June 13, 2019

BASQUIAT x WARHOL in Kinderhook

June 13, 2019/ Caroline Alexander

JACK SHAINMAN’S THE SCHOOL [KINDERHOOK]

Basquiat x Warhol | June 1, 2019 – September 7, 2019

EXCERPT: “This summer, at its School location in Kinderhook, New York, Jack Shainman Gallery will host “Basquiat x Warhol,” which explores creative exchanges between the two artists during the 1980s. The show, which will run from June 1 through September 7, will comprise seven paintings produced collaboratively, as well as works created solo by both artists, among them photographs by Warhol…

The collaborative series of works was made between 1984 and 1985, with Warhol taking the first swing and then letting Basquiat finish them. For one of the pieces in the show, he painted over Warhol’s work nearly entirely. (Some works from the series were included in the Whitney Warhol retrospective.)” ART NEWS 2019

Courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

July 03, 2016

THE STUDIO AT CHESTERWOOD

July 03, 2016/ Caroline Alexander

“Each year, over four million visitors make the pilgrimage to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. They walk along the reflecting pool and up a great flight of stairs into an immense temple. There, they confront an enormous seated marble figure who radiates dignity and wisdom. ”

— chesterwood.org

lincoln's hand - plaster study for lincoln memorial

Daniel Chester French (1850 - 1931) (sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial) created Chesterwood - his summer home in the Berkshires, and today it is a space showcasing his sculpture. The grounds are wooded and gracefully maintained, with a contemporary glass sculpture exhibit this summer (2016) including the work of twelve artists on the lawns and in the woods.

To walk inside the Studio, on the grounds of Chesterwood near the house, is breathtaking. The photographs below document the formal and informal pleasures of plaster that French indulged in - from studies for his monuments to elements and models of inspiration.

When he purchased the property in Glendale, a hamlet of Stockbridge, in 1896, the first building French completed was his Studio (on the foundation of a former barn that he dismantled and moved up the hill), which was designed by Henry Bacon, the architect of the Lincoln Memorial. It was the breathtaking view of Monument Mountain, seen from the Studio Piazza that inspired French’s creativity and inspiration, while working in the Berkshires from May through October until his death at Chesterwood in 1931. The final 6 foot plaster model of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial (dated October 1916) can be seen up close in the Studio as well as plaster models that were studies for his monuments.

“Chesterwood is a special place of creativity and inspiration, and I hope visitors to this historic retreat of one of America’s foremost public sculptors, will take some time to look, listen and enjoy its beauty in both the art and the natural surroundings. ”

— Donna Hassler, Executive Director, Chesterwood

early plaster model for lincoln memorial

CHESTERWOOD | 4 Williamsville Road | Stockbridge, MA 01262 | 413.298.3579 | chesterwood.org

June 09, 2016

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY

June 09, 2016/ Caroline Alexander

EXPOSED: Heads, Busts, and Nudes/ group show of ceramic figural sculpture by masters 1970–present

1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA
June 18–August 7, 2016

“We are focusing on the lineage between generations of contemporary artists who are working within the figural genre. The first generation of post WW II artists inspired a second and now a third generation of contemporary artists exploring figural sculpture through their work, teaching, and the educational programs they established. Likewise, the first generation of collectors are actively feeding new and established collections through gifts and sales of masterworks collected during their lifetimes.

“By exhibiting works from artist studios, estates, and private collections that together span five decades, we are creating a generational investigation that explores the work of contemporary artists who were educated in the programs founded by the master artists.” Leslie Ferrin

This exhibition, catalog, and related programming provides collectors and artists an opportunity to survey and reflect on fifty years of the figure.

The artists in the project include Robert Arneson, Rudy Autio, Beth Cavener, Cristina Córdova, Claire Curneen, Stephen Dixon, Jack Earl, Edward Eberle, Philip Eglin, Viola Frey, Alessandro Gallo, Jeanclos George, Gerit Grimm, Sergei Isupov, Doug Jeck, Michael Lucero, Kadri Pärnamets, Esther Shimazu, Mara Superior, Akio Takamori, Tip Toland, Jason Walker, Patti Warashina, and Beatrice Wood.

June 05, 2016

2016 GROUP SHOW AT THE SCHOOL IN KINDERHOOK

June 05, 2016/ Caroline Alexander

PIERRE DORION, HAYV KAHRAMAN, RICHARD MOSSE, and GARNETT PUETT A Change of Place: Four Solo Exhibitions

"Working across painting, photography, and sculpture, Pierre Dorion, Hayv Kahraman, Richard Mosse, andGarnett Puett converge on themes of
transformation, environment, and remembrance." JackShainman.com

The School is open on Saturdays from 11am to 5pm. For additional information please contact the gallery attheschool@jackshainman.com.

