Find me at Hyperallergic…
…where I’m talking about William Powhida’s show at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles.
…where I’m talking about William Powhida’s show at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles.
A painting by Zak Smith. From the artist’s solo exhibit, Maximum Everything Always, at Fredericks & Freiser in New York. Opens Thursday, in Chelsea. (Image courtesy of the artist and Fredericks & Freiser.)
From top: Rolling Thunder (Night for Day), from 2013; a series of sketches; and Waiting for Dawn, 2011.
LAST CHANCE: There is an absolutely stunning show of paintings by Susanna Heller on view at Magnan Metz in Chelsea. The show includes her signature brooding landscapes, but there are also a couple of walls of sketches (worth examining) as well as a suite of works that chronicle her husband’s illness. In these latter pieces, I almost felt as if I could smell the rubbing alcohol and hear the blip of the heart monitor. The machinery in these images seems to have a disconcerting life of its own. I simply couldn’t look away.
The works are absolutely staggering for their intensity, intimacy and visual punch. Do not miss this show.
Susanna Heller, Phantom Pain, is on view at Magnan Metz through this Saturday, April 20.
Sandy Says So, 2012, by Lisa Adams. Part of the artist’s solo exhibit, Second Life, at CB1 Gallery. Opens Sunday at 5pm, in downtown Los Angeles. (Image courtesy of the artist and CB1.)
In other news: The Ken Johnson kerfuffle has reared its head again. I’m on deadline, so here’s the short of it: Johnson just penned a piece in Art in America in response to a critique by David Levi-Strauss about his work reviewing shows concerning female and African-American artists. (While I generally agree with some of Levi-Strauss’s points, the whole “my students say this” and “my students say that” set-up of his essay is totally passive aggressive.) Johnson defends his positions in his new essay, and, in response, the white male status quo has taken to Facebook to give the New York Times critic some hearty bro slaps.
While I haven’t been wild about all of the critiques of Johnson’s work (I think the petition could have been more nuanced and Levi-Strauss just needed to strap on a pair and not lay his arguments on his anonymous students), I agree with many of the points being made. Johnson has a real bee in his bonnet about shows built around gender or identity. That is, gender or identity that isn’t white or male.
A lot of the Facebook comments keep going on about how Johnson’s work is being taken out of context and that this is all some sort of witch hunt. It is most certainly not. (The original petition, to be clear, does not call for Johnson’s censure. It merely asks that the New York Times acknowledge and address Johnson’s “editorial lapses.” This could have been done in the Public Editor column, or by running a letter to the editor with a response. The petition’s language is vague. But it is most certainly not calling for Johnson to be fired.)
For the record, I don’t have a problem with all of Johnson’s work. I’ve quite enjoyed some of his reviews in the past. But in the arena of gender and identity, I find him distressingly narrow-minded. I think a close read of the new Art in America essay is evidence of that. And certainly, a close read of some his previous work is, too. I did that the first time around. See my previous essay on the subject.
What bums me out the most in all of this is the artists — the ones who won’t get a nuanced criticism of their work in the New York Times because of who they happen to be.
It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited about a gallery show. Henry Taylor at Blum & Poe is definitely one to see if you live in L.A. Stand Tall - Y’all, 2013, above, was one of my favorite pieces in the show. I like the texture of the man’s overalls, the mysterious hand and the unusual scale of the horse.
A view of the plowed earth installation in the main gallery. Taylor’s show is on view through Saturday.
Gravity and Grace, 2010, by El Anatsui. Currently on view as part of the artist’s solo exhibit Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui, at the Brooklyn Museum through August 4. (Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery. Photo by Andrew McAllister.)
The Lost Frontier, 1997-2005, by Llyn Foulkes. (Image courtesy of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.)
Hi Folks:
I had the great honor of profiling painter Llyn Foulkes for NPR News. Not only did I get to spend some quality time in his studio, I got a private concert on his one-man band, The Machine. Plus I got to see his collection of curiosities (skulls!). Foulkes has an an all-kinds-of-gangbusters retrospective at the Hammer Museum: gritty, funny, desperate, intense, and beautiful, with works, such as The Last Frontier, above, that are just mind-boggling in their content and material construction.
Pleasepleaseplease click over to my story or stream it below — and if you’re in SoCal, definitely check out the show. It’s up through May 19.
xox,
C.
P.S. After you’ve listened, check out this performance of Llyn playing “Your Cheatin’ Heart” on The Machine. ♥♥♥♥
Madawaska, Acadian Light-Heavy, Third Arrangement, 1940 by Marsden Hartley. Part of the Whitney Museum exhibit American Legends: From Calder to O’Keeffe. (Photo by Sheldan C. Collins. Courtesy of the Whitney Museum.)
***Please please please vote for my Richard Jackson story over at KCET so that it gets made into a video segment and I don’t suffer INTERNET SHAME on par with Denver the Dog. Voting ends ended on Monday evening morning. Never mind! I lost… (Though you should totally watch the Denver the Dog video, which came to me courtesy of John Powers.)
*** PLUS: Congrats to Maggie and Chris for winning the Tony Smith T-shirts! And thanks to INCCA-North America for supplying them.