MARX & ZAVATTERO - CATHARINE CLARK - MARKET STREET

WHITE WALLS - SHOOTING GALLERY - ROOT DIVISION

GUERRERO - HIJINKS - QUEENS NAILS - KALTEK

01.08.11

(with assistance from Clare Coppel and RWM)



Art consulting from me? You betcha! Click here.

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Marx & Zavattero : FABRICATIONS.

Artists: Libby Black, Jennifer Celio, Serena Cole, Melissa Manfull, Taravat Talepasand.

Comment by AB: Commendable selection of works on paper with copious of detail to appreciate.

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Catharine Clark Gallery : Jonathan Solo - Shadow; Kambui Olujimi - Love to Lose

Comment by AB: Jonathan Solo tells me his art is about the inner and outer self, the known self versus the unknown self, the dramas that arise around that, and the prognosis for flowers from out of the dark. In the front gallery and theater, Kambui Olujima's multidisciplinary extravaganza encompasses two riveting videos, a wall full of handcuffs bedecked with baubles and costume jewelry, and photographs accompanied by text, as he takes a good hard editorial look at unhappy endings in contemporary society.

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Market Street Gallery : Translucent Matrix - Encaustic Paintings by Eileen P. Goldenberg.

Comment by AB: Kaleidoscopic multilayered labor-intensive encaustics by Eileen Goldenberg are sure to captivate the eye.

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White Walls Gallery : What The %$#@? (WTF) - New Works by Dan Witz.

Review by Clare Coppel: Dan Witz shows mixed media pieces that give the illusion of being framed behind weird grates, wire mesh windows and basement vents, creating creepy illusions of people trapped in dark dank cramped spaces as if imprisoned some kind of psychosexual sweatshop. I like the black on black color palette, the textures and attention to detail.

Comment by AB: The punch line, Kira Lyons informs me, is that these pieces are actually street art-- Witz installs them on urban walls, concrete bridge and highway supports, doors and buildings, creating the appearance of people being held captive inside. And they're pretty believable too...

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The Shooting Gallery : Morgan Slade - New Works.

Review by Clare Coppel: Morgan Slade paints over and otherwise embellishes photographs of the best and most timeless subject ever-- scantily clad attractive people! In this case, ladies. I like their accompanying extras-- a white tiger, ironic luxury items, and the American flag bikini representing a show of patriotism in this bizarre and violent age. Even now, it is important to focus on the positive.

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Root Division : Call & Response.

Artists: Sara Bright and Becky Suss, Leila Cartier and Nicholas Bohac, Jack Leamy and Kristen Van Diggelen, Graham Macbeth and Adam Friedman, Robert Minervini and JJ Pakola.

Comment by AB: Ten artists from around the country are paired off, each pair working together over a four-month period "of conversation and experimentation" to conceive and create the collaborative works on exhibit here.

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Guerrero Gallery : Nothing To Say.

Artists: Ala Ebtekar, Alex Lukas, Alexis Mackenzie, Ben Venom, Billy O Callaghan, Brett Cook, Brian Cooper, Caleb Neelon, CK Wilde, Claire Colette, Erik Foss, Eric Yahnker, Erin M. Riley, Frohawk Two-Feathers, Jeff Canham, Glen Baldridge, Jim Houser, Jon Bocksel, Jud Bergeron, Kelsey Brookes, Larry Mullins, Marie Koetje, Mark Mulroney, Mark Wagner, Matt Leines, Mike Davis, Patrick Martinez, Paul Brainard, Richard Colman, Rogelio Martinez, Tim Diet, Wes Lang, Yuri Psinakis.

Comment by AB: Peppy panoply of text-based artworks courtesy of over thirty artists.

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Gallery Hijinks : As It Was Before.

Artists: Martin Machado, Todd Freeman, Aleksandra Zee.

Review by RWM: Here is a modern exploration of the old-time story of the hardworking fisherman, but artist Martin Machado presents how things have changed. Fun but sad they are, the fishing images; the situation is no longer so wholesome. We have fished certain fish stocks into extirpation, i.e. the disapearance from a local area. The sea has been depleted since fishing became an industry with fishing factories popping up all along the water. Now gone are the Pilchards of Monterey, in trouble are the Codfish of New England, and the nearby Salmon and Rockfish (Snapper).

It is a tough life at sea, though people still choose to be surrounded by the natural wonder, some of which is captured here. But the perspective is more of a contemporary one with comment also about the pollution that fish sometimes absorb. (We know which areas not to eat fish from, and unfortunately some are local.) You can see them pictured living in unhealthy looking water. Tough for the fisherman, tough for the artist, but tougher for the exploited fish, their natural habitats out of sight and out of mind as all we know is what we see at the restaurants and supermarkets. There are efforts now underway to eat fish sustainably; thanks to modern science we can predict which species are in danger of being over-fished and should be preserved rather than eaten. You can find out more at your local aquarium.

The accompanying images of nature and the outdoors by Todd Freeman also speak to our categorization and capture of natural objects. Here are the fables, but also the exploitation of the wild. The carefree "good old times" are not forever apparently.

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Queens Nails Projects : 6/6/6 - Six Artists, Six Cities, Six Connections.

Artists: Jeff Badger (Portland, ME), Carl Baratta (Chicago), Amanda Curreri (San Francisco), Joanne Lefrak (Santa Fe), Kathy Leisen (Detroit), Dan Schank (Philadelphia).

Comment by AB: Kind of a social networking event from the artist's perspective, with each artist choosing the next artist through various pre-existing connections, each artist living in a different city, and the resulting show traveling to all six cities.

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Kaltek : Kal Spelletich - Robotics/Machine Performance.

Comment by AB: A thrill-a-minute interactive experience with the killer kinetic creations of Kal Spelletich. And I do mean killer; one false move and the next thing you know, you'll be pushing up daisies.

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