Studio Visits

Studio Visit: Marcia Hafif

John Silvis ·

I spent a wonderful afternoon at the studio of Marcia Hafif in Laguna Beach, CA this March and had a chance to interview here about her 70 plus years of art making. We also spoke about her ideas for upcoming shows, ones that will also feature her extensive drawing practice, as well as new color digital photograph diptychs made with her iPhone camera. I will be posting a video interview with her on my website soon. Please stay tuned for her upcoming interview I wrote in PARNASS art magazine. 

Here is a piece of writing as an introduction to her work "The Inventory" on her website: 

ABOUT THE INVENTORY

THE SERIES

The Inventory is a listing by series of works in the approximate order they appeared. One series followed another at approximately two years intervals, in idiosyncratic order, building my project of examining the methods and materials of Western Painting in the form of works of art.

In 1972, in order to start at the beginning, I covered a vertical sheet of drawing paper with vertical pencil marks starting from the top left and ending at the bottom right. Each drawing developed in a slightly different way leading to unexpected patterns within that same procedure. I turned to paint, acrylic at first presenting a palette of fourteen colors on fourteen canvases then oil in The Extended Gray Scale, 106 canvases graduated from white to black.

About this time I was lent Max Doerner's book, The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting that led me to experiment. I bought every color in powdered pigment that I could find using a glass muller to grind them one by one into linseed oil making my own paint. Each color was painted on prepared canvas on a ready-made stretcher each element referring to Painting. Wall painting came next, then grayed colors, the color of "the most beautiful black," and the color of skin in European painting each displaying some technique such as egg tempera, encaustic, watercolor, glaze or scumble.

ABOUT HANGING

I do not make paintings so much as I make installations. Each series has its inherent way of hanging though it is difficult to make any firm rules. In each case - with one work or many - I look for the way the painting(s) will join with the wall to unite the space. Every location is different, high ceiling or low, long or short walls, with different windows, light sources, doors, obstructions. I use a center height through all the works, one that will be not too high for viewing with approximately the same distance between ceiling and floor. 

In addition each series has its own needs: An Extended Gray Scale is hung in sequence with narrow spacing though the rows can be installed above and below or a section can be displayed separately. The large Mass Tone Paintings represent History Painting or Portraiture. The Table of Pigments, or elements of paint color is displayed in rows and blocks but each work can also be seen alone. The Neutral Mix Paintings are intended to be hung above and below each other in Salon Style. 

TITLES

Every piece in The Inventory is related to every other. Titles include the series, the name, the size and often the date and place of making as in The Inventory: Mass Tone Paintings: Viridian, o/c, 72 x 68", New York, 1974.

Studio Visits

Studio Visit: Nancy Haynes

John Silvis ·

I had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy Haynes for an upcoming article in PARNASS art magazine. It was such a privilege to discuss several bodies of work and I am very excited about her current exhibition "this painting oil on linen" at Regina Rex Gallery, New York.

Haynes continues her unwavering investigation into the painted illusion of light that was exemplified in our previous show, anomalies and non sequiturs (2015) with a range of approaches--from her earlier works using gilding clay and glow in the dark paint to her cast glass sculpture made from uranium glass. Both as a phenomenological exercise and a visualization of the layers of consciousness, Haynes's paintings demonstrate a commitment to a visual progression rooted in stillness and timelessness.
Nancy Haynes was born in Connecticut in 1947 and moved to New York in 1967. She lives and works in New York and Colorado. Haynes will be included in an upcoming group exhibition at Kunsthalle Krems, and a solo show at Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna. An extensive exhibition history beginning in 1978 at the historically significant One Hundred Dollar Gallery and includes selected solo exhibitions at Regina Rex, 3A Gallery, NY; George Lawson, LA and SF; Lawing Gallery, Houston, TX; Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna; Galerie von Bartha, Basel, Switzerland; John Good Gallery, NY; and John Gibson Gallery, NY among numerous others. Haynes?s work is included in the public collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and many others. Honors and awards include grants from the Pollock- Krasner Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.

Studio Visits

Studio Visit: Jason Bailer Losh

John Silvis ·

I enjoyed my studio visit with sculptor, painter and successful podcaster (Seeing is Forgetting), Jason Bailer Losh. By using found objects, Losh constructs spindly and tactilely satisfying sculptures and paintings that register as both uniquely charming, and curiously familiar. Here are some notes from his recent Plow Louise exhibition: 

The objects upon each pedestal are found in thrift and second-hand stores. The motley collection is bought by the artist’s father-in-law and boxed and sent to Losh. He uses these items and constructs them into particular compositions, sequences and arrangements.
 
