In The Village Voice, read Christian Viveros-Faun�’s ranty intro about the ridiculous excess he sees in Chelsea. Ultimately he decides that Sarah Sze’s installation pieces at Tonya Bonakdar are the perfect antidote to all the hot air. “Stuck between a recession and a recovery, the art world is predictably game for eating and hoarding cake, too. A perfect example of the current cupidity is Dan Colen’s windily hyped exhibition at Larry Gagosian’s big tent. A gassy repeat of Jean-Michel Basquiat��style branding frosted with 2007 prices, the show�boasting colorful slacker paintings that ape tired recipes for artistic success�packs more hot air than Bill O’Reilly’s pleated trousers.
“Other gross-out manifestations of the art world’s gluttony include, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the return of ‘the collector-cum-investor’ (again?) and the upcoming October rehanging of Jeff Koons’s 1990 porn paintings (not again!). Second servings of gut-busting excess, developments like these compare to excellent art as Marie Antoinette’s high spirits do to Bishop Desmond Tutu’s compassion. Expressions of sheer vulgarity, they conversely magnify the work of artists whose generosity exposes the lie that contemporary art is a members-only club for rich, superficial, faddish assholes. The present antidote to piggish tidings is Sarah Sze’s blooming, bounteous installations of stuff we regularly overlook, which she effortlessly transforms into far-out Lilliputs and down-to-earth Space Odysseys…” Read more.
“Sarah Sze,” Tonya Bonakdar, New York, NY. Through Oct. 23, 2010.
Thanks for posting this review. Chelsea art is indeed in a weird place right now. I hear people are spending big on art once again, since they aren't getting return on invertments anywhere else. Touching that art continues to seen as a good investment!
I can't wait to see Sarah Sze's show of over-the-top, hard to collect installations.