This new exhibition at the Marian Goodman Gallery presents a selection of artists curated by other artists. Bringing together 23 artists of different ages and from various countries including Cuba, England, Holland, Kosovo, Albania and Taiwan, Some Artists’ Artists showcases a multitude of voices in which resonances and dissonances emerge.
Some artists have taken the recent histories of their respective countries as their starting points: the Albanian painter Edi Hila, now 70 years old, portrays structures in Tirana that are erected in one political and ideological period and erased in another. Kosovar artist Petrit Halilaj explores the remnants of the former Kosovo Natural History Museum through animal sculptures made from soil and cow excrement. These are based on the Museum’s specimens that were later replaced by a nationalistic display of folk traditions as splintering nationalisms disintegrated Yugoslavia. Vivienne Koorland’s burlap paintings in turn contrast historic white settler-owned Farmsteads, dependent upon African labour, with black-owned farms from which the farmers were deported in the 20th century before being appropriated by white farmers.
Other pieces display a more playful front: Abraham Cruzvillegas’ Self-Portraits are made of “leftovers” from his homeland, Mexico whilst Cuban artist Wilfredo Prieto’s theatrical Piedra iluminada y piedra sin iluminación follows the best tradition of Latin American conceptualism. Other conceptual artists whose work has been selected include Stanley Brouwn, whos practice centres on walking, measuring and direction.
It’s a diverse collection of artists and the exhibition showcases drawing, painting, photography, glass, film and recordings amongst others. On the third floor is George Balanchine’s seminal ballet Agon (1957), a collaboration with Igor Stravinsky, which is one of the corner stones of modernist dance. Provoking a similar reaction to the 1913 performance of The Rite of Spring, it caused a wild response from the audience when it debuted. Dance and movement are explored further through Etienne Chambaud’s series of collages and Antoine Catala’s kinetic work, Logo to Enhanced Communication (2014).
Various artists, Some Artists’ Artists, until 22 August, Marian Goodman Gallery, 24 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 www.mariangoodman.com
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Credit:
1. Kerstin Brätsch, Minimoon Tellastar (2012) Baked and Sandblasted Artista Glass. 44 inches. Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery
