001. What is this?
Plus, some gallery recs & Philip Guston gems.
My goal is to demystify art for my readers, which is a tall order because the art industry seems pretty hellbent on making itself as complicated-seeming and exclusionary as possible.
I’m not particularly interested in unpacking the industry, however. We don’t need to concern ourselves with auctions, advisors, the market, and sales.
I’m not taking on the mantle of art critic, either. I’m not trying to tell you about shows I didn’t care for, shit on hack artists (of which there are many), or criticize uninspired gallerists making frequent cash grabs (which happens constantly).
It’s far more important that we learn to appreciate the art itself. If people read the newsletter and feel energized and inspired to see more art, engage with artists, and think about the role of art in their lives, that would mean I’ve achieved something here.
I will share some of my own philosophy on art-enjoying and methods for becoming more comfortable in exhibition spaces, which can be awkward and unwelcoming.
So, whether you’re completely intimidated by stepping foot into a gallery or you are far more qualified that me to weigh in, subscribe to ART BREAK for regular dispatches on all things visual art.
I went to see some art for you (and me)! Here are my recommendations (NYC, open now):
D. D. D. D. (LES) - This gallery is new to me and I am now a fan! A show just opened there, curated by Aisi Wang, featuring the work of three artists: Larissa Lockshin, Yangqing Pei, and Xinyu Zhou. Usually in group shows I have a clear favorite, but I was equally impressed by all three artists’ work and thought the pieces worked well together.
Entrance (LES) - This is a new-er gallery in Lower East Side that has a strong curatorial vision. Every show I’ve seen there is sort of crafty, sort of like a high schooler’s notebook illustrations. Rita Salt’s solo show at the gallery is mostly ceramics, including hung mosaics, sculptures in the round, and inventive little hanging sculptures. I found myself genuinely yearning to own one of her weird creatures or a batch of her clever little tiles. P.S. I am not a tattoo person, but Rita does craaaazy ones and I highly recommend an IG stalk.
Long Story Short (LES) - I feel like this gallery used to be called something else and it’s making me feel insane???????? Someone on Google Maps reviewed it as simply a “clean, well lit space” and it is. Love seeing books and a tea kettle as signs of life in the gallery space, rather than the spotless white cube.
Dorian Cohen solo show is sweet and I especially enjoyed the - I guess you would call them landscapes? He does these intimate garden paintings with beautiful bright green pigments.
The space next door has some funky food-themed paintings by two artists: Tomona Matsukawa & Mona Broschár. These are fun, I think, for people who don’t already LOVE art. They’re straightforward and fun to look at. My personal favorite in the room was Broschár’s “Fearless”, which shows a shiny, plump sausage topped with blobby creams (disgusting and erotic).
Mendes Wood DM (Tribeca) - If you see ONE show from this list, I hope you’ll check out Paula Siebra, up now through November 10. In fact, tell me when you’re going and I’ll come see it again! Siebra is infuriatingly talented at 26-years-old. The press release is basically impossible to read, which is annoying because the actual art is so accessible. Beautifully rendered figurative paintings in warm tones, with subjects mostly centered on canvas in a way that recalls the Surrealists’ uncanny symmetry or the Neoclassical Era’s obsession with balance. There is a sweet folksiness to them, tinged with mystery and that eery familiarity of deja vu. Most of the works don’t include human forms, but evidence of human touch is everywhere in them.
I recently finished reading I Paint What I Want to See, a collection of interviews with and presentations given by the late, great artist Philip Guston. Even if Guston’s work isn’t your vibe, his ruminations on art-making are inspired, blunt, and often lovely.
Sharing a few of my personal highlights below:
“It’s terrible to rationalize about painting because you know that, while you’re creating it, you can have all sorts of things in your mind consciously that you want to do and that really won’t be done. You won’t be finished until the most unexpected and surprising things happen. […] it arrives at a unity I never could have predicted and foreseen or planned.”
“Painting is exactly parallel to life. I mean, you know when you’re really making love and when you’re not really making love.”
“The canvas is a court where the artist is prosecutor, defendant, jury, and judge. Art without a trial disappears at a glance: it is too primitive or hopeful, or mere notions, or simply startling, or just another means to make life bearable.” […] “You cannot settle out of court. You are faced with what seems like an impossibility — fixing an image which you can tolerate.”
“What if I had died? I’m in the history books. What would I paint if I came back? You know, you have to die for a rebirth. And so that released me. And not just released me, it gave me a beautiful extravagant sense of irresponsibility.”
“I want to make something I never saw before and be changed by it. So that I go in the studio and I see these things up and I think, Jesus, did I do that? What a strange thing. And I like to feel strange. It’s a personality thing. I like to feel strange to myself.”
OOF. I hope you enjoyed issue 001 and maybe send to a friend? xx