Vernissages NYC | Chelsea, September 15

Sol LeWitt "The Complex Form" @ Dorfman Projects

Re-Dressing @ Bortolami

David Srigley @ Anton Kern

Vernissages NYC | Max's Kansas City

Two different exhibitions opened tonight, related to the Mickey Ruskin's legendary Max's Kansas City, gathering for the sixties art scene. The exhibition at Loretta Howard Gallery shows work from the conceptualist, minimalist and pop-artist who were gathering at Max's. The show at Steven Kasher, besides artwork presents vintage photos of the art and music scene at Max's.

"Artists at MaxKansas City 1965-1974 Hetero-Holics and Some Women Too"

at Loretta Howard Gallery

"Max's Kansas City" @ Steven Kasher

Vernissages | NYC, September 13

A complete change of scene ---and mainly work--- tonight, at several galleries inthe West 57th Street and Upper East Side

Most memorable "Marking of Time" by the conceptual artist Hitoshi Nomura, dealing with processes and themes very close to my heart: time, light and documentation of sun and star light, capturing the ephemerality of time.

Also close to my heart, for the interventions on the landscape, another show titled "Marking" by Michael Heizer, mainly known for his earth works.

Hitoshu Nomura's "Marking of Time" @McCaffreyFineArts

Michael Heizer's "Marking" at Noira Haime

Frank Bowling at Spanierman Modern

Vernissages | NYC, Lower East Side, September 12

Kirsi Mikkola @ Sue Scott

Dmitry Gutov @ Scaramouche

Gerald Davis @ Salon Freeman

Digression @ Hendershot

Judith Page @ Lesley Heller

Alfred Prior @ Lesley Heller

Vernissages | NYC, Chelsea September 10

JudyPfaff "Five Decades" at Ameringer McEneryYohe

EricFertman at SusanInglett

Dan Colen at Gagosian (West 24th Street)

Marjetica Potrc at Meulensteen

"Notyetness" by Yael Kanarek at bitforms

Angelo Filomeno at Galerie Lelong

Jennifer Steinkamp at Lehmann Maupin

Vernissages | NYC, Chelsea, September 9

A dramatic late afternoon light on the Chelsea skyline, while I am approaching the first big night of the art fall season.

Usual variety of media and content, and sensory overload; installation and video art seems to prevail, at least tonite

Adi Da Samraj at Sundaram Tagore curated by Achille Bonito Oliva

Zilvinas Kempinas at YvonLambert

Rachel Owens at Zieher Smith

"Structure" at AC Institute

Kim Wan at AC Institute

Spiral Music at the Rubin Museum

Spiral Music, with Jen Shyu on vocals, Thomas Morgan, bass, and Ches Smith on percussion, performed at the Rubin Museum last night (Wed., Sept. 8, 2010).
In a mesmerizing performance, while we sipped our favorite mango martinis, we heard Shyu’s earthy voice and improvisatory ways with strings of sounds joined with her sinuous movements.


Vocalizations, along with text in English and non-English languages delivered in atonal melodies created a performance art. Sprechstimme incursions melded beautifully with the accompanying acoustic instruments to surround the voice with a glow. Some of the texts spoke of pain (“sold as a slave for sugar”); some seemed purely aleatoric (“the last word is the fact that all good things”).
On some selections Shyu accompanied herself on a moon lute (moon guitar). In one of these, she sang a strophic song, with hard-driving rhythms (reminisicent of Frankie Lane’s “Mule Train”). Behind her, the Rubin Museum’s electronic introductory images showed horses running across the Himalayan plains while she sang it.
Dressed simply in black, Shyu’s free movement was integral to the performance. Her movements were closely contained in the space, with lots of up-and-down trunk motion and freer hand/arm movements. A long red scarf, which she held in her arms and sang to, turned into a river on the floor, and eventually wore, was her only prop.