Take a look at our brief review of Tim Cantor’s “Sweet Favour and Fiend” at AFA Gallery Soho, curated by Tim Cantor and Heidi Leigh, on view until August 31, 2016.
Hosted at the former Conde Nast headquarters in Times Square, we spent time at the transformed space for the 2016 Chashama Arts Gala. Check out our notes below!
With what can only be described as unsurprising, New York has once again become the stage for a vital piece of history – art history, that is.
The walls were dotted with creative fervor. Curators lined up the front, vacant seats. The once rowdy room became still, and quiet.
Headed by art dealer Dominique Levy and art gallery Greene Naftali, arrives a lengthy showcase — and subsequent conversation – regarding a somewhat new and unfamiliar addition to the field of Picasso, Da Vinci and Van Gogh.
Dansaekhwa, otherwise known as “Tansaekhwa”, is a style of Korean art that had emerged from a late twentieth century movement that revolutionized the framework for Korea’s art industry. Dansaekhwa is a type of artistic minimalism that caters well to fans of western monochrome paintings — with a sense of creative fervor that is sure to appeal to enthusiasts.
Donning the appearance of the abstract, Dansaekhwa pieces work with neutral colors, grid lines and repetition to create stylized compositions that describe the Korean narrative – down to the canvas. The process is intricate and involves a copious amount of water, glue, kaolin clay and patience. The final result: a mixture of lines on a grid surface that meld together in perfect harmony.
Historical context includes a change in pace from traditional norms; as the origin story for Dansaekhwa can be traced back to the post-WW2 and subsequent Korean War throes. Devastation and destruction unbounded. Hope was sparse, and of course, humans turn to other outlets to find solace among chaotic times. Dansaekhwa emerged as a rebellious figure – a newcomer to the world of art – catering to many.
This show, hosted by Dominique Levy, has been the first exhibition held by famous Korean artist Chung Sang-Hwa in the United States. Sang-Hwa, born in 1932, has his work in several locations across the globe; this includes the U.S., Japan and Seoul. For many, he is considered to be the harbinger of the Dansaekhwa artstyle.
“Paper has to be alive and choppy. Canvas work also refers to humidity. It is like a pulse and a breath. The picture thus moves choppily. The final result is not the target of my work but to present the process of how it is done,” according to Sang-Hwa — transcribed on the wall by his displayed artworks.
Curators and audience-members alike asked Sang-Hwa several questions regarding his work. Sang-Hwa had an immediate translator by his side.
Q: How do you come across the process of making the work?
A: All artists go through a process. And I have confidence that others do the same.
Q: Have you ever considered your work to be abstract before 1980?
A: If someone came up to me at the time and asked me that, I would say: “Is it? Maybe.” but, I don’t think in my mouth there came an answer that this is abstract.
Q: When you moved to Paris, to Japan, back to Korea how has the constant moving influenced your work?
A: Depending on where I went influenced me little by little. and changed me depending on the situation and art. Whatever that place’s historical perspective would’ve been had also influenced me. I visited art museums and exhibits numerous times. Not just once or twice but hundreds of times and naturally those kinds of efforts changed me.
The exhibition, with works by Chung Sang-Hwa, consists of his Dansaekhwa portraits. The display will be available to the public from June 1st to July 31st on 909 Madison Ave, on East 73rd Street.
At her opening in Tribeca, Jennifer Elster was unavoidable. She was darting around the room like a nurse tending to a thousand patients; checking on her paint works, other humans performing; “are you doing okay?”, performing her own work, “central!”, to rearranging a piece that had turned over. If you weren’t asking, “who is that curious woman?”, she was asking guests, “so, what do you think?”, or cooing, “it’s so good to see you!” She was chicly dressed, but not oppressively boho; she maintained a glass of wine through night. She was glowing the entire time; clearly still on a life-long bender that hinged on perfection.
But for a long time, this woman -absolutely fizzling with energy- was avoidable. In every sense she was avoidable; she’d avoid questions, certainly avoid showing work, avoid explanation. She approached this retrospective with sensitivity. It was the first moment to show much of this work, and for someone like Elster, one thing she can no longer avoid is judgement of her work. But much of the work is stenciled or handwritten thoughts on canvas and paper: brief, often witty reflections on life. Elster has still successfully avoided revealing the time and place and circumstance that might have prompted any given phrase. We see this avoidance in her “In The Woods” video series, which followed the likes of Alan Cumming and Moby, hearing their responses but never the instructions.