The surface of each component is carved with a distinct history. Cracks, dents and paint abrasions that have accrued over decades distinguish their weathered surfaces. The wall sculptures are laced with ropes and etched with lines that record the artist’s hand.

Travel

Tinker Tantrum – The Show with Pippa Garner

John Silvis ·

It's fantastic to experience a long overdue show that showcases Pippa's brilliance and cultural awareness. Over the subsequent four decades Pippa Garner has pushed back against systems of consumerism, marketing and waste, creating a rich body of work including drawing, performance, sculpture, video and installation. Her uncompromising approach to life and practice has allowed her to interact with the worlds of illustra- tion, editorial, television and art without ever quite becoming beholden to them.

Pippa Garner’s first exhibition at Redling Fine Art includes a suite of early invention drawings as well as Garner’s original art from her monthly editorial page in Car & Driver (1995 - 2010) as well as in the pages of L.A. Magazine. All in pencil, these works show the breadth of Garner’s dry humor and political thinking. Also on view Garner’s 2007 work the "World's Most Fuel-Efficient Car,” a 1972 Honda 600 retrofitted to be human-powered, and Garner’s latest sculpture “Crowd Shroud”. Through these sculptures Garner toys with concepts of class and waste, pointing to the invisible labor that makes our culture possible, and more specifically the inefficiency inherent in using 3,000 pounds of metal to move 150 pound bodies. These works point to the invisible labor that makes this possible. Alongside these works is a mandala of hand- made t-shirts. These graphic collages and her recent shirts are part performance part mode-of-production, as Garner has con- structed these works daily for over 10 years. Finally a selection of Garner’s video work dated 2013 is in- cluded. In these campy videos Garner portrays both a pre- and post- transition version of herself tackling topics such as procreation, drones, marriage, art, invention and therapy. 

Travel, Art Fair

Hong Kong Delivers

John Silvis ·

It was an exciting time to attend the many related events surrounding Art Basel Hong Kong. The city provides such a fascinating backdrop to the experience, offering so much culture and fantastic food. This year was particularly special as I had several friends from different periods of my life all in Hong Kong at the same time. Really great to see all of them. The special dinners were another highlight, with collector Adrian Cheng and CoBo Social, and collector Patrick Sun's Sunpride Foundation dinner. The energy in the room was palpable surrounding so many accomplished and creative minds. 

In addition to the fair, I went to a number of openings at the Pedder Builidng, the K11 Foundation and PS1/Moma opening, as well as favorites such as Edouard Malingue gallery. The other fair Art Central was located just south of the Hong Kong Convention Center.

Viennese collector Karlheinz Essl, curator Alexandra Grimmer, art historian Ann Mak and myself spent one day touring some galleries in the Aberdeen neighborhood and explored some fantastic galleries:

Chabron Art Space
Gallery Exit 
Blindspot Gallery
DeSarthe Gallery 
Empty Gallery
Rossi & Rossi
Pekin Fine Arts 

Art Fair, Travel

A Trip with Mr. Essl

John Silvis ·

It was a privilege to travel to Marfa, Texas with Mr. Essl, founder of the Essl Museum in Vienna. Last week he and wife Agnes who have been collecting together for fifty years made the announcement that their entire collection of 6,000 plus paintings and art objects will be given to the Albertina Museum, Vienna for a twenty-five year loan and will be on continuous display starting the fall of 2018 at the newly renovated Künstler Haus, annexed to the Albertina. 

It has been an honor to engage with their collection on several levels, especially being invited to curate the “New.NewYork” exhibition there in 2012. Their passion for collecting and working with artists has been a great inspiration to me and we have been able to enjoy dozens of studio visits together over the years on several different continents. It was fascinating to immerse myself in Judd’s vision for a second time; even thought I have seen his work in many different contexts, seeing his comprehensive vision played out at the Donald Judd and Chinati Foundation is just profound. The idea of leaving an art work in a permanent environment, not moving or changing anything in his studios, as well as being lit by daylight only, is a striking contrast to the transitory life many of us live. 

After the experiencing the Donald Judd and Chinati Foundation tours, Mr. Essl and I drove south along the Mexican border, which follows the Rio Grande for about fifty miles. The beautiful landscape of the Big Bend National Park has many stops and hiking trails with interesting views. The stunning desert landscape is a timeless, apt setting for Judd’s vision. Time will tell where and how the new wall will affect this gorgeous terrain, not to mention how it will impact the local communities and our country at large. 

Back in New York, we transitioned to the frantic environment of the art fairs: The Armory Show, Art on Paper, Volta, NADA, The Independent and Spring Break. So great to be among friends and explore new art from around the world. It really does feel like we travel in packs. Always great to connect with artists, curators and collectors working in different parts of the world. Please say hi to Mr Essl and I at ART Basel Hong Kong coming up in a few weeks! 

