~ALLYSON MELLBERG . . . in PARIS
actually, another CINDERS artist . . . is off and running !!
ARTWORK BY – ALLYSON MELLBERG, COURTESY: CINDERS BLOG
that would be ALLYSON MELLBERG who has a solo show up in Paris right now.
titled, ‘ENDOGENUS’ it runs SEPT 6 – OCT 13, 2012
GALERIE LJ – 12 rue Commines – PARIS
dig that title: ‘Endogenus’ – !!
well, first off the google translation – is way off !!
as far OFF as you can get !!
ALLYSON MELLBERG – is a SHE !! not a he !! and no, as far as I know – SHE hasn’t MUTATED EITHER !!
and the gallery slideshow of the exhibition, installation shots, doesn’t do her work – any justice.
she’s a great artist. I would say if KELIE BOWMAN is an artist/shaman/observer (!!) . . . ALLYSON MELLBERG is like an artist/shaman/biologist !!
both, Kelie and Allyson are futurists, for sure.
but Kelie is more site specific – looking at OUR world, for example taking photos of herself, usually in social situations – as with a partner/artist or artists – that presents a commentary of some kind, both on her locale – and the cultural/political ‘temp’ – i.e. ‘temperature’. more often than not, hitting a hidden nerve that vibrates both backwards – and into the future.
nod to the next generation: FLEMING TWINS for making this more ‘apparent’. remember their recent summer photo of themselves with their heads buried in the sand ? GAME ON – DUDES !!
as well Kelie makes art, drawings, watercolors, silkscreens – that transform into illustrations which have a narrative that reflects the cultural discussion – and moves it, on. usually in a very soft, but still haunting, totally metaphorical way . . . even though she is ‘addressing’ – the BIG questions !!
Allyson is more of a solitary animal. she makes works depicting single humans: male, female, child. she addresses society as a whole – through her renderings of life – as is, as imagined, and as in: degrading – the sure as hell – natural BIO degrading of our ‘habitat’.
this show in Paris, my observations based only on the galerie ‘slideshow’ images, duh !! – I didn’t leave my body and go there aurally !! – astral projection, dudes !! – NOT !!
though the word, astral projection (!!) does to come mind, hand-in-hand . . . with the (internet) web !!
but back to show:
is kind of what happens when a foreign body attacks us, except in this case – it is not attacking, but liking, which can some time amount to the same thing, if you know what I mean, reproducing, sharing . . . that is killing us off !!
DON’T get me wrong. I’m all for the sharing – but this was kind of a small-minded effort on behalf of the gallerist – in the way they hung the show and/or the photos by which they represent it. just compare this huge photo file image, below, from the CINDERS blog (the originating source gallery) to what the Paris galerie puts forth, digitally. there is a big drop in communication – skills.
it’s not the GROUPING – that is important in Allyson’s work – it’s the single image.
although obviously – any sharing of this work is great – and I’m thrilled to see Allyson’s work in PARIS !!
it might just be the difference between an artist-run space, check F.L.A. – Kelie Bowman’s new artist-run space !! post below – vs. a more conservative-type space. or maybe it’s just the difference in getting your ‘graphics’- up to speed ?
but . . . bottomline: as long as they are supporting the real art & the REAL artists – that’s great . . . but, do we miss CINDERS, in a physical space – or what ?!!
first off, the work was FRESH off the line – so you could buy in, for not much !!
yeah, most def !! I scored a great ALLYSON MELLBERG drawing, and a pretty decent-sized one, too – for like $60, unframed and with just . . . a little bit of haggling !!
two: the Cinders crew were all artists, so the shows they put up were all done from an artists’ point of view. (ditto this ‘blog’.) either they had some kind of accessory ‘scenery’, designed and produced by Kelie or Sto, or they were huge salon type hangings with HUGE energy – anything to BREAK DOWN that damn white box.
as opposed in short: to the way this galerie above . . . boxes in Allyson.
and plus, CINDERS put up great one-off photos – on the web, to telly transport for all.
three: there was a dynamic context provided in the background, in that just behind the front exhibition space – was a zine bookstore (!!) – so all these ideas and cutting edge conversations – that informed the (often) purely ‘pictorial’ art on the walls in front – was there, backed in, in ‘verbal’ format, to be freely flipped though. and the nascent ideas, bounced back and forth – between the art and the zines. and vice versa.
vice – nice word.
I think we’ll end there – because that’s what Allyson’s work is all about, despite its pretty aspects. innocence vs. vice.
trying to maintain the natural gene flow – into the changing environment aka progress. as we impact it in ways we don’t even fully understand, yet.
ALLYSON MELLBERG, left, with CINDERS co-founder, artist & musician, STO.
at the opening of Allyson’s solo show at CINDERS, BROOKLYN, ‘AN UNEARTHLY CHILD’, SEPT 12, 2010.
ALLYSON MELLBERG (b. 1977) is originally from RACINE, WISCONSIN – but has been CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA based for quite some time now.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
ALLYSON MELLBERG – work on paper. she uses only colors which she makes herself – organically. like from walnut shells.
check: Peruvian weaving – and how wonderful their ancient color dye knowledge was/is, just saying. full prism spectrum.
no disrespect to Allyson – her hues mark the spot, she inhabits . . . right on !!
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, ALLYSON MELLBERG, ‘An Unearthly Child’, CINDERS, BROOKLYN. SEPT 12, 2010.
ALLYSON MELLBERG also makes sculptures, though I prefer her drawings, because they are so mysterious by about 1,000 to one. I put this photo up – mostly so you can get a sense of the scale of her drawings, my bad !! I know.
and so you can see – what a CINDERS installation – looked like. box, NOT !!
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, ALLYSON MELLBERG, ‘An Unearthly Child’, CINDERS, BROOKLYN. SEPT 12, 2010.