Jean-Luc Moulene, TransBébu (Le Buisson, 2021) (2021), all images via Miguel Abreu
This summer at Miguel Abreu in downtown New York, the gallery’s artist roster gathers together for a group show that delves into painting, sculpture, works on paper, and other hybridized modes as am exploration of diverse themes and concepts. The cosmos, the monochrome, the representation of nature and the body, as well as the geometric impulse are imaginatively engaged in the paintings, sculptures and drawings included in this dynamic arrangement of works, unified under the title Shake the Dust.
Alex Carver, Temporary Composition (Hand Attached to Broken Leg) (2019)
The show is an intriguing run through the work of the gallery’s diverse core of artists, and here brings to the surface a range of converging interests and divergent approaches. Dust and dirt, haphazard and slurred lines seem to unify the works here, a show compiled of works that make much of the quick and dirty approach to mark-making, or divergently, an approach that utilizes materials to arrive at similar conclusions. Artists Alex Carver and Beaux Mendes are both striking examples of the former, clustered, spotty line work and slurs of color realize works that seem to emerge from chaos, twisting in and out of legibility in a way that emphasizes the work’s construction, and, conversely, its realization of familiar form by the viewer.
Beaux Mendes, Self-Portrait of Anna (2006), via Miguel Abreu
Elsewhere, works like the sculptures of Jean-Luc Moulene use simple materials and direct gestures to similar effect. In TransBébu (Le Buisson, 2021) (2021) the artist’s simple use of celuloid and glass, base industrial materials and forms, realize a meditation between the delicate and the industrial, a negotiation between soft and brusque that make for a striking counter-comment. Artist Liz Deschenes makes for the most direct counterpoint here, showcasing stark monochromes that offer a grammatical point of reflection, and even a moment of visual respite from the often animated brushstrokes and gestures nearby.
The show closes August 25th.
Milton Resnick, U + Me (1989), via Miguel Abreu
– D. Creahan
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Shake the Dust [Miguel Abreu]
