~’PAINTING AS IS II’ . . NATHALIE KARG / PIX FROM THE OPENING

turns out, this summer belongs – to the city !!

‘PAINTING AS IS II’ – CURATED BY TIM WILSON & HEIDI HAHN
JUNE 28 . . up thru AUG 26, 2022
NATHALIE KARG, 291 GRAND ST., NYC 10002
HRS: TUES-SAT / 10 AM – 6 PM

a provocative, yet joyous look at just how diverse – ‘painting’ is . . now.
from whimsical to graphic . . to the absolute, outright breaking – of conservative conventions.
overall, the take-away is . . that visuality – rules !!
the voyage to a painterly ‘surface’ – is no longer always stationary, but can be multi-faceted, sculptural,
if not even . . 3-dimensional, if not even . . infinite, as in digital projection.
in short . . the curators put forward, a wonderful swirl – of new thinking.

PIX FROM THE OPENING – TUES EVENING, JUNE 27, 2022 / NYC
PHOTOS BY – NANCY SMITH


so . . this is how !!
those curious chunks of landscape-looking paintings on the show’s flyer, really are in person !!
dancing between realism, and sculpture, they are . . indeed 3-D wall mounts.
and so, the . . questioning – begins.

JAMES HYDE, series of 3 small ‘chunky’ paintings, done between 1998 and 2004 /
Fresco on styrofoam / 14 x 13 x 14 in. / 15 x 17 x 13 in. / 16 x 14 x 14 in.


JAMES HYDE, so nice to see the artist – at the opening !!


NATHALIE KARG – she pretty much let the art do the talking, and,on a hot summer’s eve – that was so pleasant.
while the city outside felt gritty, the art – was circling around the space, ahead of the conventional curve.
but, through it all ran an intelligence / it all felt like a discussion, and, not a chaos.
not a discord. it was a river, not a wall.


the curators: HEIDI HAHN & TIM WILSON.
it was as if, they had held out their arms, and embraced different ‘forms’ of painting.
the one whole thought, holding the wide array together / being that their visual impression or impact . .
was . . key.


DAN WALSH, ‘Sequence’, 2019. (detail)
Acrylic on canvas / 55 x 55 in.


JAENA KWON, ‘Tear’, 2017.
Acrylic on light density fiberboard / 27 x 30-1/2 x 1 in.
shaped canvas ‘paintings’, have long been considered paintings, so, why not go – all the way !!
towards . . 3-D sculpture, and even – digital projection.
note: the depth of the work, has been noted in the artwork description… 1 in. (!!)


at first glance, this seems a straight-forward, though complex, transparent & subtle colored / painting on a wall.
Not.


BLINN and LAMBERT / aka NICHOLAS STEINDORF & KYLE WILLIAMS, ‘Ampersand’, 2019.
Two-channel 16mm film
1:47 loop, silent. Edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs


KYLE WILLIAMS, 1/2 of the collaborative duo: BLINN and LAMBERT.
the stance of a theoretical – provocateur ?
the crux of the matter – behind him,
on the left: BLINN and LAMBERT’s digital . . painting ‘surface’.
on the right: the transparency of a more conventional painting, by NATHLIE PROVOSTY.
NATHALIE PROVOSTY, ‘June 21, 2022’, 2022.
Oil on linen / 36 x 23 in.


BLINN and LAMBERT / aka KYLE WILLIAMS & NICHOLAS STEINDORF, with BENNY MERRIS.


BENNY MERRIS, ‘An Other Another 194’, 2021.
Archival pigment print in artist frame / 40-1/2 x 30-1/2 in.
things work both ways, this is a print. is a ‘pigment’ print – a painting ?
why, not ?


SARAH BRAMAN, ‘Fit’, 2022.
Maple and glass / 40 x 29 x 23 in.
I had never thought of Sarah’s free-standing assemblages – as ‘paintings’, but – seriously . . why, not !!
though the shapes are interesting, especially in their contrasting materials, yet harmonious, and very basic 3-D functionality, what really captures one’s imagination – are the play of the colors, and the light, and the qualities of opaque vs transparent. and, especially how the colored light – interacts with its environment.
and, I guess that would include considering how the center ‘hole’ of the wood base – does too.
just thinking of this ‘sculpture’ – as a ‘painting’, brings so much more of this creative statement / and the properties
of the different materials it is beholden to / wood vs. colored glass / to life.


a painting is a sculpture is a free-standing assemblage, definitely.
especially – on a hot summer’s night !!


OREN PINHASSI, Urinal (NYC I), 2018 + Urinal (NYC II), 2018.
Glass, steel, plaster, burlap sand, and pigment / 57-1/2 x 19-3/4 x 20-1/8 in.
and then we have: Oren Pinhassi !!
is the space inside, between the shapes – the painting, that’s the . . stretch !!


THERESA DADDEZIO, ‘Magnetized Bloom’, 2021.
oil on linen / 36 x 24 in.
which is to say, even conventional flat painted surfaces – react to their surroundings.
and the total effect – is a painting ??


ROCHELLE FEINSTEIN, ‘Sampler 1984/2020’, 2022.
acrylic, enamel spray paint, yarn, and embroidery floss on cotton drop cloth / 50 x 50 in.
yes, I would say – this a painting /
just the way a quilt – is not a bed-covering / it’s a painting: a visual composition, an inspiration.

dropping by the opening,


HAILEY JOSEPHS . . at center /
and yes, a t-shirt – can be a painting. :) :) !!


MINKA FARTHING KOHL, DP / Director of Photography.
I bet he might have something to say – on all of this.
photography vs painting vs the world !!


CHRIS WATTS .. painter & now I guess – media celeb !!
now, that’s an obtuse . . consideration, in its own right / painter vs celebrity, :) :) !!
CHRIS WATTS . . is one of the young artists featured in ‘THE ART of MAKING IT’ . . !!
a new documentary about the struggles vs ambitions (!!) in the art world, directed by KELCEY EDWARDS,
and which opened at the IFC Center in NYC, this past JUNE 29th,
and runs thru . . Tuesday, July 5, 2022.


CHRIS WATTS , one of the featured artists in . . ‘THE ART of MAKING IT’.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH