Expanding the ideas of her 2007 exhibition, Deborah Kass continues to explore the intersection of politics, popular culture, art history, and the self in her show at Paul Kasmin. Post war painting tropes, language, and music coalesce in Kass�s new paintings, which, like a barometer, measure her reaction to the uncertain state of current affairs. At Artnet, Kass fan Charlie Finch ponders the ups and downs of Kassdom. “Specifically, how does one elevate Deborah into the pantheon, beyond the simple words ‘also represented by Vincent Fremont‘?” he wonders. “Last winter, Deborah (whose work moved me so much as far back as 1995, that I used to spy on her Thomas Street studio across the alley from painter Steve Davis� loft, to see what Deb was working on) asked me whether she should show again with Kasmin in last March or wait until September. I advised waiting and gleefully informed Kasmin at some Upper East Side cocktail party soon after that not-so-little ol� me had actually changed his exhibition schedule. The shy toad jumped 30 feet.
“Well, now we have the new show and the question again is, ‘Whither Kass?’ My advice (a sawbuck and a shoeshine) is a) decouple Kass from her male artist referents and b) think very big….I want to see Kassaganda marketed the way Sean Kelly sells Joseph Kosuths to the Saudis: billboards priced by the square yard. I want the opening bell on Wall Street permanently Kassed and the 14 percent unemployment rate in Las Vegas lowered into single digits because neon Kass signs are being erected all over the Strip. I want the HOLLYWOOD sign redone in star-spangled Kassiolas with Bette, Babs and Cher warbling from atop the ‘H’. . . and I don�t wanna hear about no f�ing male artists in the bargain, capiche, Fremont?” Read more.
“Deborah Kass: MORE Feel Good Paintings For Feel Bad Times,” Paul Kasmin, New York, NY. Through Oct. 30, 2010.
Related post:
Intergenerational girls� clubs at The Jewish Museum
Deborah Kass interview at Thirsty Beach
Deborah Kass at Paul Kasmin (2007)