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK

September 27, 2015

BETTINA SPECKNER AT SIENNA PATTI

September 27, 2015/ Caroline Alexander

Sienna Patti, a contemporary gallery in Lenox, hosts Bettina Speckner in a show titled "Things of This World Keeping Their Difficult Balance" (August 21-October 4). SIENNA PATTI, 80 Main Street, Lenox, MA 413.637.8386

"The artist’s newly acquired production technique is a romantic journey in and of itself. She travels into the Bavarian forest with a handmade camera obscura and a jerry-rigged portable darkroom to find her favorite stack of wood. She collects flowers on her way to the studio for her still life compositions, to complement her deliberate arrangements of otherwise ordinary objects—a glass, a set of keys, a laptop computer. She is fully immersed in the moment the camera captures, effectively recording her own experience of being there. She witnesses the emergence of the image on the plate—“A silent, melancholic, still result, but a thrill to see it appear,” as she describes it. The image is developed in the same location that it was taken, every step of the photographic process sharing the same continuous sweep of time, echoing the same single, still moment." SIENNA PATTI GALLERY

"Speckner presents the viewer with the nebulous relationship of object permanence to subjective experience. The solid, concrete matter of the world is still open to interpretation, the static object still subject to how it is seen and experienced in the moment. Between the exacting and the ethereal, between gravity and weightlessness, the objects themselves have to negotiate their balance." SIENNA PATTI GALLERY

Sienna Patti reaches beyond the Berkshires, working with artists of international distinction. The vision for the gallery is described as "... a project and exhibition based program focusing on the work of contemporary studio artists. The artists bridge the worlds of art, craft, and contemporary design with innovative use of materials and mediums. Artwork made with a nod to craftsmanship by artists that are using it as an intellectual and structural vehicle for their ideas."

The gallery exhibits jewelry, sculpture and photography from several artists, with one area of the gallery space dedicated to visiting shows, and other areas intimately showcasing the work of jewelry artists. It's all a visual feast.

A GROUPING OF RINGS BY BARBARA SEIDENATH

ARTSY: Your Daytrip Guide to the Art of the Berkshires

September 06, 2015

FRANCESCO CLEMENTE'S 'ENCAMPMENT' AT MASS MoCA

September 06, 2015/ Caroline Alexander

"Every single moment of the unfolding experience of the work is just a pretext to move on, or move forward from that moment. It's never supposed to be a beginning or an ending: it's supposed to be a transition."
FRANCESCO CLEMENTE/ MASS MoCA CATALOG/ Quote from The Brooklyn Rail/ 2013

Francesco Clemente was born in Italy and lives and works in Varanasi, India and New York, NY. MASS MoCA's installation, FRANCESCO CLEMENTE: ENCAMPMENT, is on view in North Adams, MA until January 2016. Images below are from the exhibition of tents.

"INSIDE THE TENTS, WASHES OF WATERCOLOR DESCRIBE FIGURES RANGING FROM BYZANTINE ANGELS AND GROTESQUE DEVILS TO TOP-HATTED BUSINESSMEN AND - IN THE CASE OF MUSEUM TENT' - CLEMENTE HIMSELF REACHING OUT FROM A SERIES OF FRAMED SELF PORTRAITS."
FRANCESCO CLEMENTE/ MASS MOCA CATALOG

June 11, 2015

EL ANATSUI IN KINDERHOOK

June 11, 2015/ Caroline Alexander

©EL ANATSUI. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK

Details of work in the show ...

May 21, 2015

EL ANATSUI AT THE SCHOOL IN KINDERHOOK

May 21, 2015/ Caroline Alexander

JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY: THE SCHOOL [KINDERHOOK]
EL ANATSUI/ Five Decades/ May 17 – September 26, 2015
Jack Shainman Gallery is celebrating the first anniversary of The School (their gorgeous gallery in Kinderhook, NY) with a solo exhibition of work by El Anatsui, who was just awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, the Venice Biennale’s highest honor. Five Decades is a comprehensive survey spanning the last fifty years of Anatsui’s celebrated career, from compositions in painting, wood, and clay, to the magnificent metal works for which he is renowned. The gallery is open Saturdays only, so check their website for more information.

The reception on Sunday was attended by a huge audience, in awe of the installation of the exhibition and the gallery renovation itself. Foot traffic through the building flows smoothly because the school building is so large. Food trucks and tents for music, wine and beer added to the celebration.