On Wednesday, I had my third iced Americano of the day (it was 60 and sunny, your honor) at Abraço and decided to bop to some galleries before a dinner plan in Soho. Fueled by possibly the strongest espresso in the city, I did a power-browse through Tokio7, remembered that Japanese sizing is not my American body’s friend, and walked my American ass to Karma on East 2nd to take my mind off of a rare Pleats Please top I’ll think about forever.
What happened in Karma was… insane! I went in blind and then left nearly blinded by a video piece that should come with an epilepsy warning. I felt seasick and also in love. Have you heard of Mungo Thomson? I’m enthralled by his meticulously compiled stop-motion work. Are all good artists obsessives? Maybe. To make art about something you kind of have to be obsessed with it. To return to an image or idea with such intent requires a breadth of attention that most people, frankly, would be embarrassed to give.
Sometimes, when I’m tinkering with a painting, staring at my reference image for hours on end, focusing so intently on the tiniest detail, I feel a twinge of embarrassment. Or I see the humor in art-making.
No one is telling us to do this! No one asked you to make whatever your weird savant art is. That is why artists like Thomson are so delightful—they take their fixation and MAKE IT our business to understand it. Making art is dignifying something by putting it on public display. It’s saying, look at this weird fever dream I imagined and then realized, do you like it, too?
As a viewer, we must suspend our disbelief and appreciate the going-out-on-a-limb-ness of such unconventional ideas of what art can look like.
That was my main East Village rec, but I made my way to Tribeca/Soho and found some other gems for us, below!
Mungo Thomson at Karma (22 East 2nd & 188 East 2nd Streets) - ^^^See above :)
Keita Morimoto at Almine Rech (361 Broadway, Upstairs) - I first saw Morimoto’s work at teeny tiny, now-closed ATM Gallery in Two Bridges a few years ago. Even without the trappings of a big, fancy solo show, his work was so obviously polished. It’s honestly too polished for me—I’ve never loved that block-y, modular style of figurative painting (a little too close to Chuck Close). However, there are a few pieces with more naturalistic portraiture set against his trademark nightscapes filled with glowing totems of modernity (the convenience store, the stoplight, the vending machine). These, in my opinion, achieve greatness, and I think this show would be a crowdpleaser for all kinds of viewers.
Joe Andoe at Almine Rech (361 Broadway, Downstairs) - In the airless basement, I found a small treasure trove. Andoe’s paintings reminded me of the setting of the movie Twisters, which happens to be Enid, Oklahoma, which is where my grandmother was raised. It’s a sprawling, flat, rural town I visited—much to my disdain—in high school. A cursory Google reveals Andoe is from Tulsa, Oklahoma—HA! Oklahoma is unmistakable. It’s where the wind comes sweeping down the plain (I was also in the musical Oklahoma! in middle school). The irony of putting an exclamation mark after “Oklahoma” is apparent when you visit. Oklahoma is more of a bored ellipses. Like, dot, dot, dot… will anything ever happen here? It’s also big, beautiful, pensive, and strange. Just like the state, Andoe’s paintings are all moody sky and hulking concrete structure. Maybe it’s my prairie roots, but they stirred something mysterious in me.
Kelly Sinnapah Mary at James Cohan (48 Walker) - LAST DAY ALERT!! A beautiful collection of painting and sculpture packed with folkloric stories. I loved the two sculptures in particular, which look satisfyingly-handmade and riddled with their maker’s fingerprints. Some shows are “imagination” shows that stretch our minds and entertain us with fantastical scenes. These are always a transportive joy, especially in times when it’s hard to imagine a future in which things don’t get worse. Mary’s work is a generous gift, a though-provoking escape, a magic portal.
It’s a beautiful day in NEW YORK CITY - go see some art! xx