Every summer, when
most New Yorkers are out and about, galleries in New
York City either close or put
up group shows culled from their collections. These shows are usually mildly
interesting in that they show a variety of work reflecting the galleries’
specific interests and tastes.
But the downside is
that these shows generally don’t allow viewers the opportunity to consider an
artist’s work in a broader context. Some works may stand out over others just
because they’re larger or more flamboyant while other, more subtle works might
get lost in a tourist-tempting display of artistic bombast. Viewing the more
subtle would be better if we could see it in relation to more work by the same
artist or in context with other artists where there seems to be a theme or
connection between them.
It’s winter here in Rochester,
the holidays are over, and we’re looking for things to do indoors. Which finds
us wondering why A\V curators (all musical or visual artists) decided to put up
a small selection of their own work?
That said there is
some interesting work to look at the A\V
Curators Show. David Merulla’sIsolation Suspends is a quietly
poetic-kinetic piece. It’s a skeletal umbrella from
which several slide-sized photographs are suspended. Also dangling from the
umbrella’s spines are pages of a story about an acrobat aunt who vanishes into
thin air during a performance. The piece works especially well with Merulla’s ethereal and haunting musical score, which you
can listen to with headphones.
Joe Tunis’ Uprooted is a zen-like
“performance” of bamboo reeds in oak frames that are screwed through onto a
thick, vertical piece of paduak wood flanked on each
side by floor-to-ceiling strips of brown paper with latex paint marks. It looks
like a painter used the paper as a drop cloth. This works well with the very
structured bamboo units in creating a tension between the highly constructed
and the serendipitous. The piece just might be the strongest in the exhibition,
although it lacks the edginess and rawness of Tunis’
sound installations, which are not represented.
A large charcoal
drawing on paper by Chris Reeg is an imposing piece
but a much more interesting work is his photograph of an old furnace that also
serves as the image on the invitation. (Reeg has
manipulated the image in such a way that the title of the exhibition seamlessly
becomes part of the original raised lettering found on the furnace.)
Mike Twohig’s contribution is a couple of quasi-surrealistic
abstractions reminiscent of Chilean artist Roberto Matta.
They are much more interesting than the more realistic double portrait, as are
the small, funky Crumb-like illustrated flyers from previous gigs. Thrift
shop-style frames add to the shabby chic aesthetic.
Unfortunately, Andy
Gilmore’s intricate and inventive drawings are the more subtle works that get
lost. Their inclusion seems like afterthought, which maybe makes sense since
Gilmore’s stint at curating is just beginning. An
earlier, solo exhibition of his work was one of the best shows we’ve seen at
A\V.
And Lynn Hileman’sCurbside,
three black-and-white photographs mounted on metal, seems to suffer from an
overused technique of thinking you’ve discovered some really cool Rorschach
form after your film was processed incorrectly. Then again, maybe it was
cleverly done on purpose. But what’s up with the blasรฉ attitude about
exhibiting work with an obviously scrunched corner?
Some of the work shows
promise. But a group show with art by “curators” does not a curated
show make.
You
should go if you want to see a varied, multimedia collection
from the A\V artists.
A\V Curators Show through January 28 | A\V, 8 Public Market (second floor), use North
Union Street entrance | Gallery
hours are Thursday 7
p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
| 423-0320, www.avspace.org
This article appears in Jan 18-24, 2006.
