Thinking About Art

New to the Collection: John M. Adams and Joseph Barbaccia

We added two more works to the KMoCA collection over the weekend by local artists you're likely familiar with, John M. Adams and Joseph Barbaccia.  Take a look:

John M. Adams
Sitting Still #72
Oil and Acrylic on Birch
10" x 8.5"
2009

Joseph Barbaccia
Felix Culpa
Polystyrene, sequins, stainless steel pins
11" x 22" x 11"
2007

Both artists have solo shows coming up in the near future.  Adams will be at the Greater Reston Arts Center in May and Barbaccia will show at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art and Gallery Neptune.

New to the Collection: Franklin Einspruch and Don Voisine

KMoCA is rapidly expanding and we couldn't be more pleased.  Shown below are two new paintings acquired in the past week.  Take a look:

Franklin Einspruch
Studio Self-Portrait with Skeleton
Oil on Linen
40" x 32"
2001

Don Voisine
Lucid
Oil on Panel
12" x 12"
2007

Thanks to Franklin and Valerie McKenzie for helping to make these happen.

Matisse Rocks, Duchamp Blows

What follows is another Facebook conversation that took place while I was doing a gallery crawl in NYC.  I had seen the Matisse room shortly before and initiated the following conversation after being in the Duchamp room.  Feel free to join in!

J.T. is Matisse rocks, Duchamp blows.

Mark Cameron Boyd - Open your eyes, my friend: "All art after Duchamp is conceptual!"

J.T. - Unfortunately the problem is my eyes are open. If they were closed I'd almost certainly like it more.

Jeffry Cudlin - Don't underrate D. as a painter...if he'd died immediately after doing the cubo-futurist-esque pieces, I think we'd still remember him for Nude Descending a Staircase and King & Queen Surrounded by Swift Nudes.

J.T. - You might be right there. I wonder how different (better?) things would be if he had died then.

JC - Better?? Good grief, man.

MCB - It's the "What if Marcel never went into that hardware store syndrome?"

J.T. - Well, things today would be better, worse, or about the same. I wonder about the better option

JC - Duchamp is just part of the trajectory of modernism--the confrontation and disjuncture part. Remove Duchamp and those old Dada ideas would've still found their way into American art...it just would've taken a little longer.

J.T. - I don't disagree at all. It was inevitable.

Warren Craghead - The problem isn't Duchamp, it's the piles and piles of crap made by those following him.

A Step Backward?

What follows is a long exchange that took place on Facebook during my NYC gallery/museum crawl.  It all started with my status: "J.T. is we clearly took a step backward with Johns and Rauschenburg."  It was posted as I was working my way through MoMA.  The participants here are Chris Rywalt, Mark Cameron Boyd, Jeffry Cudlin and me.  This transcript is posted with the authors' permission.  Feel free to join in!

J.T. is we clearly took a step backward with Johns and Rauschenburg.

Mark Cameron Boyd - This you are correct on: Pop, being anti-Greenbergian, is clearly suspect in the critical hierarchy...not that I believed everything Clem wrote.

Jeffry Cudlin - Wait...is today opposite day? ;)

J.T. - Not sure about opposite day, but going from the AbEx rooms to the Pop rooms certainly leaves me feeling deflated.

JC - Maybe it depends which abexers you're talking about...but I'll take a combine or a target over a zip painting any day.

J.T. - Not this guy! Give me Rothko, pollock, Newman, etc, any day of the week.

JC - I don't know...I guess I have a thing for anti-painterly painting.

J.T. - Wait a sec, what YOUR painting? :)

CR - MCB, I'm surprised at your misreading of the critical hierarchy. Hasn't Greenberg on the outs for forty years?

I felt exactly the way you did, JT, when I followed that same path. It's like watching the death of sincerity in painting.

JC - I would have to say I'm a recovering painter. And I'm not particularly interested in sincerity, either.

CR - Sincerity all by itself doesn't count for much. But it's better than irony, which I am sick to death of.

J.T. - Fair 'nuf

JC - Okay, as for irony, I definitely don't need art to wink at me knowingly, either. ;) I want art to create some kind of condition of transparency, which isn't the same thing as sincerity. If that makes any sense.

I think this conversation needs to happen somewhere other than a fb comment thread.

