You can see what seems like a thousand different interpretations of Robert De Niro as the character Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver — a film I really did not enjoy all that much — this weekend only at Scorsese: A Tribute Art Show at Bold Hype Gallery in Chelsea. Geoffrey and I waited in line for 45 minutes (another first!) to get into the opening reception last night, and inside the gallery it was more packed than a can of sardines, as you’ll see in the photo below: Continue reading This Weekend Only: Martin Scorsese Tribute Show at Bold Hype Gallery!→
On the same evening that we visited Bethany Marchman’s collection of anthropomorphic animal oil paintings, we saw a remarkable exhibit from a sculptor exploring similar themes.
Come Undone, the new body of work by Beth Cavener Stichter, features large-scale works made from clay. Cavener Stichter cajoles the viewer into looking at the darker side of the human condition by cloaking it in animal skin. Her subjects elicit empathy, expressing complex emotions and relationships while permitting us to finally examine humanity closely enough to fully consider it — and to connect on a rare personal level.
A life-sized sculpture of a lamb makes for an unexpected chandelier, lit from within and suspended from the ceiling.
L’Amante
A sensuous hare dangles a tattooed leg suggestively over the edge of its sculpture stand, all the while sustaining the piercing eye contact Cavener Stichter’s works are known to possess. Each work heightens our visual interest while dramatizing states of grace, fear, desperation and beauty.
L’Amante (Detail)
The White Hind (The Bride) reminded us very much of This Piece.
In Bocca al Lupo (We call it Wolf with Pink Vomit)
Each piece is testimony to Cavener Stichter’s truly innovative studio practice. While the properties of her chosen medium enable her an eloquence of form and surface unavailable through other media, she pushes the process further through a construction both delicate and time consuming. She begins with a solid block of terra cotta, taking care to create her signature “painterly” sweeping strokes in the clay. She then cuts the work into small, manageable sections re-work and re-articulate the musculature, skin, and fur. The next step is to painstakingly hollow out each section until it is very thin and thus fires to an extreme strength. After the kiln, she re-assembles the pieces and paints the finished work.
While the Come Undone exhibit takes up the main floor gallery, downstairs you’ll find a diverse collection of pieces by other Claire Oliver represented artists, which is just another reason a visit to this gallery is always enjoyable.
Beth Cavener Stichter’s Come Undone will be on Exhibit until October 20th, 2012 at The Claire Oliver Gallery, Located at 513 West 26th Street (Street Level) New York City.
Here at the Worley Gig, we are especially fond of the contemporary art that embraces both the dark and the darkly humorous. Perhaps this is the reason we are really digging the latest exhibit over at Bold Hype Gallery: Bethany Marchman’s Bless Your Heart. According to Marchman’s bio, the artist aims “to create parallels between innocence and influence / history and popular culture. [Her] paintings are reflections of the awkward changes we experience as individuals and as a society, while questioning whether or not growth is synonymous with improvement.” Interesting!
Dealing largely with the anthropomorphism of animals, this new series is both playful and morbid. We just love it! Marchman’s use of traditional oils in a primarily dark color palette lends a renaissance feel to her work; one which is further enhanced by each painting’s ornate, gilt frame. So gorgeous! Each painting tells a story that the viewer can make up in his or her head. Here are some of the thoughts I was thinking while I looked at them.
Nelly Senior Year
Billy Senior Year
Are these actually High School Year Book pictures of Goats? If so, what kind world do those Goats inhabit? I want to know.
Br’er Bear and Br’er Fox
Are these the skulls of animal characters that populate literary legend? Do they adorn the walls of a museum in a parallel universe? I want to go there.
Sweet Bunny and Honey Bunny
Are these bunny rabbits in Victorian collars honored pets or regal children immortalized on canvas?
Wayward Girl Scout
Does this distracted young scout realize that the Yeti is fast encroaching on her? Scary!
Anterior
Interior
Posterior
How can I get away with not paying my rent so that I can afford to buy the three paintings above?
Bethany’s paintings recall elements of the works of some of our favorite artists including Travis Louie, Ken Kearns and Mark Ryden. If the images in this post resonate with you, or if you dig any of the aforementioned artists, you should not miss this show.
Bethany Marchman’s Bless Your Heart will be on Exhibit Through October 6, 2012 at Bold Hype Gallery, Located at 547 W 27th St, 5th floor, New York, NY 10001. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 12 Noon – 5:00 PM
