific piece constructed from scrap material collected over the past year. “Scrap Wall” wraps around an existing wall and ushers the viewer into the exhibition. Can’t wait.

Cordy Ryman
9 September – 31 October 2010
DCKT Contemporary
NYC

After months of work and hundreds of buckets of paint the latest wall animation from Blu is ready to thrill you. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the video in its entirety.

Blu, Big Bang Big Boom, still from video, 2010.

“Big Bang Big Boom” is a narrative, frame-by-frame animation that runs a course from the initial big bang that sparked our Universe to a hypothetical end to our own planet.

Blu, Big Bang Big Boom, still from video, 2010.

Despite the potentially alarmist nature of the material, Blu’s sense of play can be felt running through the entire video. This endearing quality is enhanced with a marvelous soundtrack by Andrea Martignoni.

Blu, Big Bang Big Boom, still from video, 2010.

This is the most impressive animation that Blu has done to date. This is saying a lot as there has been some astonishing work in the past. “Big Bang Big Boom” continues to evolve with new ideas in addition to providing a perfect balance of two and three dimensional animation with powerful transitions.

Artists Tom Sanford and Ryan Schneider have been huddled together for nearly a year curating this group show at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art. “Big Picture” is comprised of large paintings from nineteen artists that reside in New York. These works resonate as “big” in more ways than scale as described in the press release:

“While reflecting a contrasting artistic vocabulary, the individual paintings interact conceptually, insisting in commonality and commanding a shared synergy reminiscent of the Gestalt theory — whereby the entire show pronounces a bigger picture and perspective, rising above the summary of its parts.”

Check with the gallery for more information about a panel discussion on Monday evening, July 12th.

Daniel Heidkamp, Cold Coordinate, oil on canvas, 2010.

Liz Markus, The Man (Picasso), acrylic on unprimed canvas, 2010.

John Copeland, Red Roses for Me, acrylic on canvas, 2010.

Lisa Sanditz, Pontiac Kingston, acrylic and polyurethane on canvas, 2010.

Michael Williams, Tongue of Timberlake, oil on canvas, 2008.

Big Picture
Kamrooz Aram, Colleen Asper, Paul Brainard, John Copeland, Holly Coulis, Justin Craun, Van Hanos, Daniel Heidkamp, Aaron Johnson, Emily Noelle Lambert, Wes Lang, Liz Markus, Eddie Martinez, Brian Montuori, Lisa Sanditz, Tom Sanford, Ryan Schneider, Michael Williams and Jeremy Willis
8 July – 6 August 2010
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art
NYC