Facebook Status NYC Art Reviews

While in New York City from Thursday to Saturday, I commented on the art I saw via Facebook status updates.  Remembering everything until I was able to craft a full-blown blog post didn't seem likely so I opted to do real-time, quick-hit posts on Facebook.  My hope was that some folks would respond to my posts and the result would be having virtual companions beside me while I trekked across Manhattan looking at art by myself.  I think the outcome was a success as many passionate discussions were ignited.

I wanted to copy the Facebook status updates here to serve as my "official review" of my NYC art trip.  Here they are:

Thursday, February 26

J.T. is out in Chelsea, a bit too early though.  10:41am

J.T. Yuskavage @ Zwirner - not very good.  11:07am

J.T. is Marioni vs. Marden..  11:14am

J.T. is lots if red dots at Jonathan levine. Small work though. Colorful and strange.  11:19am

J.T. galleries seem a liitle worn down. Cost saving?   11:33am

J.T. Bitforms does it again. NeatO work!  11:40am

J.T. is Jack Shainman is fail and le sigh.  11:48am

J.T. is gagosian on 21 closed till march 26. Weird.  11:54am

J.T. is Hirshhorn at Gladstone. WTF?  12:03pm

J.T. wanted so much more from Stingel at Paula Cooper.  12:07pm

J.T. is irwin at Pace better than expected but still not so hot.  12:15pm

J.T. is it just me or does Sonnabend always blow?  12:34pm

J.T. is now we're talking. Small Ellsworth Kelly drawing show at Matthew Marks.  12:38pm

J.T. is pavel zoubok gallery does what it does very well.  12:48pm

J.T. is refueled with a Chelsea grilled ham and cheese panini.  1:09pm

J.T. Larry Poons sticks out like a sore thumb in Chelsea. That's a good thing.  1:27pm

J.T. is Brendan Cass at Stellan Holm Gallery vs Poons..  1:49pm

J.T. KMoCA will be making another acquisition on this trip.  3:26pm

J.T. is Mark Ruwedel at Yossi Milo is best photo show thus far.  3:27pm

J.T. is shocked by how much he liked juan genoves at marlborough.  3:51pm

J.T. must be getting tired, liked Erik Parker at Paul Kasmin.  4:29pm

J.T. is done with Chelsea. Waiting to meet Chris Rywalt for a studio visit.  5:19pm

J.T. thinks Chelsea wasn't so hot today but lots of new shows opening now.  5:28pm

Friday, February 27

J.T. is Friday begins with rough start at Dunkin Donuts. Moms, met, Whitney on tap for today.  10:09am

J.T. is at moma, cubism still sucks.  10:45am

J.T. is Matisse rocks, Duchamp blows.  10:48am

J.T. is thank you Malevich.  10:50am

J.T. is mondrian room is nice surprise.  10:52am

J.T. is we clearly took a step backward with Johns and Rauschenburg.  11:00am

J.T. is awesome... I miss Rist and instead get Kippenberger. Ugh..  11:22am

J.T. Thinks the great thing about Torres' free prints is watching people fumble all over the place trying to roll them up.  11:29am

J.T. wonders if conceptualism might be too easy. Not stating fact or opinion, just wondering.  12:10pm

J.T. is at the Met.  12:14pm

J.T. Bonnard interiors is a nice show but nasty install. He deserves better.  12:35pm

J.T. Hates to admit that kehinde wiley's "the veiled Christ" is pretty nice. It's a study so there's time to screw it up.  12:40pm

J.T. iNevermind about Bonnard install, the Met is pretty beat up all over.  12:45pm

J.T. is Raqib Shaw solo- contemporary take painting, not bad at all.  12:48pm

J.T. is hirsts shark need Viagra.  12:55pm

J.T. is young Picasso could sure paint.  12:59pm

J.T. is lots of van gogh up now. Excellent!  1:01pm

J.T. is done with Met, next is Whitney.  1:24pm

J.T. stopped by gagosian Madison ave, soth and Warhol, yawn.  1:45pm

J.T. is Elad Lassry videos - gag me with a jackhammer.  2:19pm

J.T. thinks the Whitney was worth every penny (I.e. $0).  2:27pm

J.T. Is at the new museum.  3:16pm

J.T. Dear New Museum, I want my money back!  3:22pm

J.T. Just went to Jen bekman's, alas no Jen to be found.  3:32pm

J.T. Dennis at dckt just hooked me up with 411 on LES.  3:48pm

J.T. is feature has nice little group show & they know it based on the prices!  4:20pm

