Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again

Instead of focusing on Warhol’s most recognizable paintings, this exhibition spans diverse media and periods of his lifetime, including commercial illustrations, silkscreen paintings, experimental films, and some abstract pieces. The audiences are exposed to a wide range of artworks of Andy Warhol and were guided to discover new things about Warhol from perspectives in the 21st century through this exhibition.

The theme and his production skills changed through time. At the very beginning, commercial products are the main subject of Warhol’s work. Then he devoted to creating paintings of superstars. In the early 1980s, Warhol lost several partners and friends which made him trapped in deep sorrow and fear. His creations during this period, such as Skull and Camouflage Last Supper, are closer to abstraction rather than Pop. He thought more about subjects such as death and kept building his belief in religion.

In his experimental films, he recorded someone eating a mushroom and a man sleeping for eight hours without any lines. It seems that these experimental films are boring and meaningless. When we look at what is happening on social media nowadays, however, we will be amazed that Warhol had already predicted it back in the 70s. On YouTube, a film about “What I eat in a Day” can have millions of viewers. Warhol has already predicted that people are bored and will be attracted to boring things to fulfill inner emptiness.

The CryptoFuturist and the New Tribal Labyrinth, Atelier Van Lieshout

The CryptoFuturist and the New Tribal Labyrinth is Lieshout’s largest scale exhibition. All the pieces were placed in the first floor of an industrial loft space. In the center of the room, there’s a gigantic structure named Blast Furnace (2013). Its body referring to a functional furnace back in the Industrial Revolution-era used to produce steel. Lieshout decided to transform this structure by combining domestic elements such as kitchen, toilet, and sleeping quarters into it. Underneath the structure, there are also some smaller pieces displayed as decorations. However, this could be very confusing for viewers. With the understanding of the Industrial revolution-era, it’s not hard to understand Lieshout’s intention. Lieshout posits that human life is very much related to machines, and following the development of technology he brings up the discussion of whether human body as itself a kind of machine, endlessly procreating. However, this show as a whole was put together sloppily. Before viewers get to see Blast Furnace, their attention got dragged toward these two metal structure that was programmed to have a conversation about human and future. This conversation between a female and male “AI” is very detailed and resolute. Rather a discussion. It’s more of an artist statement literally on a sounds track. I appreciate Lieshout’s multidisciplinary practice which pushes the boundary of art and design. However, this show in a whole doesn't achieve his goal—to bring the discussion of relationships between human and machine a step forward. Overall this show lacks a bit of cohesion. Personally, it looks like Lieshout was trying to showcase something far more complex than he could control. Without the right context, many elements in this show could be misleading. With the massive mean piece, the smaller objects got lost in this show, so is their conversation. The topics he was trying to cover doesn’t get expressed well enough, and viewers eyes were focusing on things that have a lot less depth. It was a different, impressive show, but it didn’t reach some of the expectations from viewers. 

Good Design, MoMA

Good Design is an exhibition at MOMA that feature some post-war designs. These designs are significant because they represent the era with material and techniques. Walking in this exhibition, everything laying on display tables, nothing really stands out at first.

                                        Display Stand for Oranges -Steal

Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., Fund

However, every object placed in this room has some unique and interesting features waiting to be discovered. Among all the objects a display stand for oranges got me interested. It was made out of steel. It used many circles and curves to form a triangle structure. Overall this  Stand created a stable looking fruit display structure. It has very playful energy combing its artistic structure and function. However, this object was placed among bunch of other cookers, which it doesn't really belong. With all the objects right next to each other, it's almost overwhelming and confusing for viewers eyes. Although it is very fun to look at, for a complex form like this the function being simply holding oranges was underwhelming. The material was chosen -- steel is not very welcoming to the users. Because when people see metal they don't usually think it would be related to food when it's not a cooker or cutlery. However this product was very creative, it does serve a function, and the structures are elegant. This object is displayed among a lot of other post-war period objects. And if they didn't place a couple fake oranges I probably wouldn't react this steel object to an orange holder, or even something that's functional. If this object has to stand on its own it could totally be read as an art piece. Having the fack oranges there was a very smart way to highlight its function and showcase the object.

