After spending most of December in Washington, DC, I was happy to be back in Bushwick on New Year’s Day drinking mimosas at Jason Andrew’s Norte Maar, Deborah Brown’s new gallery, Storefront Bushwick, and Paul D’Agostino’s Centotto. Here are some images from “Guilty/(Not) Guilty,” an excellent show curated by arts writer Sarah Schmerler at Norte Maar, featuring work by Ellen Letcher, Francesco Masci, Alfred Steiner, and Pablo Tauler. Look for images from the other shows later this week. Note: The text below is lifted from Schmerler’s statement.
The exhibition introduces four New York-based, contemporary artists who
paint, draw, and make conceptual projects in methods that both take for
granted � and re-cast �what society considers as being good, reasonable
(and therefore valid) reasons for making a work of art.
imagery, but rather as an adhesive for affixing photos of consumer-goods
(and other disturbing content!) ripped from mass-produced magazines and
newspapers. She also co-runs a gallery called Famous Accountants in
Ridgewood, where she shows new work by local artists.
Google surfer, classically trained Italian painter. He�s depicted
(among other things) his girlfriend lying on a couch as a naked
odalisque surrounded by raw meat; Twitter birds pooping on Charles
Darwin�s head, and other phantasmagorical subjects with the accuracy of
an Archimboldo.
Alfred Steiner: a copyright lawyer by day, Steiner bought a painting at CANADA gallery
on the Lower East Side by Allison Schulnik (top image), and had a replica of it
fabricated with a 3-D printer. Both, now considered a single artwork,
are n the show.
Pablo Tauler:
a dreamy sort of guy who knows how to rock a ballpoint pen. Born in
Chile (and into Pinochet�s reign of terror), he had a tough time growing
up as a teen in suburban Maryland. Now he transforms his memories into
airy, luminous drawings.
Related posts:
The James Kalm Report chats with Sarah Schmerler during the opening reception. Schmerler talks about the artists’ work and the important role instinct plays in curating. Watch it: it’s excellent. (Don’t miss the recent NYTimes article about Loren Munk, the guy behind The James Kalm Report.)
Must read: James Panero writes about the Bushwick arts community in his January Gallery Chronicle column in The New Criterion.
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Sharon, your informed viewing (and support!) are much appreciated. I hope you will have a chance to talk further with me about the work, the site, and about writing and artists in general. This is wonderful! -SS
Amazing art! Very nice blog as well.