Category Archives: contemporary art

Self-Portraits from James Turrell’s show at PaceWilderstein

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Art Ravel’s 2009 Prize for Best Artwork to Take Self-Portraits With goes to…
James Turrell at PaceWildenstein


Remember holograms? They were big in the 80s. Anyhow, these seemingly 3D depictions of color by James Turrell make awesome backdrops for photographs. Awesome.

I actually saw quite a lot of abstract color when I went to Chelsea on Saturday, and this might be in a sense the purest form of it. Or it might be the transference of abstract Minamalist principles to a new medium (which seems not nearly as high-tech as it did in the 80s).

This jpeg on the left doesn’t really do the work justice either; the shifting work creates a experiential process of looking that is hard to capture. In case you are really into holograms, the show is up at Pace’s 25th St location through October 17th. It could potentially be a soul searching experience in which you touch the miraculous essence of color and exit a changed being, but most likely any reveries you have will be interrupted by inspired photographers like myself whipping out their camera phones. Maybe try to go when the gallery is less busy. : )

Outside In at LaViolaBank Gallery: Walkin’ On Broken Glass

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You enter Outside In, the group show at LaViolaBank gallery, by stepping up on a raised platform covered in cracked glass. People, understandably, paused hesitantly before crossing over it when I went to the opening Wednesday night. Under the chatter of the crowd, you could hear (and feel) the glass shattering beneath your feet. This makes for quite an introduction to the exhibition, which explores the personal/dreamy/unreal side of landscape. (LaViolaBank happens to be a block from my apartment, so not even lobster night could keep me away from the opening.)


Mira O’Brien’s aptly titled Glass Floor is laminated glass over photographs whose spreading geometric patterns mirror [get it, to mirror/on a mirror? no?] the cracking patterns of the glass. I enjoyed walking on the art, to see the art, while participating in the destruction of the art, in a visceral sense. The seascape beneath seemed a little insipid, like a stock nature scene. Maybe I was too distracted by the people to contemplate it. Either way, I enjoyed it overall. More on the project and her work on her website.

I also liked the charcoal drawings of Marina Berio. It probably looks like a photographic negative, which it was based on, in the jpeg below. The charcoal’s softer edges and matteness transformed the atmosphere of the piece. In a sense, these were the most literal pieces in this rather dreamy show, but by changing medium I thought they gained a greater atmospheric value. If you’re in the neighborhood before October 18, have a look.

Barbara Kruger at the Lever House

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This is what I saw coming to work this morning. The Lever House has a series of rotating contemporary art exhibitions in the glass ground floor lobby and they switched out a Tara Donovan piece for this. The glass is covered in bold white on black slogans. “Believe” seemed a little much for me, especially before I’d had my tea.
Courtyard with Tom Sach’s Hello Kitty figures.

Another Dollar, Another Day entrance.

But then I got sucked into the lobby. The slogans crowding the walls weren’t saccharine exhortations after all, as I realized when I saw the doors. “Another Dollar, Another Day” and “If it screams, shove it” are good examples of that. I’m guessing this is Barbara Kruger‘s work, although the Lever House website doesn’t say as much yet.

Especially inside the lobby, the slogans are overwhelming. They cover every surface, transforming the space. Midtown Manhattan is certainly a big enough target for Krugar’s commentary and, unlike some other exhibition at the Lever House, Midtown won’t be able to ignore it. I certainly couldn’t.

“Another Life, Another Love” doorway.