September 12 – October 17, 2009
Europäisch-Amerikanische Freundschaft is a group show at Gavin Brown featuring Ida Ekblad, Alistair Frost and David Hominal, three young European artists working in a variety of media. This ‘European American Friendship’ offers an opportunity to see the work of these artists who although exhibit widely throughout Europe are relatively new to the American art scene. Along with the 33 works presented, there is an interesting conversation that takes place between oeuvre and their titles.
Ekblad’s ‘found’ sculptures are mainly 3D forms created with the use of line (The Judge or Dusty Chimes of Chrome). However their positioning in the gallery space can be made visually challenging. Just viewed by themselves, one can appreciate the crisp forms, fluidity of the lines and try to form a connection with its title. But when these are viewed against the backdrop of her works on canvas (such as The Chief of Police or Nocturnal November), the sculpture is momentarily lost within the dramatic movement of her work. It takes a moment for the eyes to recover from the onslaught of the brush strokes and color to find the sculpture again.
Alternatively, the play of words bring an appealing dimension to Frost’s work, where the attention of the viewer not restricted to the painted surface alone but also goes back and forth between the title and the work. The very daring, easy but precise brush strokes are as remarkable as his use of color. While some of his works tend towards abstraction (damn, if I didn’t start walking in this direction for a reason), in others the stylized forms (what color tie would you say you are wearing) in conjunction with the titles make his work less of a generalization.
Was this particular exhibit curated as a response to the popularity of these artists in Europe with New York as their next logical career move or is it a step to bolster the ‘Friendship’? Whatever the reason; the ‘European American Friendship’ does give us a glance into the art of up and coming artists who might prove to be noteworthy milestones in contemporary art.
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This review goes well over the 250-words limit. While it is well structured and provides very good descriptions of the works, I find the syntax of a few sentences puzzling (e.g. “Just viewed by themselves, one can appreciate…”). I also find the conclusion too vague. I believe that a critic should speak with some authority about the quality and significance of the work, and about the effectiveness of curatorial decisions. Who will decide whether or not those artists “prove to be noteworthy milestones in contemporary art” if not the specialists working in that field? This writer should use her insightful observations to draw a more decisive conclusion.
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