Friday, October 06, 2006

Brian Calvin

This is the painting. I love this guy's work. I was less into the black/white faces somehow. The other portrait of the woman with the flower in her hair I will also be happy to take into my family. The drawings are also excellent.



The forest wore me out yesterday. I thought I was getting mm & corny's illness last night but today I am feeling better. Took a night off from the booze and went to bed early. Which meant missing the spaz dancing session last night which i feel bad about. Sorry. I suck. Anyway, let's see. A report from the forest...

Surprise hit = keegan mchargue at metro pictures. I guess this has been all the rage or something? But honestly, why I don't think it's the bees knees there is just enough peculiarity (genuine, to me) in these images that by the time i left the gallery I was into it. Innovation and color and yes, there is that yellow submarine-esque goofy drawing style that courts suspicion but I was buying it. I tended to like the less complicated ones better. ?

this was followed by the fucking awesome show at L. Augustine. Albert Oehlen. Is that spelled right? It was weird to see this show after the KM show because the feeling changed from weird, happy, stoned good times to a definite nihilistic chill. Such a different kind of painting - such bravado and skill. Asking different questions with the work. My friend and I sat and the gallery and discussed this like big freaks for a really long time.

Karen Kilimnick - kind of a bummer for some reason. I have been a fan since the beginning but this show didn't offer me any new insights. I don't know. It was fine. whatever.

Lastly.... Elizabeth Huey. I only saw it at the opening and seeing it again was a whole different thing. These are ambitious paintings, gorgeous color and light. A highly charged painting vocabulary. Going somewhere.

so that's a wrap on another installment of my incredibly lazy chelsea forest overview.

14 comments:

fairy butler said...

i would also like to add that the matthew ritchie show was so annoying. what is he doing? why all the gizmos? why the spiral staircase? i remember really LOVING his work at that drawing show at MOMA from a few years ago. Crazy, delicate, beautiful work. How did the work morph into a sports recreational vehicle with a sub-woofer stereo system and LED monitor with moon roof and a hot tub?

don't answer this.

fairy butler said...

yesterday there was so much badness. I guess like usual? So much stupid lame stuff with adolescent boys jerking off or something. that show at d.eller. HATE. I could go on but it's not nice for the blog. or wait, no one reads this, right? so many just annoying shows. just dumb shit in a not good way. I love dumb stuff but you know what i mean.

fairy butler said...

there were hordes of 20 something boys wearing saggy tank tops and jeans tucked into cowboy boots. jaunty caps. elf boys.

fairy butler said...

i have to get to work now.

Corny said...

Thanks for the review. God, It's so hard to go to the forest, you are brave. I haven't seen any of these shows except for Olhen which i agree is really inspired, and Richie (yikes).
I'm into the surgical strike now, like just going to see shows that have been recomended or I know will be worth seeing or galleries I know have good programs. I can't take seeing all the
piles of bad adolessant boy's jerking off art anymore...
D.eller shows an artist who took a drawing of mine and made a sculpture out of it and sold it for like TONS of money. I can't help but hate that gallery for showng it, it was such a rip off. I get all steemed just thinking about it. i should put it on my blog.

Corny said...

sorry, didn't mean to make this about ME!

fairy butler said...

who corny. that's a crazy story! what the hell?

D.E. shows a few artists i really like - like some of my favs - but then also there are these shows like the one up now (which has received favorable reviews?) and looks like someone gearing up for a halloween party.

fairy butler said...

and it smells in there.

Corny said...

Derk Eller presenting art in Smell-a-round®

dubz said...

that show at derek eller should come with a complimentary barf bag. fucking cobwebs. what is that?? (haven't eaten, getting agitated)...

the richie show = airport art. he rots.

Anonymous said...

the show at d.e. was just missing a scarecrow, right? or maybe there was one. seriously, what is it? what is he thinking showing that? really. what?

i also had probs with the dona nelson. I had to stay on the 'no' side of the divide. sorry peeds.

Anonymous said...

I went to pick up the Mrs in the forest this evening and popped into see karen kilimnik's show. Jeez, what is up with that girl? I really can't stand her work. That Girly girl shit is so tired. Was it ever not tired? Theres no inventivness and imagination in her work, it's so shut down and CONTROLLED. Riddle me this batman, how did she get to be so big?

Also, I agree about Dona Nelson, her work seems really derivative (Polk, Pollack). Again, nothing original or really creative and imaginative happening in that show. Maybe the charcoal drawing was ok... bla, never mind.

PD said...

This jet-lag's got me down. HI!!!FB, your reviews of the forest always make me feel like a lazy ass for not seeing everything. But I have an excuse this time. But I also understand about DN's show. It's a hard show to like, but I am interested in that. I hope I still have time for the Calvin show.

Anonymous said...

hey fb - are you coming on friday? i wondered if i could convince you to try some jethro tull...