Galleries – Page 5 – Matthew Langley Artblog

John Chamberlain at Paula Cooper

Published March 24, 2011

Like many folks, I’ve enjoyed John Chamberlain’s artworks of crushed, bent and twisted steel – usually made of car parts. Admittedly my enjoyment is purely from looking at the physical embodiment of some Dionysisian example of this work. Thats not as shallow as it may sound because, yes, I do understand that his work – built with a spontaneous “fit” versus a traditional planned approach is the core of the work. In a way if you were to compare his work to one of his contemporaries such as Mark di Suvero you could make the case that Chamberlain is Dionysian to di Suvero’s Apollonian. And that’s not a bad thing – far from it. In pop music you could call Iggy Pop Dionysian and David Bowie Apollonian. To get back to the point Chamberlains physicality and his control or at the least, his relationship to control is almost always interesting.

However today while I was at Paula Cooper I had the realization that Chamberlain’s work in todays context is political and well as physical. Walking through the gallery with these artworks from the early 60’s through the 90’s I saw pieces of Detroit, bent and twisted, sitting on a pedestal of sorts – waiting to become part of history. Not unlike the Detroit of today.

I realize that is not the “approved reading” of his work – but today it just screamed at me.

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Pat Steir: Winter Paintings at Cheim and Read

Published March 21, 2011

Pat Steir’s current show at Cheim and Read is a dance of the controlled act of painting and the understanding that it (her work) is never a controlled act. Steir’s approach of pouring, throwing and splashing paint has precedent from other painters but it is her intention via the loss of control that breaks down any easy assumptions about the work. Her process, rooted firmly in a position of choices allows for random surprises inside a controlled system that reinforces this cerebral underpinning. The resulting end result is an artwork that is intellectual, mystical and beautiful.

I don’t think the three of these end results are at odds with each other in Steir’s work. More to the point it is that balancing act between beauty and pure intellect that allows the work to find to embrace both sides of the coin and to achieve something far greater.

The physical qualities of the work – multilayered with shimmering colors and metallic’s, divided loosely (mostly into two parts) could be read as metaphorical decisions – really an almost base two binary thought to the image. (Understand this as: left/right, hot/cold, right/wrong, control/random, etc) The work carries a lightness of approach that is neither delivering answers to the binaries nor is it guiding you toward a “correct answer”, whatever that might be. The open ended-ness of the work reinforces the mental rigor of the work while also allowing you enjoy the true decadence that is the enjoyment of viewing something merely for pleasure.

Pat Steir: Winter Paintings runs through March 26 at Cheim and Read

East Coast / West Coast

Published March 16, 2011

I’m currently in two shows that are both pretty interesting – funny enough they are on opposite coasts, so if you can see one, you will probably miss the other one unless you are some jet setting international man or woman of mystery.

Material World at Art DC in Hyattsville, MD is Curated by Stephen Boocks.

Material World features; Sherill Anne Gross, Michael Janis, J. T. Kirkland, Matthew Langley, Katherine Mann, and Marie Ringwald

The commitment these artists have for their materials and craft lets their processes inform the content of the work, not overwhelm it,” notes curator Stephen Boocks. “While viewers will inevitably wonder how the works were made and will marvel at the technical prowess, the pieces selected ultimately transcend the materials used, allowing each finished object to stand on its own.

Material World runs from March 17th – April 3rd

Life of The World To Come: Darkness Falls Upon Us, at NIAD, Richmmond, CA is curated by Timothy Buckwalter.

Shattering the conventions that have until now segregated artists with disabilities from their mainstream contemporaries, Darkness Falls Upon Us blends more than 70 works culled from artists and galleries across the country with those from the National Institute of Art and Disabilities studio program.

Darkness… features; Kate Bingaman Burt, Martin Bromirski, Bill Dunlap, Sylvia Fragoso, Stephen Hendee, Cliff Hengst, Eva Lake, Matthew Langley, David Martin, Tim McFarlane, Mike Monteiro, Rosita Pardo, Michele Pred, Kevin Randolph, Edmund Shea, Danny Thach, Vincent Villenueva, Billy White, Deirdre F. White, Jim Winters, and Michael Zahn

Life of The World To Come: Darkness Falls Upon Us is on view April 4 through June 3, 2010

Bowie, Hirst, Schnabel, posted without comment

Published March 8, 2011

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Christian Marclay “The Clock” at Paula Cooper

Published February 11, 2011

I’m a fan of Marclay’s work, but with any artist some things hit and some things miss (sometimes by a lot, sometimes by a little) The two pieces by Marclay at Paula Cooper right now – it’s both.

I would guess the big story would be the premier of Marclay’s new video work – which I love the premise of. The video is 24 hours and it corresponds with the time of day in the location it’s being shown in – in other words when it’s 4:18 on the screen, it’s 4:18 in reality or in this case, New York City. In that part it’s clever. In watching it, I became focused on what time it was and how it was displayed that the narrative really went away (this could also be because there is no narrative). I found myself thinking about time, processing time in my head, and waiting for the next image of the clock to appear.

Funny enough, I found myself more interested in this outside the gallery (before and after) than inside actually watching the piece. Was it because I had just connected with a friend from out of town and wanted to talk or was it something else. Not sure. However the piece is a winner – I’m just not sure it’s a winner when you are in front of it. So it may be a bit problematic.

Also on display is a sculpture, Moebius Loop (image above) created of cassette tapes and zip ties, it’s use of reclaimed materials and cheap connections make for a very engaging artwork. In thinking deeper about the use of zip ties on this work – I started thinking a bit about how music connects communities through common language and events. In both of these pieces Marclay gives us a good bit to think about.

Bonus Play: “The Clock” to me carries with it a shared approach with Warhol’s “Screen Tests”. Intial viewing of the screen test may be viewed in many ways, but while viewing the screen tests I always started to become aware of time – knowing these were only three minutes. Often the seemed like the longest three minutes I had encountered.

(above) Christian Marclay. Moebius Loop, 1994, cassette tapes, nylon ties; 24 x 84 x 240 in.