Art Matters on the Lower East Side

Monica and Jean in front of Maya Hayuk's graffiti wall on Houston Street

There are a number of art galleries that pepper the streets on the Lower East Side and here are some highlights from my walk about with artist Jean Alexander Frater.

View at Frosch & Portmann Gallery

David Hayward, Untitled
2013
oil on panel
15 x 18 in

David Hayward, Untitled
2013
oil on panel
15 x 18 in

The Frosch & Portmann Gallery on Stanton Street is an intimate space that has a solo show featuring the oil paintings of David Hayward on display until April 6^th, 2014. Hayward’s abstract paintings are left untitled to leave interpretation up to the viewer and depict a shape that embodies the panel. There is great use of positive and negative space in Hayward’s compositions that allude to nature and maps along with many other correlations that can be associated with his imagery. There is a tranquility in his work that is thoughtful yet informal and he strikes a gentle balance between his contrasting colors, textures and dominant shape. David Hayward is one to watch.

Jean observing Laura Watt's Crux Crucis Hermetica, 2013
oil on canvas
60 x 60 in

 

Laura Watt, Crossing
2014
oil on canvas
36 x 30 in

Laura Watt, Vector Finding
2014
oil on canvas
36 x 30 in

The McKenzie Fine Art Gallery featured large-scale paintings by Laura Watt that dazzled Jean and I with their hypnotic patterns that created rhythmic grid compositions with strong contrasting colors. When you read her press release it reveals her inspirations like comic book imagery and 1960s rock posters, which is evident in her psychedelic, vector formations that alter in shape and scale. Her works are dynamic and her technique is dutifully mastered as she constructs pulsating patterns with dexterous line work that demonstrates her talent and deft hand.

 

Rusty Shackleford, Slick Shoes
2013
C Print
36 x 29 in

Gallery view of original magazine images after they are placed on scanner by Rusty Shackleford.

The spacious Cindy Rucker Gallery on Attorney Street had a solo show titled Repeater by Chicago based artist Rusty Shackleford. His works are comprised of magazine papers that are obscured by paint applications and are further altered by being smashed on his scanner that generates a work of art created by chance. The final result is an enlarged digital print that is the result of his process and produces works that are unpredictable and random. I like the process of combining digital tools and fine art talents, but I was less impressed with the final results that sometimes felt incomplete and at times disconnected to the magazine image itself. Some prints were stronger than others with paint smudges and splats that spontaneously integrated. There are some great ideas and techniques in Shackleford's work, but the work can be further developed to speak to the artists statement and have more visual appeal.

Lucy Kim
Your Nose Is My Nose (1) 2014
oil paint, various plastics, spray paint on wood panel
20 x 16 in

Lucy Kim
Your Nose Is My Nose (2) 2014
oil paint, various plastics, spray paint on wood panel
20 x 16 in

The Lisa Cooley Gallery had a group show that recently closed titled We play at paste, which gets its title from an Emily Dickinson poem. Lucy Kim was one of the artists in the show and I enjoyed her 3-Dimensional works that featured molds of various mouths and noses composed on wood panels that read as playful and pliable in their asymmetrical arrangements. In Your Nose Is My Nose (1), Kim's use of space and color creates profile images that are subtle and complementary to her 3-D forms and does not overwhelm the background. In her second panel the ribbon-like lines that surround the features conjure up the idea of deflated balloons and prompts comparisons to what it is to be a child and/or adult.

Arting Around in Chelsea, NYC

Winter may be overstaying its welcome, but the New York art scene is flourishing with some big shows in March like The Whitney Biennial and The Armory Show. The talented Chicago based artist Jean (aka Jenny and Jen) Alexander Frater came to New York City to visit and tour the art scene the first few days of March and we became art nerds. 
Jean's commitment and passion for her art making is infectious, as well as her desire to seek out art and artists that awe and inspire. We explored some Chelsea and Lower East Side galleries and got to attend the very popular Whitney Biennial opening reception, which was the culmination of our time together. Here are my highlights of artists and impressions from our art expedition in Chelsea. More to come soon about the LES and Whitney Biennial! 

Richard Kalina, Signal, 2012
watercolor and ink on paper
22.5 x 30 in

Jean at the Lennon, Weinberg Gallery

Richard Kalina is exhibiting new paintings and watercolors at the Lennon, Weinberg Gallery  and this was my first time seeing his work up close and personal. I am attracted to his process and final abstract results that can be associated with many different ideas and concepts in science and nature.  The titles of these recent works refer to Mathematics and The Sciences, however, do not expect literal representation;  but rather playful and colorful constructs that are repetitive and harmonious in shape, line and color.  I particularly like his watercolor and ink on paper creations. They are simple yet complicated with obsessive lines and sporadic squares of color. The geometry of the piece possesses a meditative quality that simultaneously feels both spontaneous and contained. Kalina also has some new collage works that use the raw canvas as part of the composition along with colorful painted pieces of rice paper assembled in celestial-like arrangements utilizing shape and color to drive the piece.

Valerie Jaudon
painting at Stux Gallery

Valerie Jaudon, close-up of painting

Next door, we discover Valerie Jaudon's paintings (who is married to Kalina, who knew?) who is part of a group show at the Stux Gallery titled ….if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?  The eclectic group show pays tribute to the coming of Spring and ushers in some fresh, contemporary works. Jaudon ‘s paintings are an intersection between modern Sanskrit and Keith Haring with buttery brush strokes that add texture to her crisp lines and patterns. Simple and strong, her paintings are bold designs with a neutral palette and create a modern language of their own.

Kathy Ruttenberg
Narcissist
2014
Ceramic
18 x 7.5 x 7.5 in

I also fancied this ceramic sculpture by Kathy Ruttenberg that is mythical and fairy-tale like with animal imagery intertwined with the figure. 

Nicole Charbonnet
Erased Riley (No 16)
2013
Mixed Media on canvas
60 x 48 in

Nicole Charbonnet, Gallery View

 Nicole Charbonnet is a New Orleans based artist who has a solo exhibition titled Erased at the Winston Wächter Fine Art Gallery. The richly textured and worn surfaces are layered with many additive and subtractive techniques and materials to expose imagery beneath linear patterns that evoke ideas of past and present, memory, and erosion. Many of her weathered planes are atmospheric and colorful while others use limited palettes and evoke structural, raw decay. I observed Charbonnet’s mixed media works without reading about her intent and later read her press release that was illuminating and gave more breadth to her work like how she appropriates imagery from other artists. Check it out here to learn more.

Richard Serra’s exhibit of free standing weatherproof steel plates titled Intervals at Gagosian Gallery is maze-like and

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magnanimous. Several layouts exist in the gallery and the material and arrangements of the structures could conjure up many associations, but I couldn’t help associate repression and captivity as I moved throughout the space. I did not read about Serra's ideas behind the conceptual installation... All I could feel is isolation amidst the walls created by these monumental slabs. I became a prisoner in Richard Serra’s artwork or it could be seen as a game of hide and seek. This exhibit concluded on March 15^th, 2014.

Ran Hwangs: The Snowfall of Spiders at the Leila Heller Gallery is beautifully crafted and magical with 3D works that use buttons, beads, pins and projections to create cherry blossoms tree branches and nature inspired designs that nod to Zen Buddhism.  When you walk in the gallery you enter a magical space that shimmers with reds, pinks and blues that create captivating works of art with unconventional materials. It closes on March 21^st, 2014 the day after we celebrate Spring, so catch it before it ends like Winter.