Art By Kim Gordon, Photos By Gail

Most people know the name Kim Gordon for her prominence in the music industry as the vocalist and guitarist for Sonic Youth, but Gordon is also an accomplished artist and filmmaker, having graduated from LA’s Otis College of Art and Design in the 1970s. Gordon is currently exhibiting a collection of her Paintings, Sculptures, Installation, Performance Art Documentation and Films in a show called Design Office with Kim Gordon – Since 1980, at White Columns Gallery in downtown Manhattan.

Gordon has also written extensively about art and music, and several of her books and articles are also part of the exhibit.

Design Office with Kim Gordon works well as a career retrospective of Gordon’s body of work from 1980 to the present, and while it is impressive for revealing her willingness to experiment with a variety of mediums and the obvious passion she has for her artistic expression, it reminded me very much of the student art exhibits I attended in college.

Wreath Painting

My favorite quote attributed to the late great Andy Warhol is “Art is What You Can Get Away With.” I see a lot of art and all I can add is that I believe he was correct.

Untitled (From The Boyfriend Series), Paint on Denim Skirts

The highlight of the exhibit for me was the ten minutes I spent in a small screening room watching part of the film X Girl Movie (1995), in which actress Chloë Sevigny roams the city, eventually crashing a Marc Jacobs Fashion Week event, looking for a man named Guy Lionaise who works at The UN. It’s more interesting than it sounds.

Twitter Paintings

I also liked her Twitter Paintings, which reminded me of the word art of David Shrigley, a tree branch painted with ice-blue glitter and one or two other isolated pieces, the best of which I’ve shown here.

Kim Gordon Recording Pressed on White Vinyl

That said, I’d tend to recommend this exhibit for fans of Kim Gordon and/or Sonic Youth, only.

Design Office with Kim Gordon – since 1980 will be on exhibit through October 19th, 2013 at White Columns Gallery, Located at 320 West 13th Street (Enter on Horatio Street, between Hudson and 8th Avenue), New York, NY 10014. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Saturday from  12 Noon – 6:00 PM.

Charlie (Spray Paint on Cellophane)