Michael Dotson, New Spa World. Image courtesy of Graham.

Featuring: Seth Adelsberger, Trudy Benson, Michael Dotson, Henry Gunderson, Eric Shaw, Russell Tyler, Siebren Versteeg, Max Warsh

Sunscreen
July 10-August 28, 2014
James Graham & Sons Gallery
32 East 67th St.
New York City
graham1857.com

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Second Sight
June 19 – July 19, 2014
Brian Morris Gallery
163 Chrystie St.
New York City
brianmorrisgallery.com

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Gavin Lynch, Lake of the Woods (Midnight Version) 2014, Oil on canvas over wood panel , 36″ × 48″

Featuring: Esteban Cabeza, Kim Dorland, Echo Eggebrecht, Andre Ethier, Genieve Figgis, Bradley Harms, Paul Housley, Mathieu Lefèvre, Gavin Lynch, Humberto Poblete-Bustamante, Mark Puchala, Eva Räder, Jeanie Riddle, Kyle Scheurmann, Jason Stopa, Felipe Talo, Russell Tyler, Bradley Wood

Curated by Kim Dorland

I ♥ Paint
May 8th – June 7th
Angell Gallery
12 Ossington Avenue
Toronto, Canada
angellgallery.com

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The five largest paintings on the South wall of the gallery do read like screens as explained in the press release, “influenced by crude digital landscapes of outdated 8-bit graphics”.  The thick paint and occasional drips echo the grittiness of early Technicolor animation. The gradients are reminiscent of early computer generated advertisements and early arcade game backgrounds. But I also think about old Japanese prints or the rainbow rolls of 1960’s/70’s rock posters.

The reductive compositions do remain graph-like but are not so considered. They avoid a lean towards early modernists like Kandinsky or Mondrian, No Golden Ratios make an appearance here. The paintings hover somewhere between graphic color charts and actual thought-out pictures. I do not imagine Russell in his studio staring at this work thoughtfully, or calculating color theory, conceptual, or even emotional content. This attitude matches Russell’s sincere, yet not pretentious personality. He’s no Albers and no Picasso—and I’m glad.

Despite what it says in the DCKT press release about his influence of the screen and early Sci-Fi films, he makes the paintings for themselves—they reference themselves, and I think more about how they relate to his older body of work than any conceptual framework or nod to pop or art history. These are paintings made by a painter who knows how to make a bad painting. And he probably knows how to make a good painting too (I’m talking about formulas). This new work is neither trying too hard or too little.  A middle ground rarely tread upon these days. I feel like most shows I see are either heavy-handed new casualist or over-produced craft fairs/flea markets. But Tyler’s new paintings are at a mature point, curbed back from the cusp of beautiful, while not sunken into a shit-show of muddiness.

Russell Tyler, EVA-POD, 2013. Oil on wood panel. 26 in. diameter. Image courtesy of the artist.

Most of the time when you see an artist’s body of work or even more than one painting together you began to see relationships and hear conversations between the works. That is hard to do with Tyler’s paintings—maybe because the imagery is simple and similar, but also because the designs are soft and ambiguous. They are open-ended, acting like backdrops, jumping off points or fading dreamscapes. He makes the paintings bright yet muted, geometric yet sloppy. This seeming confliction allows one to read each painting individually, even when they are in a large group and in close proximity to each other. The paintings need to be seen in person—like a Brice Marden or a Julie Torres.

The paint is thick, and vivid, and lush—probably not yet dry. The works smell like oil paint but I still see and read them like graphic, flat compositions. All these other elements are there but don’t get in the way of the literal or implied image. Tyler still retains the remnants of his older style of messy, bad painting. All the paintings at DCKT except the tondo works have double line borders made by squeezing paint directly out of the tube. He does not use this technique as a statement of immediacy. The painted borders act like modernist frames.

Since the entire surface is thick paint brushed on like cake frosting, we see the final image as a field. When one mutation multiplies and becomes dominant, then it becomes the norm. Russell Tyler fills his paintings with flatness.

By Mark Sengbusch

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Image courtesy of DCKT Contemporary

Russell Tyler’s Analogue Future
December 14, 2013 – January 26, 2014
DCKT Contemporary
21 Orchard Street
New York City
dcktcontemporary.com

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Ian Toms, Untitled (K as a Haunted House), 2011
oil, enamel, tape and sharpie on linen
32 x 26 inches

In collaboration with The New Museum and The They Co, one of our favorite independent curators has an exciting show open from May 4th-11th at the Old School, 233 Mott St. in Nolita. Adam Mignanelli of Ballast Projects has really been killin’ it lately. This show seems to be another exhibition that very worth our time.

Ballast Projects is pleased to present five painters sharing their passion and gift of artistic thinking, storytelling, image making, and purpose. Their works, made with both local community and global audiences in mind, are governed by values and social structures put in place to help their artistic wishes become reality. These artists share a common sense of daring and risk, utilizing art materials from all corners of their lives in order to find success through their work.

It takes more than just talent. Reaching deep into their own wells of inspiration, each of these artists live, breathe, and dream their artistic pursuits at every moment. They may be at different stages of their development, but they each maintain a vital gut of artistic passion. This is what it takes to continue to make captivating paintings; ability, drive, forethought, and confidence. It’s not enough to expect that everyone else will see how hard you are working. You have to make your own luck.

The artists included in the exhibition are Samuel T. Adams, Devin Powers, Jenna Ransom, Ian Toms, and Russell Tyler.

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Kelly and Gori explain, “New to the initiative, SPRING/BREAK partners this year with online auction house Paddle8, with all sales accessible to Paddle8’s global collector community – making SPRING/BREAK the first fair to make works salable exclusively through a digital platform. An online preview of selected works launches February 27th, with sales going live March 5th – 10th, in tandem with the exhibition (see: www.paddle8.com/auctions/springbreak).”

They add, “Also new this year, fair organizers, artists, and curators have agreed to donate a portion of sales to the NYFA Emergency Relief Fund for individual artists affected by Hurricane Sandy. In addition, the auction will allocate a percentage of sales from artwork to Joanne Tucker and Adam Driver’s Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF) initiative.”

SPRING/BREAK has partnered with VOLTA NY this year, as well. All of the downtown fair’s cards that have been relocated will be recognized at the front entry with VOLTA performing the same courtesy to all guests of SPRING/BREAK Art Show.

Participating artists – established and emerging alike – will be show side-by-side to keep with the fair’s mission. Artists include: Jeremy Blake, Yorgo Alexopoulos, Michael Joaquin Grey, Chuck Webster, JR, Fall On Your Sword and Sarah Bereza, Julia Chiang, Matthew Hassell, Russell Tyler, Z Behl, Myla Dalbesio, Tom Smith, Rachel de Joode, and many, many others.

Kelly and Gori proudly announce, “Eve Sussman and Simon Lee will return this year as curators, unveiling the work of convicted confidence artists Jack + Leigh Ruby, as they re-appropriate past criminal activities into a formal context. Other curators include Maureen Sullivan, Kyle DeWoody, Helen Toomer, Gabriela Alva, Tom Weinrich and more.”

Be sure to take a break from the ordinary this spring at SPRING/BREAK Art show between March 5 and 10. Again, the show will be held at the Old School, located at 233 Mott Street, NYC on the corner of Prince Street and Mott Street.

For more information, please visit springbreakartshow.com.

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