contemporary figuration: klein gallery
Do I ever love summer openings! This group show had an interesting variety of figurative work: everything from Pearlstein and ny painters to local detroit artists.
alex katz - litho
pearlstein
bo bartlett
charles pompilius - (detroit) above and below. Charles was at the show and I had the pleasure of chatting with him about his painting. I have high respect for his works that take such a long time to complete.
pearlstein
robert wilbert - this piece sold! I normally am not drawn to more traditional still life painting but I do admire wilbert's works.
katz - original painting - a nice piece to have if you are looking to start a collection but I really enjoy katz's large scale figurative/landscape works.
kristin beaver - these two beauties were snatched up at her solo meadow brook show by david klein. I think these pieces are great to see at the gallery mixed among other great figurative painters like Fischl, Freud, Pearlstein...and many others. They give vitality to an otherwise reserved show and balance a show of famous national talent and local talent. This is one of those shows that really highlights the detroit artists in the show...don't forget charles pompilius a detroit painter too!
dj hall - this piece was not a favorite...it's not that I don't appreciate realism but I don't like seeing a painted photograph. I like being able to read into a work and live with it for a while. Painting that leaves no question doesn't hold my attention.
pearlstein - I really love the way in which pearlstein uses the body as another object or pattern within his busy, well planned compositions. The figures always appear like mannequins - flat and devoid of life but intertwine between rugs, chairs, and other strange objects. All objects are in the same high focus and compete for attention as your eyes circle the canvas.
alyssa monks - ny painter. Again another piece that I am not able to fairly judge. I will say again, I can appreciate it but it feels like a sad, sensual art school self portrait ... but excellently done.
posted by art blogs are fun at 12:34 AM
12 Comments:
your reviews are starting to sound a bit more educated...keep up the good work.
This show is the model that MOCAD should follow. The work is great, and creates the opportunity to have a dialogue about artists from this area with those from other areas.
Yeah thats what i was thinking as well. Mocad should pay attention.
Looking forward to seeing what Alfred Leslie has in the show. It is funny when I here people say that there is "no question left in the painting".
Are you so sure?
bravo david klein!
are you kidding me!?
"MOCAD should pay attention"????
this is exactly why the so called detroit art scene is so trivial an isolated - it is a figure painting show, a booring one to boot.
The "model" is why Mocad should pay attention.
it's more interesting than the lousy crap they've been showing at hillberrry or gallery project. mostly old, but so what. in person - new.
and i liked the nude in the bathtub more than the bo bartlett in the bathtub. and where can you see a judy fox sculpture -- she's been banned from most venues for her subject matter in the last few years.
and kudos to ben over at kid helping to bring in new local work as well.
Between the show at Klein's gallery and Kidd, there were 5 local artists represented (that I'm aware of).
They also happened to show nicely alongside the big-timers. Several close to out-shining them even.
Now, that's laudable.
And, yes, a model for MOCAD, who've sadly chosen to neglect our artists.
neglect our artists?
Mocad hasn't even done one show yet
and i am of the feeling that they should do what isn't being done here.
help us see more art - not promote locals
our improvement and success as a comunity of artists will depend on a myriad of things - one of which will be our exposure to new relevant work that will challenge the eyes and minds of young artists, students and detroiters in general.
we've seen enough of ourselves, and that may be the problem.
as an art community we stand still because of sentiments like those above of anonymous thinking that transplanting outside art here will magically transport us out of detroit. we will still remain unless we can stand side by side with outside art and have these curators visit our studios and see that it can be so. it's small-minded to think that allowing kara walker into a space here will transform the art community but kara alongside a detroit artist just might.
We've been having this argument since the day MOCAD announced it refuses to include a Detroit artist in its inaugural exhibition (unless you inlude Mitch Cope, the paid curator's participation).
Obviously there are two sides: those that believe Detroit artists aren't good enough to be allowed to show; and those who believe there are such artists, but these are being neglected due to such provincial attitudes.
David Klein's show is proof for the latter. It presented blue chip artists (Pearlstein, Fischl, Katz) alonside our own (Wilbert, Beaver, Pompilius) to the detriment of neither and to the mutual benefit of both.
In this time of art globalization, you really have to be backward-thinking to take the former position and to counter any progress for Detroit's cultural community.
Jef,
MoCAD isn't "refusing" anything…come on now. They hired a curator to come to Detroit and curate. It's his prerogative to choose whoever he wants for the show he's been hired to arrange. You may not agree with his choices; you may think it’s going to be a bad show, and that’s fine, but he as the man at the helm has no mandate to do anything but put together a show he wants to see. I know you know this…and I understand the sentiment. I too have been making the case that galleries should be bringing in artists from outside Detroit and showing them alongside our own (I think David’s done a fine job doing exactly that as someone mentioned above)…and it hardly needs to be said again that there’s plenty of time for that at MoCAD. Trying to limit the discussion to “either we aren’t good enough or we’re being neglected” is disingenuous at best, and lobbying hard against an injustice that hasn’t happened and, given some time and perspective, may never seems to me a waste of emotional expenditure. Maybe those at MoCAD are watching, maybe not. Either way I have nothing but high hopes for it all.
Post a Comment
<< Home