J.T. surrenders. Last stop at Canada a success. Next is steak, broadway, bed.  4:51pm

Saturday, February 28

J.T. is fueling up and then back to Chelsea.  11:40am

J.T. really neat show at Derek Eller.  12:32pm

J.T. just finished first Chelsea acquisition!  1:56pm

J.T. is florian maier-aichen @ 303 gallery nice show.  3:03pm

J.T. is Elizabeth dee equals always syrange.  3:07pm

J.T. Favorite show - Colin Brown's "The Sunless Sea" @ Fischbach Gallery.  4:07pm

That wraps up the Facebook NYC gallery crawl.  It was a fun experiment and I hope to do it again sometime soon.

New Work

After my recent post of found objects on artist made tabletops, I talked to several close artist friends.  I ultimately decided that the found objects weren't exactly doing what I wanted.  As such, I have deleted the last post of new works since I am currently reworking them.

The first image I posted that used a found object was an old Prohibition Era bottle on a yellowheart tabletop.  I have reworked that piece:

Untitled

Yellowheart wood, lacquer, house paint

15" x 15" x 1"

2009

And here is another new work just completed:

Untitled

Walnut wood, lacquer, house paint

20" x 20" x 3"

2009

Thanks for looking.

New to the Collection: Ken Weathersby

KMoCA acquired a new work this past week, 151, a two-sided painting construction by Ken Weathersby.  Ken is an artist who lives in Montclair, NJ, and recently participated in the Artists "Review" Artists Project.  His work was "reviewed" here, and he wrote a "review" here.

Here are images of both sides of the painting:

151
Acrylic on Canvas with Inset Canvas
24" x 40"
2007

I currently have the painting hung as seen in the first image.

Be sure to take a look at Ken's web site to see some more examples of his work.

New to the Collection: A.B. Miner

A.B. Miner is a very talented painter who lives in Washington, D.C.  And fortunately for me, he is a terrific writer so I can let him describe his own work:

My psychologically charged, intimately scaled oil paintings and drawings of the body are peepholes through which I grant viewers access to my secrets. I expose the complexities of gender and the ugliness that lies behind the socially acceptable façade of clothing and forced smiles and reveal an unexpected beauty that heightens the viewer’s self-awareness. The universal urge to confess helps me connect to viewers, whom may themselves be hiding emotional or physical scars.

In 2005 I began creating self-portraits. Motivated by my personal experiences as a female to male transgender person, these works chronicle my physical evolution and examine its related emotional sate.

Though representational, my often macro look makes the work border on the abstract while illuminating the formal elements I examine so closely. Scrapes are pink, and bruises are blue that fade to jades and then to golds. I am captivated by the alchemical properties of the human body which transfer trauma into delicate prettiness. I aim for viewers to be lulled by my sensuous, fleshy brushstrokes only to be shocked by the rawness of the subject. Like rubberneckers, they cannot turn away from what can be interpreted as ugly, uncomfortable and even, to some, offensive. This work emanates from my unique experiences, but I hope viewers will find themselves more conscious of their own bodies. In this way these pieces are like 2-way mirrors.

While differently motivated than artists such as Orlan, there is a performative aspect to the work. My body, like yours and like my paint is pliable. Taking testosterone made me aware that my body had become an artwork in a way; it is an object of my own creation. The multi panel painting “From There to Here” depicts the healing of my scars from chest surgery, after which it occurred to me that I had yet again mutated. This time a surgeon, like a magician, sawed me in half, but was not able to put me back together seamlessly. I carry this stranger's pentamente on my body; I have to live with the residue of someone else’s drawing emblazoned across my chest. Do these modifications make me more of a “real” man or do the marks prove me a simulacrum?

I have always been fascinated by dichotomies. I aim to deconstruct the barriers between the cruelty and artistry of biology, and the conflict of private and public, all the while doing so with aesthetic grace.

Here are the two paintings I acquired:

Funny Face #5
Oil on gessoboard
8" x 6"
2004

Funny Face #6
Oil on gessoboard
8" x 6"
2004

Miner has a solo show this fall at G Fine Art.

