Contemporary art enthusiasts who eschew art history and the work from other cultures in favor of solely focusing on the present miss a critical link in understanding current art. Artists continually mine the past. Recognizing the use of and nuance from antecedents is part of the appreciation and pleasure of contemporary work.

Richard Jackson at the Orange County Museum of Art

This approach is in clear evidence in the wonderful Richard Jackson Retrospective currently on view at the Orange County Museum of Art through May 5.  Although I had not previously been a fan of the work, this show won me over. Imagination and an unconventional spirit infuse the pieces. The exhibition is filled with innovation, bold execution and plenty of artistic connection to both antecedents and contemporaries. Take pleasure in the nod to Jacques-Louis David, Duchamp, Pollock, Keinholz, Richter, Nauman and others.

HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART, HAWAII

Hashimoto Chikanobu, “Japanese Ministers at Meiji Period”, 1886,
color woodblock print, Honolulu Art Museum

As a viewer, I look to the past as well as other multiple visual sources wherever I find them to inform my own insight and information. On a recent visit to Honolulu, surf & sand had some serious competition from the visual treasures at the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. The Asian collection at the Museum is considered one of the most important in American museums, particularly the Chinese, Japanese and Korean Art. Every room is meticulously installed and contains breathtaking examples from the collection. The Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, which number over 10,000, contain numerous masterworks which are rotated every two months due to their fragility and sensitivity to light.

Tony Oursler at the Honolulu Museum of Art, video installation

The galleries of American and European paintings are swathed in color, installed with great wit as period and scale are effectively integrated. A contemporary exhibition of Tony Oursler added to the broad stroke across time and place.

DORIS DUKE FOUNDATION FOR ISLAMIC ARTS AND CULTURE, HONOLULU

Guest House at Shangri La, the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art

Room in Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation

The Honolulu Museum also coordinates tours of Shangri La, the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts and Cultures, which opened to the public in 2002. Shangri La was built in the late 1930s on five acres near Diamond Head. Incorporating architectural features, artifacts and objects, the collection was assembled over 60 years.  It is a tribute to Duke’s love of beauty and her passion for Islamic culture, combining both connoisseurship with considerable personal license.

BIRDS OF PARADISE PROJECT

One of 39 species, Birds of Paradise Project

Speaking of the exotic, the Broad Stage in Santa Monica just featured a program on the Birds of Paradise Project. Cornel Lab of Ornithology scientist, Ed Scholes and National Geographic photographer, Tim Laman, have succeeded in capturing the most astounding images of all 39 species in the bird-of-paradise family for the very first time. It took 8 years and 18 expeditions to New Guinea, Australia and nearby islands. Check out the video!

TASCHEN

“The Book of Symbols”, Taschen, 2010

Lastly, while browsing at Taschen, I discovered “The Book of Symbols”, published in 2010. Taschen books are often like beautiful art objects in themselves. This handbook of visual experience throughout history is one such book. Professor James Harris of John Hopkins University described it as “a compendium of transformative images and essays, an essential guide for all explorers of the inner life.” Open any section of the book and you will find a visual orgy of delight. At $40, we’re talking great value!

DOROTHY GOLDEEN ART ADVISORY
A consultancy in modern and contemporary art, guiding clients with
access and expertise, throughout the international art community.

Please contact us to learn more about the Advisory and how we can be of assistance to you in the acquisition or resale of the best in modern and contemporary art. 

Lesley Vance & Ricky Swallow at the Huntington Art Gallery, San Marino

Renown for its European art, the Huntington Art Gallery is currently hosting its’ first exhibition of contemporary painting and sculpture, showcasing the work of the Los Angeles-based artists Lesley Vance and Ricky Swallow. The exhibition is a visual dialogue between the two artists who also happen to be husband and wife.

Lesley Vance, “Untitled”, 2010, oil on linen, 16 x 12″, Huntington Art Gallery

Lesley Vance is one of my favorite abstract painters so I was particularly intrigued to see her work in this context. While the conversation between the two artists is of some note, the serendipity lies in her relationship to the European paintings in adjacent galleries. Vance’s process begins with a still-life setup. Through reduction, insight and ingenuity, she transforms the shapes into pure abstraction. While passing through various rooms at the Huntington, Vance’s palette and composition find great resonance in the historical echo. It’s a lovely viewing experience, until March 11.

William Harnett, “After the Hunt”, 1883, oil on canvas, 52 x 34″, at the Huntington Galleries

January Fairs

By the time the January art fairs begin, the town has recovered from New Year’s and is ready to roll. Photo LA kicked off on January 17 at the Santa Monica Civic Center. The LA Art Show followed on January 23 at the LA Convention Center and Art Los Angeles Contemporary debuted on January 24 at the Barker Hangar. The fair organizers know well that the education and social programming surrounding the fair add an important component and a foil to the primary commercial goals. What struck me this year is the degree to which these programs have become an anchor.