Nari Ward: We The People

Nari Ward weaves together collections of found objects into abstract narratives of the personal, power, and injustice in the New Museum’s 25-year retrospective Nari Ward: We The People. Ward, who began his career in the early 1990’s Harlem, primarily employing large sculpture/installation composed of materials sourced in his neighborhood, denoting a sense of time, place, and power, that affects individual

‘s as well as their community.  

The titular work We The People (2011) consists of holes drilled directly into the wall forming the words “We The People” (in the same script used in the Constitution).  A variety of shoelaces hang from these holes forming a strange vinery. The words of the Constitution in correlation with the multitude of shoe strings seems to indicate the many individuals that these words should represent, despite its original context of exclusivity of any non-white male property owner.  

Ward’sIron Heaven’s (1995) is a collection of charred wooden baseball bats, which fractures are dressed in cotton, and leaning against a wall of oven pans. The bats, scorched appearance and tiered structure is reminiscent of the remains of a large bonfire.  Violence is implicit in the destruction of the objects use and history. While the oven pans are individually too small to have been the instruments that burnt the bats, their histories have become linked by fire. 

The massive installation, Amazing Grace(1993), takes up one large gallery. Consisting of hundreds of discarded strollers facing towards the interior of the space, a path made of flattened fire hoses threads around the strollers forming a shape that resembles the hull of a ship. Mahalia Jackson’s rendition of Amazing Grace plays in the low-lit room.  The piece flattens time, bringing together symbols and material reality of an ongoing struggle against a history of oppression. From the Middle Passage to mass incarceration, the absence in the strollers tells the unfathomable American story of perpetual loss by continued systematic injustices. 

We The People, 2011

Iron Heaven’s, 1995

Amazing Grace, 1993

Mira Schor, Lyles & King

Mira Schor is a New York based artist and writer. She uses her artwork to empower women. In the collection, she uses women as the main characters in the paintings. No linear perspective flattens the spatial experience. Everything in the paintings is symmetric or parallel to the adjacent elements. This order creates the interesting rhythm in the paintings. Doors, windows and walls give a sense of story behind the paints. It makes the painting like a plot in a fairytales. Some of elements are the sky color and stars in each of paintings. Light blue, dark grey, reddish purple creates the calm and vibrant feelings. Full moon, half moon, and sun make the paints more playful. Because of the scale and the appearance of color and position, it seems like paints by a young child. Mira emphasizes the short time of being a young girl. She uses the fun components to accentuate the hope, gloriousness and immatureness from a girl. For example, she expresses the desire of dress up by drawing colorful high heel shoes, long dresses and jewelry. Moreover, she uses windows, open gate and sun symbolizing the future. There are a lot of fun elements such as, fat trees, colorful fruits, penguins, white clouds and cats representing the curiousness and puerility. The paintings show a dream from a fifteen years old girl. 

Denny Dimin Gallery Luke Diiorio High Earth.

Luke Diiorio's solo exhibition High Earth very small and had a well-constructed installation around paintings. The installation was made of plywood, and the paintings are leaning and hanging very casually against the background. I thought the installation itself was a feature of the gallery, but it was a part of the artist's show. The entire atmosphere was very familiar since it was like a construction site. The viewers had to walk on the floor that was a little unstable and could see an empty space between the wood walls. The paintings were big, colorful and minimal. They had many large vertical brush marks on white backgrounds. The canvas was made of the several vertical smaller stripes that were sewn together and then stretched. I assume that the artist painted on the sewed stretched canvas. As I read the press release in the gallery, it said the paintings are abstract landscapes. I would never know otherwise. But the paintings themselves were interesting in that the colors were vivid which contrasted to the wood walls and floors. Because of the sewn quality, the paintings looked like objects. I loved the confusion: from because it seems like 2D paintings at a glance, but by it was like an object because of inevitable uneven texture by seaming. 

