“Wandering in the Crossroads,” an exhibition of Qian Wu’s latest works, co-curated by Lan Zhan and Elga Wimmer, opened at Elga Wimmer PCC, New York, on June 19. From the city of Xiamen in Fujian province, China, Wu has been painting since the age of six. His practice stems from academic studies, including an undergraduate major in social and cultural analysis and a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute as well as studio courses. The removal of boundaries of eastern and western iconography, and an integration of traditional Chinese painting with the bold strokes of western abstraction and the combination of different media signify his work. Rather than the marks and architectural patterning of Franz Kline or Hans Hofmann, who Wu cited as influences, these canvases ( mixing concepts and media: oil, acrylic, ink and watercolor) resemble the early … [Read more...] about Wandering in the Crossroads: Qian Wu
Exhibits
ART BASEL 2019 DAY THREE: GALLERIES, AND STATEMENTS
The work in Galleries, the biggest sector of the Art Basel 2019 art fair, with 273 galleries displaying artwork, ranged from very bad to superlative. From large, childlike, messy, grease crayon drawings and similarly unfinished paintings to the refined glitz, and smooth stainless steel and optic glasswork, this sector provided the low and high points of the fair. Not surprisingly, there was much handmade textile work, the best being Sheila Hicks’ “Calligraphy Sauvages,” a 2019 sculpture of 15 chords of silk, wool, linen, bamboo and synthetic fiber — in bright, coordinated colors. Her 2018 linen line drawing, “Je veux être seul,” reminded me of 1930s Bauhaus geometric work. Robert Mapplethorpe’s “Stars,” created in 1983, of stained wood and carpet, presented a rare foray into Mapplethorpe’s textured relief sculptures. At Sperone Westwater’s, New York, New York, booth, Emil Lukas’ “Twin … [Read more...] about ART BASEL 2019 DAY THREE: GALLERIES, AND STATEMENTS
ART BASEL SWITZERLAND 2019 DAY TWO: THE BEST OF UNLIMITED
Unlimited, a sector of the Art Basel art fair, took up most of my second day there. Earlier in the day, at the Art Basel press conference, Marc Spiegler, the global director, pointed out that this year’s artists were more open-minded with broader practices than 10 to 15 years ago. He noted that “our old notions of borders are broken down.” Spiegler referred to art’s borders — those of materials and labels. It is difficult, if not impossible, to label installations — sculptures or paintings — with the overarching mixed media category prevalent, and installation being the preferred term to include sculpture and two-dimensional work. It seems that as new borders are erected and maintained between nations, art’s boundaries have widened to include diverse practices, subject matter and artists. That subject matter includes references to — current and in the recent past — events and … [Read more...] about ART BASEL SWITZERLAND 2019 DAY TWO: THE BEST OF UNLIMITED
ART BASEL 2019: FIRST DAY AT PARCOURS
Amidst pouring rain, carefully walking on the cobblestones of the Messeplatz in Basel, Switzerland, I explored Parcours at Art Basel. The exhibits in buildings leading up to and surrounding the Messeplatz were concerned with environmental and political issues but did not have the impact of the similarly concerned exhibits I recently saw at the Venice Biennale 2019. Rather, they slowly caused me to think about the concerns presented. The best of them, Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s “The Recovered Manifesto of Wissam (inaudible),” a 2017 arrangement of artificial orange trees, mini-cassettes, speakers painted to look like stones, printed sheets and 3-channel audio, explored the intersection of sound and politics. The accompanying literature pointed out that old cassette tapes are wrapped around fruit trees to keep birds and insects from eating the fruit. One day, Abu Hamdan discovered a … [Read more...] about ART BASEL 2019: FIRST DAY AT PARCOURS
COMMENTARY: WARNINGS, TRUTH AND ART, VENICE BIENNALE 2019
Art Matters. Artists matter. The world has become art’s domain. Culture unites us as art informs us of threats to our environment, governmental institutions and existence. Nearly all of the exhibits at the Venice Biennale 2019: “May You Live in Interesting Times” showed nations joining to save our earth, respecting nature, amending damaging practices and coming together to save those of lesser means or threatened lives. Even more than Venice Biennale 2017’s curator Christine Macel’s removal of border markings at entrances to rooms, curator Ralph Rugoff boldly showed work by the same artist at both the Arsenale and Giardini, providing different neighbors, siting exhibitions depending on the fitness of the particular space for the exhibit. This Biennale declared the world an interdependent space. Addressing political lies, coverups of current and long-hidden governmental documents and … [Read more...] about COMMENTARY: WARNINGS, TRUTH AND ART, VENICE BIENNALE 2019
EDGE OF CHAOS: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID RICCI OPENS AT ARTSPACE MAYNARD
Capturing the “edge of chaos” has been the artistic goal of photographer David Ricci for the past four decades. His training as an engineer has steered his sensibilities to the observation and documentation of systems that complexity scientists investigate: What occurs when large quantities of individual elements coalesce? At these super high levels of organization, what new structures arise? According to Ricci’s forthcoming book, a whole new phenomenon appears, fundamentally different and greater than any of its parts. This phenomenon is the “edge of chaos.” Ricci goes on to explain, “Like free jazz, everything is not always in perfect harmony, yet a novel, vibrant creation surfaces.” In his book and current solo exhibit, both titled “Edge of Chaos,” Ricci explores these questions with photographs he has taken since the mid-1980s. Ricci brings both his natural predilection for … [Read more...] about EDGE OF CHAOS: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID RICCI OPENS AT ARTSPACE MAYNARD