“Robert Redford and Paul Newman”, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, photograph at Photo LA

Photo LA was not a particularly compelling show (although I love the photo above), but the four days of various panel discussions and presentations that coincided with it were impressive. I attended two of the Saturday sessions. In the first one, Weston Naef, Curator Emeritus, Dept of Photographs, J. Paul Getty Museum, moderated a 6-person panel that included prominent collectors Daniel Greenberg and Michael Wilson along with Keith F. Davis, Senior Curator of Photography, Nelson-Atkins Museum, among others. Another panel featured Tulsa Kinney, Editor of Artillery magazine guiding a fascinating discussion with curator and writer, Colin Westerbeck and museum-collected artist, Ken Gonzales-Day.

The LA Art Show was generally missable from my perspective. The highlight of the show was the exhibition, Letters from Los Angeles: Text in Southern California Art, curated by Jack Rutberg in association with Aldis Browne. Jack moderated a panel with Alexis Smith and other artists from the exhibition discussing the significance of text in their work. Another panel featured two of Los Angeles’ most seasoned collectors, Clifford Einstein and Blake Byrne in conversation with Bruce Helander. Despite the uneven quality of exhibitors, the fair provided a valuable opportunity to learn from the pros.

Neil Beloufa, “Untitled”, 2012, steel, electical outlet, MDF plywood, 55 x 40″, at ALAC

Art LA Contemporary, had a much edgier program of speakers and events, including an introductory presence for MOCAtv. The exhibitor offerings were lively and fresh, mostly from US and European galleries. Two artists particularly caught my eye, Dan Rees at Jonathan Viner and Neil Beloufa at Francois Ghebaly. Both artists featured work that addressed aspects of everyday consumerism and commodification. Dees showed paintings in vacuum-formed plastic recalling product packaging. Beloufa showed a minimalist painting with electrical outlets for plugging in devices, like charging an iPad. Beloufa screened five films as part of the events program. He has a current solo show at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and will be doing a project later this year at the Hammer Museum. While the focus is on offerings within the booths, there is much to gain from offerings outside of them.

Llyn Foulkes at the Hammer Museum

Llyn Foulkes, “Dali and Me”, 2006, mixed media, 33 x 26″, collection of Hammer Museum

Speaking of the Hammer, the Llyn Foulkes exhibition opened February 3 and it is a knock-out. The show is so thoughtfully curated and thoroughly illuminating as to cement the artist’s career. While many pieces are drawn from institutional collections, the synergy created by the whole is what a retrospective strives to be.

Lee Mullican, “Ninnekah Calendar”, 1951, 30 x 50″, collection of Hammer Museum

In adjacent galleries, selections from the Grunwald Center and the Hammer Contemporary Collection are on view. Artists such as Mary Weatherford, Lee Mullican and Kori Newkirk add to a very satisfying visit.

DOROTHY GOLDEEN ART ADVISORY
A consultancy in modern and contemporary art, guiding clients with
access and expertise, throughout the international art community.

Please contact us to learn more about the Advisory and how we can be of assistance to you in the acquisition or resale of the best in modern and contemporary art. 

Meg Cranston, "California", Hammer lobby installation, 2011

What do we want from a biennial exhibition or any large survey show?  We want to be blown away!  We want to see something that changes our world view.  Whether we see the sixty artists in “Made in LA” or the two hundred artists now on view at Documenta in Kassel, Germany, we go with excitement and anticipation.  I’m always hoping to discover new talent, even genius. I want to be surprised by artists I know or find reaffirmation of their breadth and contribution; I expect to be challenged and rewarded visually and intellectually.  I will come away with a shortlist of those works that personally move me.

LAXART, building exterior, commissioned mural by Crew 777

“Made in LA”, on view until September 2, is organized by the Hammer Museum in collaboration with the dynamic, nonprofit space, LAXART. The show is spread across town in three venues, the Hammer in Westwood, LAXART in Culver City and Barnsdall Park Municipal Gallery in Los Feliz. Five curators identified the emerging and under-recognized artists as exemplary of the energy, innovation and creativity boiling in the vast Los Angeles melting pot. Hailing from diverse cities, backgrounds and nationalities, no single trend or viewpoint defines the exhibition. Yet opaque meaning or alternatively, multiple interpretations, illusion or disillusion, subversion, distorted truth and disrupted continuity are common threads. Painting, sculpture, drawing, photography and video reside together, engaging materials and methods that may be surprising.