Elster told us for the opening night, “the musicians did not receive programs until they arrived.” In this way, Elster is toying with the idea that while the performance is now unavoidable, why not go further, make it all that much more raw. Same goes for the performers dealing with Gender, Socio-economic issues, and more; almost alien in their presentation; stoic and nearing some sort of reverse uncanny valley. So here we are, asking about limits, which Elster took a good while to consider. But when asked about limits as a concept she retorted: “I trust my moral compass so I believe in pushing the limits as far as I am curious to explore to express my feelings or perspective. I push life in all mediums I get entangled with [sic]. If I am scared of something specifically, I am also drawn to it.”
Makes sense, considering the fact if she’s having a retrospective, a terrifying proposition, might as well do it perfectly. Worth knowing if Elster felt a sense of unavoidability in all of it … she goes on: “I have wanted to feel and expose my own vulnerability and I did so very much at the opening.” Called it. “And in turn I saw many people feeling and crying. We opened ourselves and that is beautiful and honest and brave.” Elster, who has collaborated with Yoko Ono and the late David Bowie, may know a thing or two in terms of getting other people to open up, even if she’s still shut off (remember, lots of this work is just now getting shown). Elster revels in, but never addresses the power of words. She’s a young Terry Gross. Elster makes a final observation: “I feel as if people are literally walking around inside of me at the Gallery […].” As a viewer, it felt this way, too. But with Elster there, I felt like a parent checking out my kid’s dorm away at college, with my kid rushing around in front of me, trying best as they can to tidy up and explain. There shouldn’t be a shame in it. Life is a choreography, and we can’t avoid a watchful eye, even our own.
J. Elster: The Retrospective of an Extroverted Recluse will be on view from May 13th to May 25th, 2016 at 75 Leonard St. NYC, 12:00 – 7:00 PM; closed Monday.
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On Monday the 16th, The Knockturnal attended a private one night only exhibition by photographer Michael Jurick at the ultra luxurious venue The Glasshouses.
The exhibition, titled Infrared, features a series of photographs from Jurick that showcases natural moments revealed through infrared photography. This one night only event was a collaboration with The Chosen Few – an elite collection of artists and designers in the event space. 6 of the photographs on display were complimented by artists from the collective to create a unique multimedia presentation.
The night featured enough rose to fill a swimming pool and tasty bites such as truffle grilled cheese, spinach/artichoke dip, and shrimp skewers. There was also a live cover band and of course stunning floor to ceiling views of the Hudson river – I mean with a name like The Glasshouses would you expect anything less?
We chatted with Michael about the exhibition:
The Knockturnal: So tell us a bit more about this particular exhibit
Jurick: Sure over the past 4 years I’ve been collecting a body of work of my travels to Wyoming, Montana, Albania, Israel and in my backyard here in NY. So if you look at my photographs I capture all my photographs in infrared – I remove the censor from the regular digital DSLR and replace it with an infrared censor so it renders black – the whites turn sheer white and it creates an alluring quality about them that’s sort of hyper real.
The Knockturnal: And how did you choose the locations where you shot?
Jurick: Those are bucket list places. Albania for example was recently turned democratic, it was under dictatorship for years and its drop dead gorgeous. Its affordable and insanely historical.
For more on Juric’s photography head to: http://michaeljurick.com
And check out The Chosen Few at: http://hrkchosenfew.com
Last night we attended an exclusive auction preview of photographic works for a new exhibition at the 446 West 14th Street gallery space entitled “For The Innocent & Voiceless” featuring a collaboration by leading photographer Dah Wee with some of the world’s most famous subjects from Madonna to Naomi Campbell with the theme about the importance of giving a voice to the voiceless.
We were able to chat with Kevin O’Leary, of Shark Tank, on his alternative interest in photography, with a traveling exhibition that has made rounds in the US and Europe. We caught it at the Contemporary Art Fair NY on May 3, 2016.
Yesterday wrapped the four day art show held by NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) at Pier 36 in the Lower East Side.
On April 28, 2016, Free Arts NYC held its 17th Annual Art Auction to benefit the organization’s educational arts mentoring programs for underserved youth and families, as well as honoring Glenn O’Brien.
Los Angeles based artist Desire Obtain Cherish brings a new awareness to one’s sense of self and happiness in his exhibition Servant To Infinite Distraction.