So the last few weeks have been hectic and I have finally got my show up. I must say its very different putting up a show in New York compared to South Africa: Harder to say the least. I am relieved to finally have it up and installed and now it can be it’s own entity. This is the most interesting stage of showing for me – where the work takes on a life of its own and its out of my head and into the public realm. People can be honest and see what the work is and I can see what its seen to be.
If you haven’t managed to take a look then please go by- www.davidkrut.com Their website is coming along slowly but you can get all the basic details off it. The show is better.
After the opening my girlfriend and I took a trip up the Hudson River. We went to two museums. Stormking sculpture park. Its an independently run operation and consists of large scale outdoor sculpture. Much of it is pretty dated in my eyes but its good to see a lot of the stuff that may have had a large part in influencing me to be come concerned with large scale sculpture. Lots of Mark di Suvero works, Richard Serra and some other big names. Have a look at the website on www.stormking.org. Nam Jun Paik even had a go – nice work but it isn’t not really suited to outdoor work.
The highlight there was Magdalena Abakanowicz more for the strangeness of the objects she made which where wooden sarcophagi structures in glass houses. The only works that really toe the line between reality and the world of sculpture which is a good place to be I think. They made you question their existence a little more than most. Its a huge park and we managed to catch the last day before they shut for winter, which is a pity as many of these works must look amazing in snow: a northern phenomenon still to be seen by me.
The following day we went to DiaBeacon. A relatively new museum In a town called Beacon not far from Storm king. Its a huge space which used to be a factory of some kind. It was donated to the Dia foundation who also have spaces in Chelsea in NYC and they also maintain other site specific installation work done in the early 80’s and 90’s. They have a whole stream of funding and are a well run operation who know what they’re doing. The permanent collection houses Bruce Naumen, Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses-quite something to walk in. Id like to live in them in fact and it was great to see them at last. Sol Lewitt is amazing-he produced a wall drawing based on line and graph, using tone explore pattern. It goes beyond that of course but the collection overall is very good.
The two places represent very different eras in time and kind of follow on from one another. But very much worth seeing. Dia Beacon is a good day trip up from NYC-about a 40 minute train ride. www.diabeacon.org . A visit to the website is worth your while if you aren’t in New York and cant make it to these places.
I feel like this is beginning to become the new “Letter from America”
Ill have to cultivate my radio voice. For the television.