~TOM FORKIN, RAUL de NIEVES & COLETTE / ‘HEAVEN’S TAB’ / A.D. NYC . . SAT APRIL 3 / last day / don’t blink !!

‘HEAVEN’S TAB’ – TOM FORKIN, RAUL de NIEVES & COLETTE
this weekend / is the
last day: SAT APRIL 3, 2021
A.D.NYC GALLERY
19 MONROE ST, TWO BRIDGES / CHINATOWN, LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC

check out: great images & background text / ‘Heaven’s Tab’ – on the gallery website

this 3 person show .. !!
it was kind of bewildering, at first.
been thinking about it – for a while. how to define ?
what about: . . . a return to industrial / fantasy ?

the fresh, neon pastel color palette – in the Justin Beiber ‘Peaches’ video /
is what finally broke down the walls, on this exhibit – for me.
I had already cracked the Tom Forkin code:
wryly funny, but still New Age . . . Industrial /
subtext: clay, skills, functional / yet . . in a fictional ‘narrative’.

also, only after I had my mind-blown by the Beiber video, did I lock onto the saturated, but vibe-y color !!
of the RAUL de NIEVES work. very ‘fast-forward’ color Industrial, plus the ‘micro-bead’ fabrication. check, check.
though, there’s definitely a very dark edge, that I personally would not want to interface with, too casually.
no, no & no.

and, Colette ?
well, she’s just someone I always wrote off, as just. . another old school East Village local.
colorful, but always way too predictable. though in truth – I really only knew her for the outlandish, though not very varied costums, big hats, big platform shoes.
kind of like a Christo, but on a smaller scale.
wrapping her body, and not buildings.

but then, my longtime friend . . fearsome curator / gun artist / and fake BASQUIAT forger / ALFREDO MARTINEZ, told me he’s planning to present . . a big ‘WOMEN’S GROUP ART SHOW’, and COLETTE will be included !!
so that piqued my interest / with regard to this current A.D.NYC show.
and, it was: check, check, check. all good.
who knew.

at any rate:

‘HEAVEN’S TAB’ / is a really great, and very apt . . title.

people are really into titles – these days, have you noticed ?


TOM FORKIN, ‘Untitled’, 2021
Travel bar, epoxy clay & acrylic paint / 17.25 x 8.5 x 15.75 in.


looks to be some metal hardware, too.


damn, that’s good.
note: all 3 photos via Instagram @ad.nyc


‘Heaven’s Tab’ installation shot, with TOM FORKIN (foreground) & RAUL de NIEVES (background)
Photo: courtesy A.D.


RAUL de NIEVES, ‘Rhythmic Red’, 2019.
plastic beads & plaster on wood panel / 24 x 24 x 6 in.
one word: scary intense. ritualistic, too. industrial re: assembly of parts.
let’s, hope not: functional.
Photo: courtesy A.D.


‘Heaven’s Tab’ / installation shot with TOM FORKIN / foreground, surrounded by COLETTE.
Photo: courtesy A.D.


COLETTE, ‘Justine joins La Rocka (Modelling Agency)’, 1981.
Photograph, polyurethane, fabric & glitter / 19.5 x 26 in.

which just goes to show:
nothing is written in stone – in the art world / long live the 1980s NYC art scene.
Brava, Colette !! the young kids – dig ya !!
Photo: courtesy A.D.