Now showing at Gallerie Kenmore is none other than my sister Cathy! Congratulations to Cathy on her two one-person shows! Not only is she the featured artist at Gallerie Kenmore, but her work is on display at the John Bryan Gallery in Farmington CT. Her drawings of cats continue to be stellar, capturing the true "cattiness" while using an economy of line. Brava!
Cathy's show leads quite nicely into today's sermon.
The phenomenon of the so-called "Open Studio" is much like the "Art Fair": they are suddenly everywhere, and both offer crash course overviews of just what is out there for aesthetic consumption. In full disclosure mode, I admit that I have personally taken part in a number of open studios and therefore have experienced this adventure from both sides.
Recently, Bob and I traveled to the Bushwick section of Brooklyn and braved somewhere between 75 to 100 studios, out of a potential 500 (plus). Bob and I have similar tastes and habits and have a sort of shorthand that allows us to see art at this break neck pace. If after 2 seconds of entering a space neither one of us is moving forward, being drawn deeper into the studio or gallery a brief flicker of eye contact is all that's needed to signal a speedy departure. We know what we're looking for and it's almost always immediately apparent- or not. I am certain that we occasionally miss works of quiet genius but mostly we conserve energy for more gripping fare.
I am relieved to announce to my non-New York based artist friends that (to my eye and mind) we have nothing to fear. I guess the suspicion is that work in New York must always be of a higher caliber, more challenging subject matter, more cutting edge... just more more. I am hereby reporting that we saw A LOT of painting, some good, some okay and some just plain peculiar. Fr'instance, who could have predicted that we'd see so much "classical" figurative work? I was nonplussed at just how much the nude (women in particular) occupied artist's time. Really. Lots of what I call "intestinal" painting abounded, too. That's work defined by large digestive-tract inspired squiggles and grace notes in pastelish tones. (The art fairs seem to celebrate this impulse, too.) And just as I remarked to Bob that we had seen almost no sculpture, we both realized that the three studios where we were the most engaged and liked the work the most were all sculptors.
(That's a gratuitous view of my studio table and a sneak peak of what I'm working on. Tons of minute letters...) And interestingly, we saw very little installation work or video! I guess nothing much that I would describe as "new media", except this one studio that we had to climb three flights of stairs to be met with a lack-lustre assemblage of a couple of oranges hung in a net within a geometric frame. Not very interesting and further into the studio (Bob had already exited) were to entirely self-absorbed young men (one probably the artist) deep in a private conversation with their backs to me and the other two people who had delved into the space. Apparently, behind a curtain in the corner was a video but absolutely nothing welcomed me and I exited! Artists: at least try and engage your audience! They're very hard to come by and may actually be collectors or gallery owners. As it is, Bob and I were further reinforced in our unfortunate assumption that 95% of the attendees to this Open Studios were artists. Very few dealers/collectors/art policy people in sight!
(Another interior shot of my studio). The other observation that I offer about all the studios and galleries and buildings that we visited was the smell. This was an unexpected experience. The studios- especially the interior ones- smelled almost impossibly of floor paint, newly coated walls, oil paint and it's accompanying solvents and human odors such as perfume, cologne and sweat. A few spaces had us retreating so fast that I couldn't even tell you what they were showing.
I also admit that I perused a few "Best of Open Studios" listings after the fact and we somehow hadn't seen any of them. I guess that's understandable when there are 500 or so spaces on display. No one offered us a list of must-sees before the Open Studios. And then there is the fact that all art work is subjective and what one viewer likes, the next one hates. That's art for you!
And the word that best summed up our overall experience? I called much of what we saw "apologetic" art. Colors were pale, gestures were tepid and there seemed a lack of conviction or just a sense of apologizing for it's existence. It's as if many of the artists felt less than convinced about their need to make or show work. I am sympathetic as being an artist isn't easy and lord knows there isn't a whole lot of support or love out there,( not to mention the constant hustle and push that frequently make other artists large pains in the asses. Don't get me started!) I came home feeling newly reinvigorated about my own direction and purpose. I feel GOOD about my work!
