David Smith at the Guggenheim

David Smith, Hudson River Landscape, 1951. Welded steel,
49 1/2 x 75 x 16 3/4 inches.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Purchase.

Thought this was worth a quick mention. This show being done when the man should have turned a 100 years old.
The work was generally smaller than I expected, but this realization really did only dawn on me halfway through the show, given that the sculpture works so well in the space. The galleries really show the work off well and allow you to see it on a very uncompromising scale. The building – subtle and powerful at the same time, much like the work of David Smith. The surprise was some of the drawing which became more and more abstract as time went by (what was edited out in between I don’t know but something is missing). Well worth a visit. Nothing wrong with a history lesson now and then. You might learn something.

Tara Donavan at PaceWildenstein

      

 
So this last weekend I finally made it out to Chelsea, with a list of shows to see. This being the preferred method as opposed to busking it which usually tends to result in anger and disillusionment. My experience was more satisfying. I’m learning to filter through the rooms and rooms of junk and get to the important work.
Tara Donovan is a Brooklyn based artist who has risen to notoriety surprisingly fast over the last five years. She has built up an impressive resume of awards, exhibition and invitations.
She works mainly in pre-existing materials such as plastic cups, straws, paper plates as well as toothpicks and nails. She arranges these objects into evocative installations, often using the entire space, to communicate landscapes and nature, making use of low-brow manufactured products. Her materials are transcended by the concept and installation. Space and scale are effectively brought into the work and the results are very subtle and beautiful. Eva Hesse is clearly an influence and it is hard to get away from this in her cube pieces, where she has stacked toothpicks into a self-containing pile (not in this show). Though this work is fantastic, I feel the danger lies in its repetition of a single idea, as well as its reliance to some extent on scale and the material being transcended by the subject matter. Another area which has been brought to question, is her use of teams of female assistants, who produce her laborious sculptures for her. On this one I am not sure. We cant do everything ourselves these days and I use assistants myself from time to time, as the project requires it as do many other artists. Some people really take her to task on this. Im not sure where I stand on this but see the show. I think in this case its justified. It doesnt take away from the work.