From accessories worn by Trent Reznor and David Bowie to introspection channeled through graphic art, this New York artist’s latest exhibition in Tribeca’s Development Gallery unearths pieces from her collection to revive her musings from across decades.
Jennifer Elster has always been a deeply reactionary artist. Whether it is rebutting (or accepting) seismic shifts in the culture or simply responding to a question posed or a happening taking place, her multi-modal replies are always candid and fizzling with raw, determined energy.
Elster has always consumed with world as anyone else does- receiving and interpreting on an on-going basis. But rather than letting things happen to her passively, she posits and responds urgently and instinctually. Stepping into the Take Heed show, now on view at The Development Gallery in Tribeca, one feels as if they’re stepping outside for the first time after an apocalyptic event.
Crystalizing the flurry of cultural norms that have been introduced in the past two years, Take Heed is the first honest retrospective of work that was created or heavily reconsidered under the shadow of an on-going global pandemic and an affronting war.
Taking shape amid the soaring columns and roiled tin roof and wood of the Tribeca space, the show feels like a shell of what once was and a space being repopulated once more. The dust has settled but hasn’t yet been swept away. A mount of KN95 masks, a signature element of the deepest valley of the COVID-19 pandemic, are positioned on a pedestal, taking on the performance of a future relic. In fact, preservation seems particularly important to Elster in this show, with many works being encased in plexiglas or wood.
A series of large-scale self-portraits, originally executed in 2016, featured Elster in military fatigues and gas masks. The works, faraway and innocuous at the time of their execution, are revisited within the collective gasp and gaze of an egregious war taking place in Ukraine. Have no doubt, conflict rages globally. But distance can breed unfounded comfort.
Elster’s instinctual quips, done in chiseled marker, are not flailing in conspiracy, but are bright-red warning lights. “Warhead” (2022) is one of the most delicate and thought-provoking pieces the artist has completed in recent memory, adding to an ongoing series of “head” works that address, in the most abstract way, the awe-inspiring dynamism of the human condition.
When Is It Enough?, 2015, 2020, Acrylic on paper with hands and no body, 44.5h x 44w x 44d inches
Unlike previous shows, Elster is no longer angry. She’s done defending herself. Now she is a communicator. Her prophesies have come true and she’s been prepared for a long while. Now she invites the broader world to involve themselves. Of course, there is humor. There is realism. Elster remains as buoyant as ever, motivated by- believe it or not- absolute optimism.
Bowie as the character of Ramona in a photograph taken by John Scarisbrick for Bowie’s 1995 1. Outside album. Styled by Jennifer Elster
Viewers will relish in the opportunity to revisit one of Elster’s most remarkable achievements: the styling of the late David Bowie. In a new installation, the image, which is celebrated for its deeply collaborative and improvised instant, enters into a new territory of multi-dimensional bliss by way of cut web around the enlarged image. “Bowie and I went very deep. I wanted to pay tribute and incorporate but not overwhelm the show.”Elster’s work are available to purchase for the first time at ChannelELSTER.com/art-gallery and on Artsy. Most of the show has sold, but there are collectible Limited Editions Gaeclee canvases and Digital C-Prints that will be available upon proposal.
Take Heed will be on exhibition through January 5, 2023 at The Development Gallery in Tribeca, NYC.
Shop the J. Elster collection here.
All of the recent celebratory reviews of “Moonage Dream” are a showcase of sparkling design that is worthy of a grand display.
David Bowie is an alligator. He’s a mama-papa comin’ for you. And the space invader.
Or so go the lyrics to his 1972 ballad “Moonage Daydream,” which shares the name with Brett Morgan’s new archival documentary on the glam rock icon.
The film is a kaleidoscopic telling of the many iterations and characters of Bowie throughout his half a century career. Sumptuous visuals from classic films, Bowie music videos and artwork, backed with candid interviews tell the story of the singer with purely archival material.
The Knockturnal attended a For Your Consideration screening in an IMAX theater, which is the optimal medium to appreciate the dazzling, space-faring, makeup-wearing, fantasy role-playing singer in all his grandeur.
The film depicts Bowie as a man deeply invested in constructing his own identity, through costume, art and public persona. He evolves later in life, both as a person and how he sees and presents himself. So does his music. And so does the aesthetic of the documentary.
The brilliance of the film is that it allows you to experience Bowie. Not hear about Bowie through an intermediary. This is the record the late Bowie left us constructed in such a way that we feel the man and his art throughout.
He’s lonely. He’s brilliant. He’s compassionate. He’s fabulous. He’s high on life. He’s a rock ‘n’ rollin’ bitch for you. Freak out in an IMAX Moonage Daydream.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America has announced that comedian, actor, producer, and host Joel McHale will be the host of the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards on June 6th in the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Lady Gaga set the 2016 Grammy Awards red carpet on fire last night with a special look to honor the legend of David Bowie and his musical legacy.
69 years of life, 50 years of which were dedicated to the music industry; these stats describe the one and only David Bowie.