CHELSEA MANHATTAN: A WONDEROUS PLACE

A visit to the galleries of NYC took place on Friday, September 18 of the year 2009.
It was a lovely day. 

JAMES TURREL : LARGE HOLOGRAMS @PaceWildenstein

This work, known as "transmission light work", was presented a on large lateral mirrors. I think. Or layers of glass/mirrors. A projection of neon light was shot at the glass in a way that conjured geometrical illusions both within and protruding from the frame. Standing on the side and watching someone else view the image was pretty funny because it looks like they're staring into nothing. The fact that the audience must stand directly in front of the frame in order to reveal the subject is a great way on engaging the viewer. Moving from side to side, and in and out, to make the shapes sway and enlarge, allows for the viewer to get really involved with the work. This was something I had never seen before. It's an innovation in the creation of depth. It's quite curious.

ENOC PEREZ @ Mitchell-Innes & Nash

The artist reveals a strong architectural hand in his work. While the majority of his paintings actually were buildings, it can also be seen in the line of his figures, and more noticeably in the layering of his paint. From far away, the paintings almost seem to have been done with colored pencil; solid areas of color are neurotically streaky due to his palette knife. I was intrigued & confused by the layering and under-painting of his work. I couldn't tell if he was scraping away paint to reveal a bottom layer, or if he was painting around it. Beautifully rich.

BARTHELEMY TOGUO

The artist displayed large ink drawings, installation, and smaller drawings in his first solo exhibition. The ink drawings were beautifully rendered - splashes of color tye-dyed the gray inky areas with ever bleeding beyond the edge. These pieces strongly resembled the ink drawings of Marlene Dumas. The subject matter of these drawings were extremely vulgar - a woman spraying period blood on men and heads vomiting what looked like intestines. I would be interested to see this kind of work with a less-nauseating subject. I thought I would like the installation at first, but ended up not being able to understand what the artist was getting at. The floor was covered in banana boxes. Piled in the corner was an abundance of large plaid "laundry" bags. Four make-shift beds sat randomly in the room. On the beds were high piles of clothing, which were daintily "hidden" by princess-nets. I am assuming that the artist has an issue with laundry.