The highlight of Mr. Essl trip was our being warmly welcomed at the Ayn Foundation at Mana Contemporary by Fred Moeller. We toured the wonderful long term display of Arnulf Rainer’s ‘Angels and Crosses’, as well as early silkscreens by Andy Warhol from the Das Maximum and Ayn Foundation. It was also a rare treat to see John Chamberlain color photographs from the early 1990’s. Our visit included an impromptu meeting with architect Richard Meier, designer of the otherworldly Getty Museum, Los Angeles at his company archive. Mr. Meier’s presence as he described and talked about some of his favorite models, was truly enriching and a once in a lifetime experience! 

Jude Broughan

John Silvis ·

Broughan manipulates her photographs visually and physically, subtly shifting the emphasis of personal and quotidian imagery in some works, referencing the language of commercial imagery in others. Her use of stitching—a strategy informed by Warhol’s “Sewn Photographs”—inserts shots distinguished by their immediacy into carefully composed arrangements, the thread dividing our attention between the physicality of the art object and the patterning of its surface. By also cutting holes or apertures in her works’ supports, Broughan refers to the mechanics (and limitations) of photography, digital manipulation, and vision itself, and alludes to our seemingly innate tendency to edit. As New Zealand artist and critic Peter Dornauf writes, this “exposes the constructed nature of the subject while also providing a simulation of depth, which seems like the contradiction it actually is. Such incongruity and paradox is the essence of this artist’s practice.”

Agus Suwage

John Silvis ·

The exhibition’s title, Room of Mine, suggests that the new works have a highly personal focus, offering a glimpse into the artist’s own studio, and by extension into his own inner world. The exhibition concentrates on only one medium–paper–which Suwage describes as “still the most intimate material” for him. With a series of large-scale watercolors and an extraordinary group of paper mâché sculptural works, he reveals aspects of his studio space—his work table, library and bedroom—as well as a wide array of images that continue to haunt him, whether taken from the works of renowned Indonesian painters of the past, from contemporary mass media, or from his own earlier work. Appropriation, particularly of his own work, is a central, ongoing strategy for Suwage, a process of recycling and recontextualizing that parallels the cycle of life and death that has been an underlying theme throughout his career, and which is grounded in the spiritual traditions of Java’s ancient Hindu-Buddhist culture. Suwage’s mixed Chinese Javanese heritage, and his experience as a Christian convert to Islam, have informed his approach to cultural pluralism and religious syncretism. His works have often made critiques—sometimes pointed, sometimes veiled—of various forms of intolerance and of the attempt to impose a single rigid, monolithic structure on society, whether by Indonesia’s authoritarian Suharto regime (1966-98) or more recently by the rise of a fundamentalist strain of Islam in Indonesia. Burning fires and the specter of violence recur in many of the works in the exhibition, creating a somber mood that is leavened by humor and an irreverent spirit of self-mockery and irony. Suwage is a master watercolorist, and the works shimmer with vibrant color delineated by boldly assured line drawing, the use of textual components, and startling juxtapositions of images–all hallmarks of his early training in graphic design.

Art Fair

Singapore Adventure

John Silvis ·

This year I had the privilege of attending Art Stage Singapore and loved every aspect of the trip. Many thanks to my wonderful hosts, artist Jason Wee, Grey Projects, and collectors Ryan Su and Adrian Chan. Singapore is the best place to explore food from all over Asia, as well as some amazing Western restaurants. Ryan and Adrian's memorable collectors dinner at Long Chim in the Marina Bay Sands was legendary for both its food and incredible art world characters. (And hanging orchids!).

In addition to attending the Art Stage art fair representing mostly Asian galleries, there were numerous art events: poetry readings, film screenings and performances throughout the city in conjunction with Singapore Art Week.

Capturing the spirit of week, the public art event “After Dark” at the Gillman Barracks drew thousands of young people from Singapore on Friday night, who came out to view the gallery open houses, open studios and special programming at the NTU CCA. This included a spectacular strange and magical fashion show performance by Indieguerillas and Lulu Lutfi Labibi, performance and fashion designers from Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

An exhibition highlight included a beautifully curated show “Shared Coordinates” at Arts House organized by Edouard Malingue Gallery, Roh Projects and Silverlens Galleries featuring 10 artists from their respective programs. 

