~TED GAHL . . ‘ZEN PAINTINGS’ at VICKI / THE LOW-DOWN !!

SO, YEAH . . . . !!
I DID find . . a car !!

flew in . . on the wheels of a silver chariot.
like a thief-in-the-night, with crew in hand.
nothing’s better, than a kid . . with a silver Audi.

TED GAHL . . ‘ZEN PAINTINGS’
OPENED SAT OCT 12 / 6 – 9 PM
show runs thru . . NOV 16, 2019 / BY APP’T
VICKI, 327 Liberty St., Newburgh, NY 12550 / www.vicki.fun


TED GAHL
‘Wake up and zen.’


this was my fav piece / it was very ‘passive-aggressive’ inter-active /
& you could even take it home, and it would continue performing, as long as you re-filled the incense.
imagine showing that off – to your friends !!
and ps,it’s aroma fills the room . . like a blanket
like a house on fire, next door . . with the right brand.

very functional, as well as being . . a flat-out art statement.
the fact that it stood vertically / attached upright to a wall,
as opposed to your standard incense holder, which sits on the tabletop /
allowed a very Freudian . . sequence to repeat, over & over.
when first placed in, the reddish velvety incense stick – is as rigid as hell /
pointing right at – you.
I caught here, at the down-time of the endless cycle / of life.
it was also a little bit of an illusion, but extremely realistic, definite based in real time / like a micro-viewing, of a fire.
broken down to / just one full element / an exercise in . . singularity.
in other words, it was very much the dance of the . . MALE.
(written in zen code !!)

TED GAHL, ‘Offering Painting’, 2019.
acrylic on panel, Nag Champa incense / 14 x 11 in.
($2,500)


I think it even comes with a . . free refill ?
this is the one to use / if you want to keep it . . REAL.
the whole room was suffused in hypnotic aroma.

the lay-out of the show / with its sparse presentation, (very) small repeating canvases, non-working wooden bench, & a random ceramic Japanese-like tea bowl, was quite the . . Architectural Digest minimalist / but, that was an illusion.
the ambience was thick as magic / totally smokey / a trippy haze enveloping all.


*thick-as-thieves in the dark, I even caught my on ghost reflection – in the window.
you can catch the BBQ food cart, with its glowing embers, on fire in the night / & also smokey, btw.
reflecting from the other side of the glass window, Zen lightning. Zen arousal. Zen fable.
Zen . . rising ?

*thick-as-theives . . in the night: outlaw / underground
as in, “stealing the hqrd-core art scene away, from . . Brooklyn.”


TED GAH, at center . . .
flanked by the VICKI curators / and co-founders:
(L) SAMUEL BOEHM, and (R) DANIEL GIODANO
Ted Gahl’s ‘Zen Paintings’, behind them.


DAN LOXTON, and DANIEL GIORDANO.
Dan Loxton . . just opened up his own indie curatorial space, upstate.
called Uffizi, it’s a one room “intimate viewing room in the Hudson highlands” /
i.e. in his (rural) house, in Cold Spring, NY.
“Food, refreshments, refinement, skuzzgrime.”
the inaugural show is up now: “Qasi Pink” / Uffizi / Vegan Curry
on view by app’t /OCT 19 – Nov 10 / email: info.uffizi@gmail.com
it’s like . . the proverbial ‘chip’ off the ole marble block / Uffizi, Florence / Uffizi, Cold Spring.
well, Hudson Valley is certainly turning into the bonafide art hub, isn’t ?

see: Qasi Pink aka skuzzgrime on Youtube / with 2 subscribers (!!!)
a ‘touch’ too much nihilist pink . . punk chaos ?

DANIEL GIORDANO, Hudson Valley native, born and bred in Poughkeepsie,
& now based in Newburgh . . will be showing there mid-November.


ROSEMARY, and TED.
I refuse to allow the site, to become – just about . . the men.


meanwhile, outside . . Donald “Witt-it” Whitted was serving up the best fresh grilled turkey tacos ever, only $4 a pop, totally worth it.
Vicki Island food cart ? / no disappointment there.
Donald says he’s grilling up pulled ribs, at the next one.


the live coal fire BBQ / made the early Fall night air, as smokey & crisp – as the show, inside.


TED GAHL, ‘Untitled’, 2019.
acrylic on canvas / in artist’s own frame / 8 x 10 in.
($1,800)

and there I was, expecting to see black line / cartoon drawings.
whack.

ah, living life in the Zen lane / Up-state.

see: more install shots – on the gallery website


including the very non-functional wood bench & . . the very functional / Zen / tea bowl.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH