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Tag: New York

A show of art was planned and announced to the general public. People will get upset and then forget about it.

Published March 8, 2010

Now that Roberta Smith has had her moment kicking the New Museum / Koons / Joannou fuckfest can we finally put it to bed. The same should go for everyone who is up in arms over this whole fiasco, because lets face it, in a few months when some bright and shiny show opens and the world starts to talk about it, you will be there. Kissing its ass and air kissing the people you’ve been calling out for the last few months.

So lets just put this behind us and realize that it’s just more of the same. From both the museum and us.

I’m really sorry that Ms. Smith chose this week to comment on the New Museum show, it must have been a really slow news week as far as the art world is concerned. I understand there were only over 100 other once a year events happening within a 20 block radius of the New Museum.

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In Artforum no less…

Published March 7, 2010

Sarah K. Rich made my day yesterday when I sat down to read a bit of the recent Artforum. Unfortunately it sometimes takes someone’s death to trigger a critical response about recent trends and ideas that seem to be on the way towards canonization. In her obituary for Kenneth Noland, Ms. Rich starts with an assumption that she finds (happily) to be false about the preciousness of an art object once Mr. Noland has finished, as well as the energetic physical engagement towards his finished art object.

Let me cut to the chase here; The part of this article that impresses me – and gives me hope for future critics and curators is this:

“Now that we are several decades down the hill of popular culture, and we’ve all gotten a better idea of how frenzied and mind-numbing kitsch can be, the formalist advocacy of work that might give the viewing subject a place for the exercise of sustained and quiet attention doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Douglas Witmer at Blank Space

Published March 4, 2010

Douglas Witmer, whose work I’ve spoken of a few times on his blog, has a show opening tonight at Blank Space (511 25th Street) in Chelsea. I spent a few moments at the install with Douglas and the team at the gallery and before I wore out my welcome I snapped a few pictures of paintings still wrapped in plastic.

Even with that, it looks to be a good show. I’ll be there tonight, hope I see you.

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While I dream of riding a bicycle down the Guggenheim…

Published March 2, 2010

Flesh and Blood, Iron and Steel. This lot is worth more – Joe Strummer

Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle, will open May 12th at the Museum of Arts and Design. Displaying the work of six renowned bicycle builders whose work in metal are some of the high points of this individual craft. Organized by Michael Maharam and Sacha White this survey is presented as part of the MADProjects exhibition series, which explores emerging trends and innovations in the design world.

The twenty-one handbuilt bicycles are at the intersection of design, craft, and art, and include a range of contemporary designs: fixed-gear, road racing, cyclocross, mountain, and commuter bicycles, as well as the stripped-down randonneur, designed exclusively for long-distance racing. The exhibition features bicycles by: Mike Flanigan, Alternative Needs Transportation (A.N.T); Jeff Jones, Jeff Jones Custom Bicycles; Dario Pegoretti, Pegoretti Cicli; Richard Sachs, Richard Sachs Cycles; J. Peter Weigle, J. Peter Weigle Cycles; and Sacha White, Vanilla Bicycles.


Above: a Dario Pegoretti bicycle

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Thank you Joanne Mattera

Published February 18, 2010

Thanks go to Joanne Mattera for including me in her recent post titled “Color Forms Part 1”. (URL) It’s nice to be included in such company as Richard Bottwin, Stanley Whitney, and Lloyd Martin to name a few.

So, thanks.

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