Tag Archive "sonnabend"

Chelsea bits and pieces

Cate and I spent last Saturday afternoon in Chelsea and a couple things leaped out as really good. More pictures here. Chris Ofili

Divas: Candida Hofer’s photographs sing

Courtesy Sonnabend Gallery.Candida HoferPalacio Nacional de Queluz II2006C-print200 x 247 cmCH-399 Candida Hofer’s wall-sized photos — portraits of grand architectural interiors, printed so large that the gallery-goer feels almost as if she’s in the space depicted — are both deadpan and glorious. Hofer’s love of these beautiful, historically-reverberant interiors is palpable. The way the rooms are lit, the painterly color, the stillness and drama of the shot, all this telescopes the artist’s love like a kiss. There may be blemishes in these old places but they’re sure not visible. Courtesy Sonnabend Gallery.Palacio Nacional de Mafra I2006C-print250 x 200 cmCH-380Notice the ... More » »

Government exercise and other New York moments

The work that engaged me most in New York this past visit was work that chewed on some aspect of politics. So I found myself interested in Jane and Louise Wilson‘s five-screen video installation “Erewhon” at 303Gallery until Nov. 6, even though it is somewhat repetitive. (“Erewhon” is the title of Samuel Butler’s satirical novel of a young Brit colonial who builds a new life in the isolation of New Zealand.) The installation shows long, old-fashioned, oppressive institutional hallways; dormitory-like rooms with old bed springs; empty landscapes; and young women in a soaring modern space wearing First World War-era athletic ... More » »