Amber Cowan is a sculptress who works exclusively with recycled vintage glass, and her art is just phenomenal for its intricate beauty and imaginative qualities, combined with an irresistible nostalgic pull. The above tableau is entitled Dance of The Pacific Coast Highway at Sunset (2019) — was part of an exhibit of her work at NYC’s Heller Gallery, which just closed this past weekend.
French Impressionist Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917) painted dancers for roughly half of his career, and the above pastel drawing is only one of dozens of his images depicting a dancer in a pink outfit. I saw this one, Danseuse Rose (1896) at MOMA in New York over the summer.
C24 has been one of our favorite galleries since we first discovered it with This Exhibit almost three years ago now. And the long wait we endured for the gallery to move into its new bi-level space, just half a block west of the previous West 24th Street location was well worth it, because with its cool new lower floor atrium, C24 can now showcase some truly monumental pieces, such as the hyper-realist sculptures of Carole A. Feuerman.
Installation View: Leda and the Swan (Foreground), Monumental Quan (Background)
Feuerman is a pioneering figure in the world of hyper-realistic art, as well as her new approaches to sculpture with painted bronze pieces for the outdoors and in water. The artist works in both miniature and monumental size sculptures. We were first introduced to her work at the Jim Kempner Fine Art Gallery a few years ago, and since then we’ve seen her work in public spaces and art fairs as well — her iconic stye being immediately recognizable.
The new exhibit, Hero and Leander takes its title from a Greek mythological story of Hero (a priestess of Aphrodite) who lived in a tower off a waterway, and Leander (a young man from the opposite side of the strait). Leander fell in love with Hero and would swim very night across the waterway to be with her. Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide his way. These trysts lasted through one warm summer. On a stormy winter night, the waves tossed Leander in the sea, while the breezes blew out Hero’s light. Leander lost his way and was drowned. When Hero saw his dead body, she threw herself over the edge of the tower to be with him in death.
Releve
Hero and Leander features sculptures of swimmers/bathers, dancers and gymnasts, as well as a silkscreen on canvas swimmer triptych, pictured below.
Capri, Catalina, Moran Triptych
New York Slicker
The Dancer With Ball
Carole A. Feuerman’s Hero and Leander will be on Exhibit Through June 25th,2016 at C24 Gallery, Located at 560West 24th Street in the Chelsea Gallery District.
Figures Left to Right: TakuspeFAD Jersey, TakuspeFAD, and Takuspe B-Girl Down Jacket by Taku Obata (All Photos By Gail)
Jonathan LeVine Gallery is currently hosting Bust a Move, a series of new works by Japanese artist Taku Obata, in his debut solo exhibition in the United States. Bust a Move features Obata’s dynamic wooden sculptures, drawings and lithographs of b-boys, or break-dancers, with a distinctly interpreted fashion style. A b-boy himself, the artist has a precise understanding concerning the forms of the human body and how they move, creating works that are bursting with the kinetic energy found in this urban dance form.
The life-size (and larger!) sculptures in Bust a Move are captured in freeze stances, poses that complete every breakdance battle, and are adorned in brightly-colored jumpsuits with accessories sampled from the old-school b-boy style. Surreally elongated hats, glasses and gloves create the illusion of movement, in contrast with the stagnant demeanor of Obata’s subjects. The works have a dominating presence and by portraying modern dance through the ancient technique of Japanese wood-carving, the artist effectively merges popular culture with his cultural roots.
Obata fully immerses viewers in the environment of this subculture through his 3-D works, with the goal of enhancing our awareness and physical senses. In his own words, “I am not simply creating a b-boy, but I aim to create an atmosphere, a cool space with a certain strange and interesting tension.”
LeVine is also displaying a collection of Obata’s drawings of b-boys in action, wearing bright, neon colored outfits.
Drawing Detail
Taku Obata’s Bust a Move will be on Exhibit Through December 20th, 2014, at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Located at 529 West 20th Street in the Chelsea Gallery District.