Saturday Gallery Round-up

On Saturday my lovely bride and I took advantage of the wonderful weather and did a gallery crawl across the city.  I wanted to provide some quick hit thoughts about each of our stops.

1. The Arlington Arts Center - Public/Private

The AAC opens at 11am and we arrived promptly at that time.  Unfortunately the doors were not opened yet so we waited 5 minutes.  At 11:05 the doors still were locked so we knocked.  Someone came and let us in.  Unfortunately, most of the show was not yet "on," meaning, there were lots of videos in the show that had not yet been turned on.  Some of the lights in the galleries were still off.  The two basement galleries were locked.  We left at 11:15.

2. Corner Cupboard

The Corner Cupboard is located maybe a mile from the AAC and is a consignment/antique/junk shop.  I purchased a neat desk lamp from the 60's/70's (probably), an old slide viewer made in Germany, and two antique trivets made from iron, I think.  You might see these things soon in images of new work.

3. National Gallery of Art

Here we saw Robert Frank's "The Americans," "Oceans, Rivers, and Skies: Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, and Alfred Stieglitz," and "In the Tower: Philip Guston."  We also got to experience Leo Villareal's Multiverse, and while it was neat and did transform that underutilized portion of the walkway between the East and West buildings, it did feel a bit like the waiting area for an indoor roller coaster.  None of the first three shows did much for me.

4. Al Miner's Studio

Keep an eye out for an upcoming "New to the Collection" post featuring two great Miner paintings.  Al has a solo show coming up in the fall and I feel confident it's going to be a good one.

5. Randall Scott Gallery

Big news here is that RSG is moving to DUMBO in just a few short weeks.  In fact, I think the 14th St gallery is closing in a week.  The gallery has been able to expand its space into the front rooms that were occupied previously by another business.  The additional space is great and makes me wish RSG always had that much space to work with.

6. Irvine Contemporary Art: Aspect:Ratio 2

The second show of small works, the standouts here are likely the two Phil Nesmith's photograms.

7. Hemphill Fine Arts: Selections from the Barnett-Aden Collection: A Homecoming Celebration

My favorite painting here was easily the Archibald J. Motley, Jr's "The Argument."  This image does not do the painting justice.  I have to wonder, though... why don't we see more of Motley's work in museums?  Am I just a sucker for his use of color?

8. Curator's Office: Lucid Dreaming: Simon Gouverneur, Jason Hughes, Paul Laffoley

Stacey was a big fan of this show and I too thought it was pretty neat as a small, insightful show.  I'd encourage you to spend some time checking out the works online here.

9. Adamson Gallery

Adamson had apparently just held some sort of viewing party (for collectors, I assume) and some of the work was still up when we stopped by.  My favorite works were by Patrick Wilson who I believe was last represented in the D.C. area by Numark Gallery.

10. G Fine Art: Ian Whitmore: this is our music

Probably my favorite show that I saw on Saturday, Ian's blend of representation and abstraction is always satisfying.  Here we see him moving a bit more respresentational, I believe, and successfully so.  Check out the works here.

There was also a show in the project room for Simone Leigh that held one piece.  Honestly, I wasn't sure what to make of it.  And with Ian's work in the adjacent gallery, I didn't spend much time with the Leigh.

11. Hamiltonian Gallery

This gorgeous space currently houses a three person show of works by Mark Cameron Boyd, Christian Benefiel, and Leah Frankel.  The cast tree stump by Benefiel and the dumplings-made-from-paper-sitting-on-glass piece by Frankel were the clear standouts for me.

12. Project 4: Anthony Pontius: why on earth?

Pontius' paintings were not exactly my cup of tea.  I'm not sure what even to say about them.  Have a look for yourself at the above link.

13. Conner Contemporary Art

Brandon Morse shows a group of 4 or 5 videos that completely take over the new Conner space.  Imagine previous Morse videos, scale them up by a factor of 5-10, increase the complexity and sophistication of each piece, and then you've got the work in this show.

In the back area are paintings/assemblages by John Kirchner.  Stacey really liked this show but I'm still not certain how I feel about the work.  Unfortunately I don't think I could get my mind off the Morse videos in the front.

Conner's new enormous space is a sight to be seen.  Although it's a bit out of the way, its size and ample room for ambitious projects makes it the clear front runner in the race for best gallery space in D.C.