My own shortlist is divided among the artists that predominately explore offshoots of traditional painting and sculpture, and those artists whose practice is more reliant on other visual forms. In the first group are artists such as Analia Saban, Mimi Lauter and Jill Spector. In the second group are Ryan Sluggett, Liz Glynn, Morgan Fisher, Meg Cranston and The Propeller Group. Together they echo the broad concerns of the Biennial.

Analia Saban "Erosion (Room) #2", laser-sculpted acrylic on canvas, 38 x 58"

Born in Buenos Aires, Analia Saban has been rigorously questioning the nature of what constitutes painting and the way in which it merges into sculptural territory. With a subtle palette, the form of the canvas is manipulated with bulges and tears and the paint texture becomes physical. The work is quirky, fresh and somehow elegant.

Mimi Lauter, "Swaddled Dawn", 2010, oil pastel, 70 x 110", Collection of the Hammer Museum

Originally from San Francisco, Mimi Lauter uses oil pastel for a rich, painterly sensibility. Most dramatic on a large-scale, the pieces hover between abstraction and representation with a reference to landscape and animals. Lauter maintains a purposeful ambiguity that denies narrative translation. A typical piece can measures over 9’ in length.

Jill Spector, "Chorus 1/3", 2010, mixed media, 50 x 24"

Jill Spector creates inventive, mixed media sculptures whose underlying form and structure support an initial visual chaos. The work looks tenuous and is unpredictable but has a beguiling and unique character. She uses materials such as plaster, wood, steel and paper mache. Color photocopies are incorporated into the sculptures and are also found in her two-dimensional wall-mounted collages.

Ryan Sluggett, "Family Limo", 2011, Acrylic, fabric dye, tempera, oil on colored fabric, 93 x 145"

Paintings and animation by Ryan Sluggett are a lively addition to the presentation at the Hammer. As further evidence of the hybrid nature of current artwork, Sluggett’s work often begins as a drawing. As it progresses, it may become a painting or fuel animation for a video. The major piece on view is a high-keyed animation encased in a painting that functions like a sculpture. The narrative is elusive but the sense of intrigue holds the eye.

Meg Cranston, Hammer lobby installation, Bic lighters, 2011

The integration of art and architecture have been used to great effect by the Hammer in their lobby installations. The tradition continues with Meg Cranston’s two wall murals. Her welcoming piece, “California” (above) effectively sets the mood for the entire exhibition. The Bic lighters on the opposite wall reflect Cranston’s fascination with color theory and the process of archiving. Chosen from Pantone’s 2012 spring/summer forecast, the piece makes a humorous nod to fashion and the trend driven nature of the art world itself.

Morgan Fisher, Installation view, upper floor, Hammer Museum

Upstairs on the second floor, Morgan Fisher created a formal and optically intriguing painting on two perpendicular walls and the adjacent ceiling. Reminiscent of fresco painting whose form relies on the architecture, the piece can be seen in it’s entirety from only a single vantage point. However, walking from any direction, the color creates a frame for the surrounding views, making reference to the artist’s ongoing interest in film and filmmaking.

Liz Glynn, "III", 2010, reclaimed wooden forklift pallets, housing for performances, 16 x 27 x 27'

Liz Glynn has created a practice that involves multiple dimensions and concerns.   She works alternatively on monumental site-specific pieces, object works like those on view at the Hammer and performance pieces with public engagement. The conceptual aspect of the work interfaces with a complex physicality, all of it informed by her research and travel, with a focus on history and politics and manifest with an economy of means. The piece titled “III” from 2010 illustrates these attributes. Comprised of reclaimed, wooden forklift palettes, Glynn created a majestic yet poignant pyramid, recalling both contemporary and ancient labor and commerce.  It  also functioned as a housing for a series of performances she arranged.

The Propeller Group, Installation view, "TVC Communism", 2011, commissioned for Singapore Biennele

The Propeller Group is a collective of three artists, Phunam Thuc Ha, Matt Lucero and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, that acts as a media production company. They are based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Los Angeles.  Their tools are television, film, video and the internet, which they use to distributed art and non-art projects to mass audiences. The piece on view at Barnsdall, titled “TVC Communism”, is intended to “rebrand” the ideologies of communism by using the format of a capitalist television commercial. It feels like a friendly talk-show. The circular installation of monitors is immediately inviting. The format is so convincing and disarming, it subverts the provocative nature of the message.  In a chilling way, it mimics the kind of  manipulation to which we are frequently exposed.