One thing I was disappointed by is that the artist considered the whole space as one artwork because the paintings and installation seem overwhelmed. Even though the paintings have a lot of interesting details but it was hard to focus and appreciate because of too many things I have to see in the installation. It was enjoyable to experience the construction, but I think it would be better to have fewer details for the installation such as the gap between the walls and make viewers to see more of paintings.

So Much Deathless at Red Bull Arts New York

“So Much Deathless” at Red Bull Arts is a retrospective of the work of Gretchen Bender (1951 - 2004). Bender was a multi-disciplinary artist who worked heavily in video, particularly by repurposing TV programming as well as live tv broadcasts.

Bender’s work Aggressive Witness - Active Participant, 1990, is composed of 12 older model televisions, placed about four feet off the ground against the walls, wrapping around the viewer in a dimly lit room. Some of the screens play period abstract computer graphics while others play live television shows and commercials.

Upon closer inspection, the broadcasts displayed are contemporary television shows and ads. Centered on each screen in vinyl letters are one to two word statements such as “NO CRITICISM” or “NUCLEAR WARHEADS”.

These phrases overlaid on top of antiquated looking television sets would seem like social commentary by the artist on the culture and climate of the time the work was created. Instead, experiencing the overlay of phrases such as “IMAGE WORLD” AND “HOMELESS” over present day commercial content reflects on the meaning these social commentaries have today and how their relevance is as true now as it was when the work was created nearly 30 years ago.

The presentation on the older CRT monitors reminds the viewer that the moving image/media’s role and power in our society is nothing new and has long been problematic in its sway of the general public’s opinion and attention. The viewer is confronted with phrases that inspire thought and hopefully discussion over social and political issues such as homelessness and the potential for nuclear war but is made to consider these topics with the backdrop of a toothpaste commercial or America’s Got Talent. These issues are just as real today as they were 30 years ago and Bender helps the viewer consider whether one would prefer to spend time watching the next episode of a sitcom or researching and debating long standing and evolving socio-political issues.

Loophole of Retreat, Simone Leigh, Guggenheim

Loophole of Retreat, a new body of work by Simone Leigh, centers the experiences of black women. In the back corner of the room, a seemingly unidentifiable sound emanates from a grey concrete breeze block wall. As you move closer, the audio becomes clearer as recordings of protests, and newscaster's voices become discernable amongst the layered sounds. The alcove gives its name to the exhibition as a whole - Loophole of Retreat. This title is borrowed from the writing of a formerly enslaved abolitionist, Harriet Jacobs, who detailed her struggle for freedom. The word "retreat" suggests the action of withdrawing or moving back, either to a time of calm or after a battle. The title gives new meaning to the concrete wall, positioning it not just as an architectural structure but a line of defense or protection from the outside world, with the layered sounds serving as a reminder of black resilience against violence. 

Outside this corner are three of Leigh's large-scale sculptures, primarily bronze and stoneware. Closer to the entrance stands Panoptica, a towering terracotta chimney that rises out of a layered raffia skirt. The curve of the chimney, as well as its scale, suggest a periscope that looks out at the viewer. The name of this piece links this uneasy possibility of being watched in the gallery to the panopticon prison design, linking both to the realities of mass incarceration and Leigh's exploration of black womanhood. Next to Panoptica is Jug, one of many works by Leigh which uses the slim torso of a black woman connected to an inanimate object skirt. In this case, the skirt attached to the torso is formed by a water jug, the kind traditionally used by farm workers. By relating the bodies of women to everyday items, Leigh explores themes of objectification, labor, and agency. Leigh's work takes an intimate look into the black female experience, and uses the large physical scale of her pieces to compel the viewer's attention to the struggle against white supremacy and patriarchy. 

Monumental by Lucien Freud

The Monumental exhibition by Lucian Freud at the Aquavella Gallery includes a series of large-scale works by the artist from different periods of his life. We find the artist's most well-known work included: the nudes painted in his London studio.

Lucian Freud was a painter who stood apart from trends and different movements. Although he connects his studies of the nude to the European academic tradition, the artist represents the human body from a rebellious and transgressive perspective, in contrast to classic beauty canons. His paintings show us characters exposed before the scrutinizing gaze of the artist, who makes no distinction about their status or social class, presents them all equally, naked, vulnerable, and delivered.

