Tester #3

Tester #3

"07-16-2017"
Acrylic and Coal Dust on Acrylic Yarn on Acrylic Painted Wood Chassis
9.5" X 6"

I began these out of a dream of a very small work of portable art that could be easily transported and easily viewed. A freestanding set of paintings all wrapped up into one work. I originally imagined they would be much smaller, but the day after the vision, I began making them larger, why, because I can. Also because I was wondering if I could, as I was stepping out on new ground for myself with these. I only made four, so far, but there is much more to come. I love the idea of a painting that can sit with you all the time and not just be a piece on a wall. Originally the vision was to see them sitting on a desk and being enjoyed from all 5 sides, since you have the 6th side for placement. None are signed, but they all come with a certificate of authenticity that includes photos of the front and back, which ever is which.

This particular one is a forest green wood chassis, yellow acrylic yarn, and black acrylic texture with coal dust mixed in. When the light hits the coal just right it glistens.

One of the things that gets me most about these works is the amount of visual data they give to the mind. It's peaks and valleys, it's ins and outs, it's interior and exterior all vying for attention of the sensitive observer at once.

Christopher Wilmarth @ Betty Cunningham/Tibor De Nagy Rivington Street, NYC

Sunday I went around to galleries around the lower east side. I made my way over to Betty Cunningham Gallery which I guess is now also called Tibor De Nagy.

Photos taken with my iphone4, if you wish for better pics. Please donate.

Open through October 29th, there is a tremendous Christopher Wilmarth exhibition of his sculptures and works on paper.

Walking in you are surrounded by tremendous work by the sculptor that apparently was getting ready to enjoy a lot of success when he took his own life. Can't gloss over that since it is a part of his legacy. But what really matters is the amazing work he left behind.

If you enjoy these reviews, please do help by donating to the cause to help me get more of these. It doesn't need to be much. All help is appreciated.

Three sculptures, steel and glass lie on the ground, one is on the wall and the rest of the show is work on paper. Spending time with the work on paper, since I hadn't seen very much of it, you slowly gain the sense of how they connect to the sculpture. I always find it interesting to see just HOW the work was created, and thankfully Wilmarth left lots of clues in his drawings. From the pencil lines to the razor blade cuts, you gain the presence of the hand, and all it's mannerisms.

It's obviously the sculptures that he got known for. His uses of glass as a sculptural medium with steel was definitely what sat him apart from his peers. Some called him the Rothko of sculpture, since the glass being covered in parts, almost always frosted in one way or another. The work is full of visual interest for the viewer, you don't need to read about these, just looking you can see so much of his creations. I've a few colleagues that adore and knew Wilmarth. One of the videos I have made with Forrest Myers AKA Frosty has him talking about Wilmart in his studio.

I feel like I should say more, but in all honesty I don't wish to. His works need to be seen and enjoyed in person. only so much can be said before you get tired of reading about it. One of the reasons I like showing my own photos with these personal reviews.

I believe this piece in particular was my favorite. I really dug the placement of the glass and the balance of it, while heavy with steel, it's also light with the glass.

You've still got a bunch of time to get down there yourself. Spend some time, give each work a few minutes to really get down and work on your visual sense, I think you'll be happy you did.

Alex Gardner @ The Hole - Bowery - NYC

Sunday: 1:30 PM Temp 73 and humid.

Manhattan, NYC, The Hole Gallery 312 Bowery.

Building: Whitest building around for at least a block or two.

Photos: Taken by me with my iphone 4. If you want better photos, hit that donate button here...

Interior: Even more white, probably the brightest gallery in town. Alas...Wonderful place to view paintings.

Alex Gardner is having his first show at The Hole, Run by Kathy Grayson. It's become the go to place to see new artists around the NYC area. She is a big fan of painting and shows more of it than most galleries do.

The exhibition runs only through today, which is why it's a bit sad to write this so late in the timing of the exhibition.

It's a strange hallucinogenic world these pictures inhabit. The quality of the brush, the shading of the clothes and the non-world in which these creatures live, it's only the beginning for these people. The figures themselves are reminding me of the non faces of Mark Kostabi, these people without faces, really without just about any features which would let you know anything about them. They all inhabit some strange fantasy world where it would seem that personalities haven't been given, or maybe it's long after the humanity we know today, to where people no longer have their own personalities, their own thoughts, stuck in a world they can't leave. It seems as if each person in this world pretty much looks the same, one type of man and one type of woman. Really disheartening to think about such things. A world where life revolves solely around shapes and shadows, nothing left to do, except BE.

In the structure beneath the darkness, you see details of the hands and feet, there isn't much to the non-faces, as that is the way it's supposed to be in this non-world. One part of the humanoids that is very detailed is the hair. He obviously spent a lot of time working on each strand of hair in the picture. Giving the work an even stronger ability to talk to you.

Most of what you see from the artist are what I feel could be details of a larger world that Gardner has created. I can't help but wonder why there were no large scaled pictures that give more insight into what this pre-post-world looks like, outside of all these portraits.

My advice...keep your eyes on the details after that first viewing. Upon repeated viewings they reveal more of their layering. The color choices were quite exquisite along with the execution of the working, and the reworking of the picture continues to give more for the sensitive observer to enjoy.

I look forward to seeing where Gardner takes these paintings in the future, he's a great draftsman and I look forward to seeing his development of this world and the beings that inhabit it.

Check out the elegance and beauty with which the hand is rendered.

I only wish I could have seen this show a few weeks ago, and wrote, that way maybe someone reading this might just head down there and dig into these the way I was.

Thanks for reading.