POST BY PADDY JOHNSON
Christian Frosi, Zero Gallery, Milan Italy, The Independent
Christian Frosi, Zero Gallery, Independent
A testament to the fact that I’m not brilliant with self-introductions, “Are you the pilates-ball ass shadow artist?” caused a little more awkwardness than I’d anticipated. In my defense, the answer was yes and after a bit of blushing everyone got over it. Though, even after an extended conversation with the artist I no longer remember his name. I guess I’m not only guilty of inappropriately direct questions but poor reporting. Speaking of which, the artist’s gallery, Zero, needs a website that offers a few more clues about their artists than just PDFs of their resumes.
The Milan based gallery Zero showcased some of my favorite work at The Independent; the above piece for its unexpected transformation of materials. As I hinted in an earlier post today, The Independent is undoubtedly the go-to show of the fairs. It’s such a relief to see art work that isn’t exhibited in cubes as though it were all part of a giant Borg ship.
A few highlights after the jump
THE HIGHLIGHTS
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Sean Paul and Liz Deschenes. Sculptures Nora Schultz. Sutton Lane
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Reena Spaulings, Sean Paul, and Liz Deschenes at Sutton Lane
Sutton Lan represents a fair number of artists from the too-cool-for-school crowd, but beyond the hype, the installation is a good one. There’s a good deal more to this work than I’m about to report on — this is an art fair and I’m not a super genius so I decode all the work at a glance — but I like what I’m looking at. I’m particularly fond of Reena Spaulings flag which appears to be made out of sweat pant material. As a humorous representation of the nation, I can get behind this piece. Although, according to the Pop Life wall text at The Tate earlier this year, the flag is supposed to represent “a visual alternative to the ready made roles and allegiances presented by the market.” I think that’s a bit of a stretch — it’s an object for sale at an art fair — but maybe the artist intends this flag to be a little more market loving.
Eve Sussman, Yuri’s Office, Winkleman
Even if Rape of the Sabine Woman was one of the worst art films I’ve seen this decade — and it was — no one can deny Eve Sussman extraordinary talent for producing stunning sets and stills. Unfortunately, all the information I’ve got on Yuri’s Office is the photograph I took of its installation, but I assume there’s a film to match. There typically is. Winkleman displayed no works from Eve Sussman’s forthcoming movie White on White, which I’m looking forward to despite concerns that I’ll be watching the ultimate art video cliche: a non-linear narrative film exploring memory. Here’s hoping we all get lucky and either it’s not what it appears, or it transcends those problems.
Lisa Anne Auerbach, Gavlak Gallery
Lisa Anne Auerbach, Gavlak Gallery
Every mid-thirties collector needs an art cheerleader outfit that plays upon generation Y nostalgia. I suspect the fact that I immediately recognized “Exit light, enter light” as lyrics to Metallica’s Enter Sandman dates me.
Maureen Gallace, Maureen Paley Gallery
I’m not convinced these paintings are all that great, but they’re currently on display at the Whitney Biennial and worth mentioning as a result. I suppose the point I’m making, though, isn’t more complicated than this: If you like Maureen Gallace, there’s more than one place to view the work in the city this weekend.
This work is a little too corporate-art-friendly for my tastes and highlighted as such. It stands out in the show as being decidedly Armory friendly.