Freud acts like a surgeon, he tries to pierce his armor and decipher the anatomy and psychology that support him. The brushstrokes are heavy and resounding. They do not pretend to embellish but rather to dissect. The nuances of the flesh are depicted by the different layers of paint, and the contrast between the cold colors, green, blue, violet, and the warm, orange, ocher, pink, create a chromatic spectrum that depicts the tremulous skin and the pulse that runs through it.

It is this way of taking advantage of the carnality of painting, (understood as a modulable and living material) to express the human body´s condition, that makes Freud's work stand out. We can glimpse the influence of Soutin, in his fascination for entrails, and that of Ribera, in his ability to represent the passage of time in his skins and skulls.

Freud does not look for attractiveness, nor decipher the soul, but as he said: "to represent people and to let them be themselves". Affirmation that is paradoxical for a realistic painter who does not hesitate to distort the proportions of his models. Perhaps there is his genius, in his ability to understand imperfection as part of beauty.

Jeff Gibson at LMAKgallery

Jeff Gibson´s solo installation Hard Sell is located in LMAKgallery´s outdoor courtyard, comprised of five white sandwich board signs covered in images of various products. Each board holds a different variation of a color scheme, such as beiges, greens, or reds and blacks. Additionally, the images chosen for each board also follow a pattern in form and shape. The visual categorization of each board delivers an organization of color or shape that tricks the viewer into accepting the absurd image groupings. At first glance, pairing fried chicken with hair pieces and microphones with raw beef seems totally natural.

Each of Gibson´s signs could easily pass on a busy and plastered New York sidewalk without gathering many second glances. Even just walking a few steps outside of the gallery, I noticed an aesthetically similar promotional sign in front of the deli next door. Perhaps this isn´t even so specific to New York, but instead is one of the linking factors to cities around the world. Gibson´s bio states that he grew up in major urban centers in the United States, Germany, and Korea, and received his MA at The Royal College in London before moving to New York. This knowledge might lead one to connect that a baseline common denominator between cities across the globe, despite their seemingly disparate cultures, is the imagery used in street advertisements outside of local markets and corner stores.

Gibson´s work appropriates the mundane yet vibrant commercial imagery of products and assembles them in a way that essentially defeats their meaning beyond that of their value as an image. The groupings that he creates in his work lead viewers to consider both the power of imagery as well as their everyday-ness, as we are constantly inundated with images, like visual white noise in the background of our daily lives.

Lucian Freud: Monumental

Lucian Freud: Monumental showcases Lucian Freud’s well known naked portraits. Freud is a figurative painter; inspired by the impressive physicality of performance artist Leigh Bowery, Freud began a series of works that emphasize the physical presence of models. For him, the portrait begins with his idea that for all human beings, the naked body is complete honesty.

Arguably, his handling of the surface of the paintings is one of the essential elements to savor in his works. The thick brushstrokes emphasize the intensity of the subject, which encourages the viewer to focus on observing the subject immediately rather than the external judgment. The weight derived from this application of paints organizes and balances the tension of the whole painting. In other words, the rough and thick texture of his brushstrokes is not like a traditional Renaissance painting’s embodiment of figure as a seamless surface, but his work exposed the figure itself as a powerful being that pulls the physicality of the figure to confront the viewer. Furthermore, confronting the figure by physical application of paint with the spectrum of colors between the cold tone of colors on shadow part of bodies and warm tone of colors on the bright part of figures brings the subject matter plainly that causes the sense of honesty of bodies that Freud intentionally wanted to evoke.

Except in some of the paintings of closed-eye figures, the people in his paintings are staring straight of the viewer with serious, seemingly intimidating look. The expression of gazing of these figures existing between strange beauty and unattractiveness, almost seems like visual aggression, even give the uncomfortable feelings to the viewer. These are his devices to emphasize the existence of the figure itself, not the creation of aesthetic value through the beautification. Notably, his consistency of translating his immediate perceptions of figures onto the canvas without the beautification of body, cause the portraits that are complete honesty as the figure is.