|
Exceeding Paint/Expanding Painting, a group exhibition at the Pratt Manhattan gallery poses several important questions. Questions such as What is painting? What constitutes the "act" of painting? Is painting a political act? Is painting relevant in the 21st century? The curatorial decisions made aim to engage a pedagogical discourse that attempts to answer some of these questions; some times clearly some times not. The range of work included is fairly broad. From Warhol's abject "Oxidation Painting", a four panel painting composed of urine and metallic pigment, to Arturo Herrera's "Night Before Last II" which encapsulates the spontaneity of abstract expressionism and a pop graphic cartoon sensibility directly painted onto the gallery walls. Works by Louise Lawler are perhaps the most interesting because the use of photographs of famous paintings, including a Robert Rauschenberg combine painting, points to treasure trove of breakthroughs in painting. The photos are mounted onto the bottom of crystal paper weights. The sense of 20th century art historical lineage is captured in the intimate reflection of the viewer gazing into a crystal ball to find more questions than answers. Other tactics used by artists include the standard fare of installation art, some less successful than others. For example, Rina Banerjee's overly complex "In this wishing jar, where pigments take flight and limbs reach…" feels like a hodge podge of found objects positioned into a floral arrangement of sorts. It has visual references to Judy Pfaff's sculpture, yet falls short and feels like work which is still attempting to find a cohesive voice. Where as Katrin Sigurdardottir's decisive "Untitled (four boxes)" explores landscape and speculative consumption within the art world. The work is composed of four miniature shipping crates each unfolding an artificial landscape. It has a similar sensibility to Toland Grinnell's commoditized sculpture and yet offers a more thoughtful narrative to latch onto. Straight up painting is less evident here given the premise of the curatorial intentions, yet the select examples of "painting" available are not so interesting, with the exception of David Wojnarowicz's photographic collage "I Feel a Vague Nausea". The placement of this work in the gallery could have been better considered, as it is; it hangs in an awkward location at the back of the gallery. This is a shame since Wojnarowicz as well as many other contemporary artists coming out of the 1980's east village scene pushed the boundaries of painting and explored with excruciating detail the onslaught of AIDS and the simultaneous blossoming of queer politics. Wojnarowicz did so with a profound narrative that runs throughout his prolific legacy of photography, painting, installations and writing. I credit the curator Karen E. Jones for attempting to tackle some profound questions about painting and for brining together some compelling artists, I only wish she had been able to expand upon this discourse in a larger space where more consideration could be given to the works of art. By Andrew Cornell Robinson Exhibition Information:May 20 - July 16, 2005 Pratt Manhattan Gallery Artists: Rina Banerjee (U.S./India), Nils Erik Gjerdevik (Denmark), Kimberley Hart (U.S.), Arturo Herrera (Venezuela), Johannes Kahrs (Germany),Louise Lawler (U.S.) Philippe Meste (France), Peter Rostovsky (U.S./Russia), Günther Selichar (Austria), Yinka Shonibare (Nigeria/UK), and Katrin Sigurdardottir (Iceland), Andy Warhol (U.S.), David Wojnarowicz (U.S.), Mierle Laderman Ukeles (U.S.) Curator: Karen E. Jones Related Links:Exhibition
Press Release
|
What did you think
of this review? Add
your comments David Wojnarowicz "I feel a Vague Nausea", 1990 Black and white photograph, acrylic, string and text on board, 60 x 48 inches. Courtesy of P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York. 
Louise Lawler "Eye Contact", 1999-2000 Cibachrome, crystal and felt, 2 x 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 Inches. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York.  Katrin Sigurdardottir "Untitle (four boxes), 2005 Wood and modeling materials, variable dimensions. Courtesy of the artist.  Arturo Herrera "Night before last II", 2005 Acrylic mural, blue section 109 x 82 inches, green section 112 x 88 inches. Courtesy of Brent Sikkema Gallery, New York 
Mierle Laderman Ukeles "Maintenance Art Performance Series", 1973-74 Photograph of performance at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Courtesy of the Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York. Random Quotes ”All material has history. All material has its own history built into it....An artist manufactures his materials out of his own existence. - from James Leggio in “Robert Rauschenberg’s Bed and the Symbolism of the Body” "The historical starting point of "Exceeding Paint/Expanding Painting" is Mierle Laderman Ukeles' groundbreaking performance at the Wadsworth Athenaeum. Ukeles' "Maintenance Project (1973) utilizes the "action" of pouring liquid and moving it about on the entry staircase of the Athenaeum. Her gesture of washing the staircase of a "classical" museum constitutes an institutional critique of women's marginalized role within the museum context and more broadly within society at large... ...Overall, the artists in "Exceeding Paint/Expanding Painting" intensify the power of painting with their insistence on its political and social relevance, such that they exceed the restrictions of formalism in their refusal to define painting exclusively in terms of materials and the method of their application." - Karen E. Jones, Curator, "Exceeding Paint/Expanding Painting Curatorial Notes" |
