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.