Ed Kim opened Sunnyside Arts, in the eponymous section of western Queens on Skillman Avenue near 46th Street, in September 2022. In less than six months, it has vaulted from upstart art supply store to local cultural hub.
Recent Posts
Lucian Freud, authentic modernist
Contributed by David Carrier / The National Gallery’s retrospective celebrating the centenary of Lucian Freud’s birth is first exhibition of his work in a museum of historical art. Freud himself was very familiar with The National Gallery. As the catalogue says, he thought of it “as a doctor to whom, as an artist, one turned for help.” With more than 60 paintings on display, we get a full picture of his career.
Siobhan McBride’s canny intimacy
Contributed by Peter Malone / “Long story short” could describe many an art review, but here it is also the name of one of a growing number of pocket galleries along the section of Henry Street beneath the Manhattan Bridge. Long Story Short NYC recently hosted an exhibition of a dozen of Siobhan McBride’s small but compelling paintings, titled “Always Means Never Not” and curated by Stavroula Coulianidis.
Jeff Gabel: Subtext rules this fucker
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / There’s a Seinfeld episode in which Elaine, annoyed by the knowing ellipticality of a New Yorker cartoon caption, marches into the august magazine’s offices and confronts the editor – portrayed to preppy-geek perfection by the late Edward Herrmann – about its meaning. After offering several generic, pretentious, and abjectly unconvincing interpretations, he admits that he has no idea what the hell the caption is supposed to mean. Jeff Gabel – whose elaborately narrated drawings and paintings, a few site-specific, are presently on display in a solo at Spencer Brownstone Gallery on the Lower East Side and a group show at Jennifer Baahng Gallery on the Upper East Side – runs no such risk, abjuring obscure glibness for mordantly wise, sourly penetrating bloviation.
Amy Talluto: Blending sculpture, painting, and conversation
Widely known as the talented producer and amusing host of the popular podcast Pep Talks for Artists, Amy Talluto uses the tagline “shuffling along the artist’s road.” We were curious about Amy’s own path in the studio, which has recently moved away from her beautiful, award-winning, landscape paintings to something […]
Rob de Oude’s gorgeously fragile order
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / Rob de Oude’s exquisitely painted geometric abstractions, on display at McKenzie Fine Art on the Lower East Side, at once resist and invite scrutiny. Though wholly handmade, they are all composed of small squares that appear so perfect, calmingly symmetrical, and plain beautiful as to discourage a closer look: there’s nothing more to see here, and what you see is fine enough. But his patterns – both over the expanse of the canvas and within each rectangle – are so intricate and their variations so subtle that a hard look turns out to be compulsory and in fact rewarding.
NYC Selected Gallery Guide: January, 2023
It’s 2023, and we’re still publishing, thanks to all the readers who made generous contributions during our 2022 Year-End Fund Drive. In Brooklyn, former Two Coats Resident Artist Gyan Shrosbree has a solo at Ortega y Gasset Projects. Strong abstract painting shows include Paul Pagk in his first outing at Miguel Abreu and, at McKenzie Fine Art, Rob De Oude. There are also a slew of mega group-shows (we’re looking at you DC Moore), so everyone will be out and about. Seems like we’re off to a good start. Happy new year!
An exhilarating gut punch at Shoot the Lobster
Contributed by Jacob Patrick Brooks / I take it as a bad sign when galleries seize an opportunity to “respond” to something. At best, it’s slightly out of touch. The nature of putting on a thoughtful show is that it takes time and effort to pull off. Generally, the result is that it misses the moment. “New Images of Women” at Shoot the Lobster avoids this pitfall. It manages to be both provocative and timely. The work is carefully chosen, the message well-crafted and delivered like a perfectly timed punch in the stomach.
Hudson Valley Selected Gallery Guide: January, 2023
Here we are, at the beginning of another year, and we’re feeling kind of frisky with all the possibilities. If you’re flying out of the area, perhaps down south to warmer weather, don’t forget to stop by the Albany International Airport Gallery and check out “Lumen,” a show comprising work by Shaina Gates, Ben Godward, Heather Hutchison — all artists who engage with light in unusual ways. Honestly, though, everything looks good. Why not go see it all? Put Lizzie Gill and Kristen Jensen’s show at Geary in Millerton on your calendar. It opens at the end of the month.
Spencer Finch’s dazzling originality
Contributed by David Carrier / Spencer Finch’s new and recent work at Hill Art Foundation in Chelsea are set in dialogue with The Creation and the Expulsion from Paradise, a magnificent 1533 stained-glass window by Renaissance master Valentin Bousch. “Lux and Lumen,” the exhibition’s title, comes from Abbot Suger of the cathedral at Saint-Denis, who praised the power of stained glass to transform natural light, or lux, into sacred light, or lumen. Inspired by that medieval idea, and by his visit to Claude Monet’s pond and garden at Giverny, Finch’s Painting Air, an immersive hanging-glass installation, is a dramatic visual essay on light.