I think that is the full report on Saturday's gallery crawl.  Sunday found me in the studio finishing off three new pieces.  I hope to have these photographed soon.  I'm not at all sure what to make of the work and for me, that's a good thing.  I like the feeling of being compelled to make something but without a clear understanding of why.  Maybe I'll figure it out soon.

Artists "Review" Artists: Susan Constanse on Alexandra Silverthorne

The Artists "Review" Artists Project was launched on June 30, 2008.  Below is a "review" of Alexandra Silverthorne's work, I Remember #4, written by Susan Constanse.  Alexandra also provided a second image, I Remember #3, as well as a brief response to Susan's "review."

Alexandra currently resides in Washington, D.C., and Susan lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

If you would like to participate in this project, please email me at jtkirkland [at] gmail [dot] com.

                             
I Remember #4
digital photograph
20" x 20"
2008

The "Review"

My first thought as I looked at this work is that it is chilling. I get such an overwhelming sense of cold dampness from the work. It speaks of death; not corporeal but of some lost, intimate relationship. It is a disorienting piece. Although the palette is direct and powerful, it is dark, which contributes to its coldness. Even the red is cold, leaning as it does to the blue cast.

The depth is shallow, with a limited vista, forcing intimate involvement on the viewer. I felt impelled to choose my avatar within the work. But which represents me; the one leaving or the one left behind? In the circumstances of the work, neither prospect is particularly appealing. A diffusion of sorrow and melancholia emanates from the work. It brings to mind a long-lost relationship. The text further reinforces the diffuse quality, with meaning lost in the fragments.

I wouldn't usually comment on the format of a work, but it seems to me unusual that "I Remember" is presented in a square format. Too often, photography tends to utilize the default formats for the digital screen or the proportions of the film. It is always interesting to consider how those established formats are challenged, especially in the choice of a square format. It is difficult to imply movement and dynamic arrangement in such a static format, but this work accomplishes that admirably.

By Susan Constanse

                
I Remember #3
digital photograph
20" x 20"
2008

The Response

Many thanks to Susan for her thoughtful review.  Interestingly enough the I Remember series emerged from a body of text that I wrote for a good friend who passed away last year.  The full text is: "I remember the native son heartbeats from our city rise and fall rise and fall phoenix rising honu swimming pushing through waters making your own path. And I remember the hospital room the tubes and the machines sympathetic looks the smile the wink the stillness that followed."

By Alexandra Silverthorne

Previous "Reviews":
Pam Farrell on Ken Weathersby
Paula McCullough on Aric Calfee
Lee Gainer on Leigh Waldron-Taylor
Aric Calfee on Paula McCullough
Matthew Ballou on Heather Levy
Giovanni Garcia-Fenech on TJ Norris
TJ Norris on Giovanni Garcia-Fenech
Susan Tolbert on Mary Klein
Heather Levy on Gail Vollrath
Sharon Butler on Matthew Ballou
Mark L. Power on Steven Alexander
Steven Alexander on Mark L. Power
Molly Norris on M. Trigos
Ken Weathersby on Joseph Barbaccia
Sondra Arkin on Susan Tolbert
John M. Adams on Sharon Butler
Michael Paul Oman-Reagan on Brent Hallard
Daniel Mafe on Pam Farrell
Joanna Knox on John M. Adams
John Lucien Grillo on Joanna Knox
Brent Hallard on Lisa Klow
Joseph Barbaccia on John Lucien Grillo
M. Trigos on Michael Paul Oman-Reagan
Mary Klein on Imants Ozers
Richard Schemmerer on Michael Konrad
Michael Konrad on Richard Schemmerer
Jennifer Mawby on Lee Gainer
Lisa Klow on Molly Norris
Bob Barbera on Jenn Figg
Tom Wagner on Kimberley L. Lindsley
Michelle Hunter on Aaron McMasters
Gail Vollrath on Daniel Mafe
Aaron McMasters on Michelle Hunter
Demetrius Romanos on Chris Rywalt
Chris Rywalt on Demetrius Romanos
Imants Ozers on Sondra Arkin
Timothy Buckwalter on Rob Hitzig
Rob Hitzig on Susan Constanse
Carolina Mayorga on Timothy Buckwalter
Leila Holtsman on Carolina Mayorga
Grant Dale on Matt Hollis
Matt Hollis on Mel Prest
Mel Prest on Marina Reiter