Carsten Nicolai: moiré at Pace Wildenstein Gallery

I am a week or two behind getting some of my New York City art travels to galleries etc.. onto my blog – but I am out there never the less. This visit to Pace Wildenstein had to be at least two weeks ago, and was a fantastic opening. Below is a video I took at put up on Youtube of a kinetic sculpture in the show. It took me a while to figure out what it was even but it looked and felt like some very hi-tech sort of technology from the 1960′s. In a room of it’s own , this work really got my attention.

[wp-tube vid_id="LFZMiIYTRN8" /]

Carsten-Nicolai-moiré1glass-2010

There are a few large works in this show , but it is more than enough to keep your interest. These works are a fusion between minimalism and op art. Spare and austere but entertaining. This large sculpture in the middle of the first room really draws home the beauty in industrial/commercial materials.

Carsten-Nicolai-moiré1glass-2010

Pace Wildenstein certainly knows how to have a great opening and this was no exception. Packed with the Chelsea art crowd they always have enough room , wine , and glasses to go around – and then some. I always enjoy an opening here.

Carsten_Nicolai_moiré_schatten_2010

This third work I am showing in here seemed to be a minimalistic landscape , installation piece. It seems like heavy piano wires mounted to the wall. Across from this is a projector that is ever so slightly moving up and down which created shadows on the wall from the strings that give the impression of a living seascape, only in black and white. Definitely worth a visit .

Ujin Lee Light Boxes

This performance project is scheduled for Friday June 11th From 10 am to 12 pm and there will be other things related to this project going on in Washington Square Park all afternoon.

On a recent visit through the galleries , I passed through a building that seems to be making a transition from studio spaces and other mixed use spaces to a space that showcases some art. I liked the roughness of the place and I always like seeking out gems in raw places like this.

I happened to pass by the studio of artist Ujin Lee and on the floor she had this work. A series of LED lighted boxes wrapped in fabric that caught my attention. I wanted to speak to her further about this work and it proved to be interesting. The works are based on a unique Korean gift wrapping tradition and magic numbers.As it tuned out the following week, while I was looking for a way to wrap something I was cooking in a banana leaf , I found this video that is on the very subject.

Ujin Lee is planning an installation / performance involving this work in Washington Square Park sometime around June 11th 2010 where she plans to give away pieces of the installation to visitors. For more information check out her blog at Ujin Lee Blogspot

It had been a couple of weeks since I had really seen anything out there at the galleries that was getting me excited, so It was like a breath of fresh air to see this Botero exhibit, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Marlborough Gallery.

Always top notch work they show at Marlborough, they always have very nice openings and while this is , of course , a playground for the very wealthy,  I have never felt unwelcome or otherwise put off by anyone who works there, in fact quite the opposite, they are very helpful and informative.

I guess not knowing a whole lot about Botero, I assumed he wasn’t around anymore, partly because his work is so classic , it seems like it is from a much more distant era. These works are heroic, epic and the sort of works that a city buys rather than an individual. (I am sure the individuals who own them could probably own a city as well.)

Botero at Marlborough

Botero at Marlborough

His figures have always been a celebration of the robust human form. A sort of 3d Reubens mixed with  modern flare. These sculptures do not turn away from sexual references at all, in fact these works are quite sexual, but not in any kind of offensive way. There are sexual in a way as to say “we are sexual, animals are sexual, here you go.”

In addition to the terrific exhibit downstairs, Marlborough Chelsea will usually give you a second show on the second floor as well. On the second floor was one of those summer sort of group show exhibits you see a lot of through the summer when the art world gets to take a long vacation. This summer group showing had quite a bit of good things to see… here are a few images of some of the cool artworks upstairs.

Rock Sculpture Marlborough Chelsea

Drawing on Shaped Canvases

Small Acrylic Painting Marlborough Chelsea