Podcast Episode 58:
You’re listening to the Art Problems Podcast episode 58.
I’m your host Paddy Johnson.
This is the podcast where we talk about how to get more shows, grants, and residencies.
And before I start this podcast, I want to let you know that the Netvvrk membership is open through Sunday. If you are thinking about joining, let me give you a nudge, because we’re about to make some major upgrades to the membership that will increase the price. And if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you’ve probably been getting that sense. With the artist William Powhida we’ve done some extensive work breaking down an artist’s path to success. And between that and some major other updates that I’ve got to keep close to my chest for now, you’re just gonna get an insane amount of value for what you pay.
After I finish these upgrades, I’m thinking my next major project might be a book. For years, I’ve wanted to do this, but didn’t feel I had the right subject. But now, I think I do.
Anyway, today I want to talk about what I saw last week in New York; Nada, Future, and TipToeing Through the Kitchen, a show of recent photography at Luhring Augustine.
Let’s start with some overall impressions:
Based on my conversations with dealers at NADA and Future Fair, I’d say selling went a whole lot better this year. This is very good news if you’re an emerging artist who wants to sell their work because the market has been really depressed for a while.
Now, I’ll offer the disclaimer that in the art world we don’t have a lot of reliable measures of how galleries are doing. You just have to rely on what your friends tell you and an overall vibe. In this case several artists and dealers told me they had made their money back and then some. And in terms of vibe, I wasn’t being kept at booths for unusually long periods of time - usually a sign of struggle on the part of dealers who haven’t made sales and desperately need them. But also, people seemed generally more relaxed and happy.
Overall, the quality of the booth at Future Fair felt a little less exciting than usual, but Red Arrow Gallery from Nashville showed the paintings of Karen Seapker - surrealist type abstractions in pastels that allude to the body, relationships, and the landscape. A theme of renewal seemed to come through to me, and the paintings were expertly executed, so a pleasure to look at.
Becky Brown’s paintings sold so well at Good Naked that several rehangings had to take place, but a split lettering arrangement that read committee on hand and community on the other made me laugh.
You never know what'll happen. All right, so contradiction number two. Here's your brand versus just do your thing and it'll look like you. So this contradiction and many that follow are the result of not understanding what part of the industry you are in. So Louise Mayhew has identified four different parts of the art world, experimental, traditional, community, and retail.
Over at NADA, Rebecca Morgan’s painting of a nude painter covered in paint that looks like sexual juice at Aysa Giesberg made me laugh. Harper’s gallery showed a multicolor landscape with lemons by Joani Tremblay. I’ve been coveting those paintings for a while, but I think I’m not the only one.
The highlight of NADA was being identified as I was leaving by artist Patrick Carlin Mohundro and brought back in to see his booth at Essex Flowers. I want to mention this because I didn’t already know Patrick, so I assume it took a bit of courage not just to say something to me but ask me if I’d seen his booth. But we had a lot to talk about - he had his own work on view, and taught professional practices. And that’s where I think being aware of what other people do, and just in general, the contemporary art discourse, gives you an edge. You always have something to talk about.
And can I tell you - I was so glad I went back to see his booth! In it, he showed several porcelain pieces he’d cast using canvas, and stitched together with stained glass. The works resemble horizoned landscapes and most had sold - another artist victory.
The last show I want to mention is TipToeing Through the Kitchen, a show of recent photography at Luhring Augustine. This was a group show featuring the work of seven artists organized around the theme of kinship and cultural inheritance.
Not an art fair, but I bring it up for a couple of reasons:
1. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen a photography show of emerging art. So, it was great to see this.
2. Some of the work was well under $5000 which is so rare to see in a Chelsea gallery, so I was super excited to see a gallery take a risk like this.
Finally two artists’ work stood out to me Brittany Nelson, and Shaun Pierson.
Nelson’s spare and abstract black and white photographs suggest isolation and seem tinged with sadness. For me the virtuosity of these photographs lies in the ability to imbue images that are sometimes almost entirely abstract with such intense emotion. You feel the isolation. Nelson is something of a photography nerd, so some of the photographs are made with specialized processing techniques.
Shaun Pierson’s homoerotic work looks at the relationship between photographer and subject. A lot of the shots have a behind the scenes feel - setting up staging for a thing that is about to happen, but the stage itself is the subject. A self portrait, shot naked with his back to us, curled in a fetal position, stands out because his figure resembles little more than a lump of flesh or a plucked turkey. Though I also enjoyed what I will refer to as several uncanny “dick just out of site” shots. I call them that because the dicks are just out of site. They’re playful, but with an edge – there’s something purposely impoverished about the scenes. It’s a nice break from the general aesthetic of lavishness that seems to be taking over the fairs.
So it was a great palette cleanser, and just what I needed!
Alright, that’s it for today.
Again a reminder if you’re thinking about signing up for Netvvrk you have until Sunday and let me just say this: I’d love to work with you!
Sign up link in the show notes!
Paddy
