September 26 2005
The Cottelston Bulletin
Michael S. Sellinger
The air was thick with anticipation as the art season opened two weeks ago. No surprise coming off the first half of 2005, where most contemporary art market records were broken. On the first night there were over 90 openings.
Having taken in a number of shows during quieter moments, here are some of my early favorites:
Chris Hanson & Hendrika Sonnenberg at Cohan and Leslie
The show consists of an installation of sculptures of common street objects carved out of polystyrene and several street signs, stolen and painted to efface their original directive. These objects, normally in the peripheral, become elegant in the transformation. The process brings each object's visual and formal elegance to the forefront. The work emphasizes the beauty of everyday life.
Todd Arsenault at Massimo Audiello
Arsenault employs a deconstructive approach to his paintings, dismantling and reinventing images to create abstract and fractured environments. The combination of the abstraction and the organic; of landscape and chaos is mesmerizing. The work hints at the entropy of life or the underlying impermanency in perceived stability.
Danica Phelps at Zach Feuer Gallery
Phelps has been documenting and drawing her life, using a monetary (and later erotic) system to provide parameters and guidelines. The show documents the part of our day we take for granted - the process of waking each morning. The loopy, flowing drawings capture the beauty of rituals we quickly dispense with - a reminder to enjoy life's simpler moments.
On Tuesday, September 27 , please join me for a lively discussion at Cheryl Pelavin Fine Art on Marion Wilson's show 'Tender'. Wilson's art engages the physical, spiritual and the financial sides of being human and being an artist. These principles guided her in collaboration with homeless men served by the Bowery Mission.
I'll be on a panel with Marion Wilson, the artist ; Melanie Cohn, Curator of Counter Culture exhibition, New Museum of Contemporary Art; and Luis Guzman, Bowery Mission and Travelers resident. There will be a reception at 6:30 and the talk will start at promptly at 7pm. Cheryl Pelavin is located at 13 Jay Street, NYC, NY, (212) 925-9424.
Finally, please check out my new web site, www.cottelston.com .
Remember art saves.