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Reflections on the Art Santa Fe
Until this weekend, the only art fairs had been in were in New York. When I discovered that I staff had booked a trip to Santa Fe by chance in the ART Santa Fe, I was excited to see what provides a tasting menu of various art galleries – certainly more exhibitors of the American Southwest, maybe a little more representation of the south of the border. And of course another question he was eager to challenge related to my own snobbery of New York: how the art scene here compared to New York? Is the quality of the work to hold a candle to one of the most important art centers in the world?
As you enter the art fair, a lobby type, with some pieces that looked like a promising preamble before entering the fair itself: No title of the note François Morellet was neon sculpture from local Santa Fe Gallery Zane Bennett Contemporary Art and Gift (2009), a print file Pearl on Fuji by Kathleen Wilke, represented by Decorazon Gallery (Dallas, TX). But I found when I went into the current exhibition space, quality works undoubtedly the spectrum.
Before going further, perhaps I should explain that I have two essential requirements and perhaps obvious when I see a work of art: First, the piece must draw on my aesthetic – must be visually compelling. The formal principles of color, composition, design, size, shape, texture, etc. must be sound. This may be true subjective because I think it is quite intuitive: when an object of art is not formally rational, just know it. Secondly, work must have a higher ambition: after its formal qualities I've thrown in the work that keep me committed to a little food for thought. Is not to be an overwhelming puzzle on the state of humanity, often the piece evokes a certain feeling in me and I take a moment to wonder why it has evoked This particular feeling and what that means, why I can like or dislike the feeling. I also encourage these two basic principles for the future of art in any Collector: your collection is you should start your personal interaction with the object of art, not what some gallery owner or a consultant tells you about the work of art.
A decent amount of work I have found in ART Santa Fe was serving a stage in my process of art appreciation, but was completely absent in step two. Some of these parts often come from a folk tradition or craft, not aspire to the conceptual extreme, as some of the selections Ten472 Gallery (California). In this sense, I can not say exactly the work of art, but personally, this kind of art does not do it for me. Some of the pieces in the show were so generic that great could have been on display alongside Jack Vettriano "Singing Butler" in a framing shop. I hate to be harsh, but there it is.
Singing Butler Jack Vettriano in 1992, less ubiquitous in the windows of the gallery screen.
There were also some galleries work hard with a convincing. One of the first pieces were drawn to paintings by Robert Sagerman (Galerie Renate Bender, Munich). Abstract Expressionism meets pointillism in his paintings to assume dimensions of sculpture in relief (see detail of a table below). The title of his works come from the number of brands of paint that makes them stacking up: a piece of 12 x 12 inches is called 2411 while a 71 x 41 inch painting is 16 710, which outlined the process of painting as an element integral to its meaning. The effect is a very sensual texture and art work with a strong presence, of life.
I also liked the sculpture of David Henderson ( William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe), which has exploited the middle of the carbon fiber end acrobatics. Given the size and texture of the pieces (reminiscent of polished marble or granite) that seem to have an incredible weight, but at crucial moments in the structural integrity, sculpture based almost disappears fine and delicate. These actions are achieved because of the very light carbon fiber (the largest sculpture in the light, 70 x 18 x 28 inches, weighed six pounds and could be held in one hand). I should also mention that these pieces attach to the wall in innovative ways, allowing for installation flexibility. Vulnerability very (well, the apparent vulnerability – the gallery owner said that one of the smaller pieces had been beaten on the floor on opening night, ran down the hall and not yet broken) and the tension of the parts at the same time raise concern and fear in the viewer.
Some artists sparked my imagination: Long Bin Chen busts were quite fascinating (Plum Flower Gallery, Hong Kong). Long Bin enjoy using the text based media (magazines, books) and exploration in new ways – from raw materials of phone books stacked, Long-Bin sculpted busts of famous people, like the legendary U.S. presidents and Buddhas. As with a piece of wood or stone, varied patterns, chance your book highlights provide unexpected and beautiful texture of each piece.
Left: Long Lincoln Chen Bin
Finally, David Buckingham 's RIP George Carlin was a moving and intelligent addition to the art fair. "Buckingham words" pieces are composed entirely of debris found in the letters and signs that rescues the entire Los Angeles area. RIP George Carlin Her piece was a string of explicative, fun and frivolous and like his other works found on their website (buckinghamstudio.com), challenges the elevation of fine art with humorous aesthetics and pop culture references.
This last work of Buckingham was also one of the few red dots I saw on the art fair. I chatted with the gallery owner who represents Buckingham, and noted that sales were slow. He added that half has many galleries had registered to exhibit at ART Santa Fe as last year. This no wonder – the show was much smaller than I anticipated. After some reports in relation to art fairs relieved earlier this summer (as Art Basel) was the hope of ART Santa Fe could have some success, but can be grown, modest art fairs are the real victims of this recession.
The final verdict: I am a snob, or a critic justified? I hope the latter – yes, I found much of the art of being second or even third level, but also I noted that all the highlights I mentioned do not come from galleries in New York. I was very impressed that some of the local Santa Fe galleries have very good eye for artistic talent. Overall it was nice to see a non-art fair in New York, and now I have an eye on another target for comparison: American South perhaps?
About the Author
I have worked in the art world for several years, and I’m now pursuing my graduate degree in art history. I like to write about art: if you like what you’ve read, feel free to check out some of my blogs, http://mydayatthemuseum.wordpress.com, http://NYCArtGirl.blogspot.com
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