LAXART, Billboard on La Cienega, commissioned for "Made in LA"

It is an understatement to say the Biennial is a complicated endeavor. Each artist, or collaborative, is worthy of unique consideration. The extensive catalog offers an opportunity to read detailed statements about each of the participants. Adding to the buzz is the Mohn Award, a $100,000 prize and publication of a book, that will be awarded to one artist from the exhibition. A jury of professional curators from around the country will select five finalists from the sixty artists. The winner will be chosen by viewers who sign up to vote on-line.  Move over, American Idol.  In addition, from July 13-15, a boardwalk Biennial, of it’s own ingenious character, will grace Ocean Front Walk at Venice Beach. Information and the details surrounding the Biennial may be accessed on the impressive website www.madeinla2012.org.

DOROTHY GOLDEEN ART ADVISORY
A consultancy in modern and contemporary art, guiding clients with
access and expertise, throughout the international art community.

Please contact us to learn more about the Advisory and how we can be of assistance to you in the acquisition or resale of the best in modern and contemporary art. 

Frieze tent exterior

The inaugural Frieze Art Fair on Randall’s Island in New York, May 4-7, was both a highly anticipated event and a barometer for the viability of another significant art fair, in New York specifically, and on the international art calendar generally. Despite the naysayers and the risks involved, Frieze hit a homerun. Tickets were available in advance and only online. On Sunday the fair was sold-out.

Frieze interior

The choice of Randall’s Island was highly suspect by New Yorkers, but it turned out to be a delightful venue and easily accessible by ferry, taxi and bus. The bespoke “tent”, created by the Brooklyn architecture firm, Solid Objectives-Indeburg Liu (SO-IL), was a structure like no other. Immense and sensuous, with soaring height and an excess of natural light, views to the park’s greenery and open spaces within the fair, it was both complementary to the artwork and a pleasure to navigate.  Frieze founders, Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, are the publishers of Frieze Magazine and the seasoned veterans of the Frieze Fair in London, which they initiated in 2003. Their expertise and discernment suffused every aspect of the event. From the excellent roster of galleries to the sumptuous food provided by Manhattan favorites such as Sant Ambroesus and the Fat Radish, the exhibitor and visitor experience was paramount.

Anish Kapoor wall piece & Ai Weiwei sculpture at Lisson booth

Isaac Julien photograph and Yayoi Kusama sculpture at Victoria Miro booth

The heart of every fair lies in the selection of exhibitors. Frieze presented over 180 exhibitors from 30 countries including top international galleries like Gagosian, Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth and White Cube. While prominent artists graced many booths, two special sections, titled “Focus” and “Frame”, were devoted to younger galleries, vetted from the US, Europe, China, Japan, Turkey and Russia, among others. In these areas the majority of artists were not widely known.

Tonico Lemos Auad (hanging sculpture) & Jim Hodges (on bed) at Stephen Friedman booth

While the entire atmosphere of the fair is of a convivial nature, the stakes remain high for the galleries. They must curate a strong presentation, establish the quality of their brands, make substantial sales to cover their overhead, engage new contacts and earn an invitation to subsequent fairs. The huge amount of business now transacted during the art fairs makes participation in them mandatory and highly competitive. Sales are always a top priority, securing the next booth in the best fairs is a simultaneous goal.

Thomas Scheibitz, Charles Long & Olafur Eliasson at Tanya Bonakdar booth

In addition to a heady buying opportunity, the most successful fairs also offer a platform for education and exposure to a wide range of aesthetic viewpoints. Programmed by Cecilia Alemani, Frieze Talks offered presentations, panels and discussions with artists, curators and other art world commentators. Luminaries such as Glenn Lowry, Director of MOMA, Okwui Enwezor, Director of the Haus der Kunst in Munich and artist, Taryn Simon, were among the speakers. There were guided tours and an outdoor sculpture park curated by Tom Eccles. Fifteen artists were presented including Ernesto Neto and Subodh Gupta.

Ernesto Neto at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

After the fair, I spent several days previewing the auctions and visiting the galleries. Frieze has consciously aligned its dates with the Spring contemporary auctions, a strategy that has worked for Frieze in London and for HK12, the Hong Kong fair produced by ArtBasel coming up May 17. With ArtBasel Switzerland opening June 14, the era of attending all of the fairs every year is over. So pick your favorites around the globe – from New York and Miami, to London, Paris and Madrid, to Dubai, Hong Kong or Delhi. And then the secondary fairs in Chicago, Brussels or Shanghai – and what about Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Santa Fe or Aspen…

DOROTHY GOLDEEN ART ADVISORY
A consultancy in modern and contemporary art, guiding clients with
access and expertise, throughout the international art community.

Please contact us to learn more about the Advisory and how we can be of assistance to you in the acquisition or resale of the best in modern and contemporary art.