During the week I met some wonderful artists and explored their work in more depth. Here are some of the new artists I saw:

Sookoon Ang

Haffendi Anuar

Anthony Chin

Fx Harsono

Geraldine Kang

Simon Ng

Sherman Ong

Guo-Liang Tan

Kenneth Tay

Jimmy Ong

Skywoman's Secret Circuit

John Silvis ·

It has been a privilege to observe Robin Kang’s work over the last eight years. Her fascination with patterns and layered imagery, evident in her early images in photography and printmaking, has evolved into an exploration of technology as it relates to contemporary textiles. The new body of work presented in her first solo exhibition features a video work and beautiful Jacquard woven tapestries that build on the history of ancient weaving and continue the lineage of modernist artists such as Anni Albers and Gunta Stölzl. Their early Bauhaus tapestries, incorporating avant-garde design ideas with an exploration of new materials, are catalytic conceptual and visual references for Kang. Her work acknowledges the history of the loom and its relationship to early computing machines while looking forward to contemporary media and digital technology.



Part of a new generation of artists whose practice relies on digital processes, Kang’s work layers the worlds of textiles, design, and electronics. She uses a semi-automated Jacquard loom—a contemporary version of the first binary-operated machine and precursor to early computers—to simulate industrial production through repetition and pattern formation. These textiles use core memory chips and circuit boards as visual reference points, which she translates into colorful and energetic woven tableaus that push the boundaries of the picture plane. She combines Photoshop brush-gestures with spiritual symbols sourced from ancient weaving traditions to connect the traditions of weaving, mechanical production, and contemporary glitch aesthetics.


The largest woven tapestry in this exhibition employs eight layers of thread with a sculpture double cloth technique. Kang produced this piece in the Netherlands at the Audax TextielMuseum’s TextielLab, which uses digital mechanisms to blur the lines between computer science, data visualization, and textile design. Kang’s energetic compositions embody her complete dedication to her practice. As she explores universal themes using the language of textile, she creates a fresh, contemporary aesthetic with profound visual appeal. 

Robin's current show is on view at OUTLET until November 6, 2016.

Franz Erhad Walther

John Silvis ·

FRANZ ERHAD WALTHER
Call to Action
On View at The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada.

I have been following the work of German artist Franz Erhard Walther for several years now…the conceptual framework of his work has been an important position in looking at the current movement of artists working in textile. I started following his work more closely after a fantastic one person show at DIA: Beacon in 2010. It was a pleasure meeting him in person at the 2015 Art Basel Untitled edition, where he performed with his “Wallformation, Gelbmodellierung, 1980-81.”

My recent trip to Toronto included Walther’s “Call to Action” exhibition at The Power Plant, which features parts of the “Werksatz” also exhibited at DIA. This group of textile objects were conceived to be activated by the audience, resulting in new relationships of space, object and the human body. The works spans the mediums of sculpture, drawing and video but almost always requires some participation from the viewer in order to mold material form.

 

“Call to Action” presents several facets of Walther’s interest in how live in the everyday, what decisions we make with our minds and bodies; in the exhibition we also see several letters of the alphabet that are created as soft sculpture. His interest in breaking down the relationships between the work and the viewer was first conceptualized in 1963 with this piece “Werksatz.”

 

 

“Werksatz 1963-1969,” invites visitors to follow the instructions given for each piece and activate various elements of the sculpture in order to physically experience the work through their participation.

In Paris, Walther is represented by Galerie Jocelyn Wolff and has become one of Germany’s seminal artists, producing work that expands the discussion of contemporary art practices.

Indonesia – Collectors and Galleries

John Silvis ·

It was such a pleasure to meet some wonderful collectors on my first day in Jakarta. I am so impressed with dedication of the collectors I met; many of them actively visit artist studios in Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta. The gallery system is dominated by artist run spaces and therefore have fluctuating programs. The strongest and most memorable gallery experience was at Roh Projects, founded and directed by Junior Tirtadji. Definitely a gallery to watch!

Deborah Iskandar–an outstanding art advisor and collector–was my host in Indonesia and was an amazing guide the art scene in Jakarta and Bandung. Her knowledge of both the history of Indonesian art and and the contemporary art scene is outstanding. Deborah comes from a background in the Asian auctions market and has a broad knowledge of the field. Like many of other collectors I met, she is personally connected to many of the artists I saw and supports them at the beginning of their careers. (pictured with sculptor Faisal Habibi)

Through Deborah, I was introduced to several of the key players in the art scene. Highlights of this group–Dr. Melani Setiawan and Deddy Kusuma–are both heavily involved in curating and creating content around their collected artists. Dr. Setiawan is working on publishing a personal collection of over 40,000 photos taken in the Indonesian art world. Kusuma has personally exhibited Indonesian artists at Art Paris and has sponsored many international study trips for artists. It seems that encouraging and mentoring is huge part of the culture; it some thing unique that others can learn from. I heard many stories from the artists about the way the collectors support and inspire them. For more information on the galleries in Indonesia, I recommend researching them on IndoArtNow as the best resource.