Greater New York at MoMA PS1, all photos via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed

America is Hard to See, the Whitney recently proclaimed, opening the doors on a space that made the city around it part of its exhibition program.  For the most recent iteration of MoMA PS1’s Greater New York exhibition, the museum and its curators attempt a similar program, turning to the artists living and working in and around New York to present a deep, nuanced exploration of life in the metropolis. (more…)

Forcefield, Meerk Puffy Autumn Shroud (2002), via Art Observed

Over the past half century, American art has distinguished itself as much for its formal heroes (Pollock, de Kooning, Judd, etc.) as its outliers, artists working along distinct threads of the abject, pop culture and mass production who challenged the more refined and neatly conceptualized exercises of the 20th Century avant-garde.  This separate thread of American art, running from 1960’s comic-book art through the punk and funk movements of the 1970’s and onwards through the chaotic energies of turn of the century performance and video are the subject of What Nerve!, a documentation of the American underground at Matthew Marks. (more…)

Peter Saul, Francis Bacon Descending a Staircase (2012), via Mary Boone

Defying critical characterization and classification for the bulk of their careers, artists Jim Shaw and Peter Saul have continually pushed the art of figurative drawing in new directions.  Exploring the multi-generational impact of these two artists, curator Klaus Kertess has brought the two artists together at Mary Boone New York to exhibit a selection of their works on paper.  Bringing the subconscious to the forefront of the viewer’s attention, the artists’ show is packed with images of altered realities, presented in their trademark styles.

Jim Shaw, Dream Drawing (1996), via Mary Boone

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Opening night of Image Matters curated by Klaus Kertess at Mary Boone, photo by ArtObserved

Image Matter, an exhibition curated by Klaus Kertess, opened at Mary Boone Gallery’s Chelsea location on Saturday. The show brought together paintings by seven artists who have expanded the plane of the canvas and pushed the limits of painting to the third dimension.  Each artist is represented by a single piece, with most works in the mid-size range around six-feet-tall evenly spaced around the gallery with no wall text, privileging the paintings and their commonalities. The artists in the exhibition are Carroll Dunham, Ralph Humphrey, Elizabeth Murray, Alfonso Ossiorio, Peter Saul, Julian Schnabel, and Joe Zucker.

Image Matter
Curated by Klaus Kertess
February 21, 2009 to March 28, 2009
Mary Boone Gallery

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