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landscapes

6/24/2016

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An underwhelming show on a theme of theoretically infinite possibilities. Almost giving credit to those who proclaim that painting is dead, and representational painting even more so, most pieces in this show have no vision, no passion, and no ambition (there are few exceptions, including a quiet Alex Katz). Even the gallery itself seems to acknowledge defeat, from its banal, uninspiring title (just "Landscapes") to its shockingly disparaging press release, which treats artists as visual art historians rather than creators who believe in what they do: "For these artists the painting has lost its privileged place as an end in itself and instead is deployed like a type of scenography. Some artists in this exhibition are considered by the dominant discourse to be over-dedicated to technical proficiency, situating themselves somewhat outside of the 20th century avant garde tradition, while others pursue “bad art” for the sake of critique. Still others seek to realign the earnest attempt to depict one’s surroundings with a commitment to avant garde principles."

@ Marlborough Chelsea, through July 29

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the female gaze

6/23/2016

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Cecily Brown, Raspberry Beret. Click to enlarge
The show is called "Women Look at Men", but for the most part it's specifically women looking erotically at men. The sexualization of men doesn't seem gratifying from a feminist point of view (with the exception of individual pieces), but it does result in better art than the objectification we usually get when the roles are reversed. Check out the Louise Bourgeois drawing, Cecily Brown, Alice Neel, and Sylvia Sleigh among others.

​@ Cheim & Read, through September 2
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james turrell

5/21/2016

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As the title implies, "67 68 69" is a show of Turrell's earlier work. It is an investigation in perception that plays with the boundaries between light and form. But its also a beautiful, minimalist experience. In these fascinating pieces you can see that Turrell is onto something big.
@ Pace Gallery
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asya resnikov

5/19/2016

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"Turning Life" is a heavily autobiographical show, featuring photographs, video, and installation. Some pieces are too personal to interest the general audience, while others are more successful thanks to their wittiness, like the two installations "Packing for delivery", where an actual suitcase contains a screen showing a video in which the artist is packing the suitcase with baby clothes and other essentials needed for a baby delivery at the hospital.
​@ Nancy Hoffman Gallery
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tracey emin

5/18/2016

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Click to enlarge
Tracey Emin's "Stone Love" leaves you wanting more. More pieces, more work, more of her genius. She draws and sculpts with an economy that walks a fine line between brilliance and laziness, and the spontaneity of gesture and expression touches some some deep chords. I'm not convinced about the medium of embroidery for this specific body of work, but I think it's worth investigating.
@ Lehmann Maupin
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anish kapoor

5/17/2016

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 Anish Kapoor is showing his other side again, pushed even further! Every once in a while, his perfectly polished, symmetrical, classically beautiful metal sculptures give way to an antipode of grotesque. It is like a "jolie laide" though, and the swirls and textures reminiscent of raw, mangled flesh have an energy that transports you. I'd like to see more of it.
@ Gladstone Gallery
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aleah chapin

5/16/2016

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Click on image to enlarge
Body/Being is a show of a series nude paintings. It is ambitious in scale - there are a lot of portraits, and they are large. Yet the paintings lack emotion and only superficially touch on the issue of gender identity. They look more like an art school project, or like figure studies set on a white background in order to look contemporary.
@ Flowers Gallery
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ray turner

5/16/2016

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"Population Defaced" is a well put-together show, small but rich. It consists of 40-50 small-scale paintings of heads that capture your attention and move your eye around in excitement. Some thinly painted, some impasto, some realistic, some distorted, they look like they each have a life and a story to tell. It's a delight to see the dynamic paint handling, the color getting pushed (especially in the shadows), and the marriage of German expressionism, Francis Bacon, and contemporary LA aesthetics.
​@ JoAnne Artman Gallery
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david hockney

5/14/2016

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"The Yosemite Suite" is a series of Hockney's large ipad drawings - operative word Hockney, not ipad. The new medium doesn't add much to his work. If you liked him before you will like him now, and if you didn't like him before this show won't change your mind. 
​@ Pace Gallery
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Luc Tuymans

5/14/2016

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Le Mépris (from Godard’s film Le Mépris) is a series of hazy, gentle paintings of, among other things, floats from a parade and reflections on water. They are beautifully painted, and in some works areas of the canvas are untouched giving them an airy dream-like feel. They are reminiscent of 1960’s blurry Richters, but without the depth of feeling or the emotional impact of his images. I wanted to like these paintings but left unable to connect with anything other than the delicate touch of the artist’s hand.
@ David Zwirner Gallery
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