Nothing says IT’S FRIDAY like a porcelain eyeball floating in an Old Fashion! This is the most recent work of Brooklyn based artist Genesis Belanger. I wrote about her in late 2019, but when I realized her first major solo museum exhibition opens this weekend, clearly I had to write again. ‘Through the Eye of a Needle’  will be installed at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Connecticut. Here’s their description:

“Anthropomorphizing common household objects–lipsticks with wagging tongues, lamps with ladies’ pearls, and tins with doey-eyed sardines–Belanger’s methodology blends Surrealism and Pop art with a self-possessed feminism informed by a career inside the fashion and advertising industries. Debuting an entirely new body of work specially conceived for The Aldrich, Belanger will create her largest and most elaborate mise-en-scène to date: dozens of animated objects arranged on ghostly furnishings that suggest narratives about our anxiety afflicted present. The artist’s first museum publication, featuring an essay by the exhibition’s curator, Amy Smith-Stewart, will accompany the show.

The show will be open for a Members-Only Preview Day on Saturday, September 19 and there will be a private opening on Sunday, September 20. The first day the exhibition will be open to the general public is Monday, September 21. To book your timed-ticket for September 21 onwards, click here. To register for the Members-Only Preview Day, click here. Not a member? No problem, you can join today and see the exhibition early!

Ah yes… politics and art have gone hand-in-hand since, well, forever. I’m Canadian, but it’s pretty much impossible not to watch what’s happening in the United States at the moment. Enter, “Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump”. This book is a visual protest of the Trump administration featuring 147 artists with over 350 works. The creator of this project is American activist and curator Karen M. Gutfreund. Here is a description of this timely collection:

“Artists around the United States are raging against Donald Trump in visual protest. Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump, Second Edition, documents this artistic movement in a curated collection. Their outrage is evidenced in full Technicolor on subjects ranging from racism, the Covid pandemic, xenophobia, immigration, promotion of hatred and violence, mistrust of science and facts, misogyny and of course, a narcissism that puts our entire country and world at great risk. While the subject matter is serious, the art is alive with color and detail and is delivered with an irreverent sense of humor.”

2020 will most certainly be one for the history books, and seeing what artists create during this time might be the only thing keeping me going. I’m bracing myself for angry Trump supporters, as everyone has their right to their opinion. That said, all of these artists also have the right to create artwork based on how they feel. I see this as a time capsule… a surreal, ‘this is so not normal’, time capsule.

{Artists show above: 1. India Tresselt; 2. Holly Ballard Martz; 3. Brenda Oelbaum; 4. Michele Pred; 5. Bryan Buckley; 6. Tm Gratkowski; 7. Cabell Molina + more pieces can be seen here}

Gasp! All of it… I love all of it. This colorful, thoughtful, beautiful world is the work of Claudia Martínez Garay, a Peruvian artist who lives and works in both Amsterdam and Lima. This gorgeous show was exhibited earlier this year at GRIMM Gallery {Amsterdam}. It was titled, “A las revoluciones, como a los árboles, se les reconoce por sus frutos”, which translates to, “Revolutions, like trees, are recognized by their fruits”. Here is the description from the gallery’s site:

“Claudia Martínez Garay’s work dwells on Peruvian history through the life of cultural artifacts and visual archives, and the multiple voices and meanings which are ascribed to these. She combines graphic iconography and abstraction in her paintings and ceramic sculptures to reflect on the idea of memory, life and after-life, invoking a strong identification with native American cultures of South America.

With a focus on re-reading, remaking and interpreting the visual traditions, the artist presents installations that exists in a specific imaginary’s time and space. Underlying the arrangements, there is a drive to reanimate the existing fragments of lost and forgotten stories. Persistent and bittersweet, Martínez Garay’s work analyzes modernity as an inseparable component of colonialism.”

“Reanimating the existing fragments of lost and forgotten stories”… yes, I love that too.

Oh my word, I love these weird ‘n wonderful things so much! These sculptures are by American artist Joe Davidson, and yes, that final piece is sitting beside a painting by one of my favorite artists (and people!), Samantha Fields. You’ll see why in a minute… So, I asked Joe what these squishy but not squishy at all, pastel-hued, plaster balloon/sausages were all about, and this is what he told me:

“I love the fact that these have obvious references to Koons (for the acidic celebratory balloon sculptures) and Bourgeois (for the anthropomorphic nature of the forms). My forms are obviously quite phallic, and it makes me think about our notions of masculinity, emasculation, age, etc. As I recently hit my 50’s, these things are creeping in to my mind. What I like about pairing my work with Sam is it puts these works in a larger, less personal conversation about the idea of the male ‘take-the-land’ attitude under which we live, and our collective questioning of that principle.”

You can see this group show, titled “Personal Contacts #3″, until September 5th at Durdan and Ray in Los Angeles… and TONIGHT, Monday August 31, Joe will be talking to Samantha via a live Zoom talk, about this six-part series titled ‘that explores novel approaches to community curation.’ It starts at 7pm, Joe & Sam will be on around 7:45pm. Here’s the Zoom link.

Okay, I’m officially obsessed. I tried to pick just one of these pieces to showcase, but how could I not show you the giant mirror mask, the Marilyn shoes made out of pot and pans {that’s the artist, for scale!}, and a fabulous, feathery, burlesque-looking “Lilicoptère” exhibited at Versailles?! These beauties are just the tip of the absolutely gorgeous iceberg that is the portfolio of Lisbon based artist Joana Vasconcelos… and clearly, the art world agrees. Here’s a tiny snippet from her CV. Look at this badass list:

Her work became known internationally after her participation in the 51^st Venice Biennale in 2005, with the work A Noiva [The Bride] (2001-05). She was the first woman and the youngest artist to exhibit at the Palace of Versailles, in 2012. Recent highlights of her career include a solo exhibition at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the project Trafaria Praia, for the Pavilion of Portugal at the 55^th Venice Biennale; the participation in the group exhibition The World Belongs to You at the Palazzo Grassi/François Pinault Foundation, Venice (2011); and her first retrospective, held at the Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon (2010).

Damn.

Gasp! So. Much. Glitter! This is the very personal work of Chicago based artist Moises Salazar. Their artist statement is so powerful, so I’m just gonna let Moises tell you about this work:

“Growing up in Chicago to immigrant parents has cemented a conflict of belonging and safety within my identity. Being first generation, I was thrown into a society that constantly challenges my rights as a U.S. American and targets my community because of their immigration status. I had to survive in a social space that had little regard for the complexities of growing up ethnically Mexican in a racialized society. Safety and security were things that were never a part of my experience while living in the Unite States. With fears of my family being deported I felt alienated by a country I had to pledge myself to. Furthermore, this alienation was reinforced by my queer identity. Being a body that has experienced violence, neglect, and homophobia within and outside my community has become the catalyst of my work. For this reason, the body has become my conceptual focus.

Whether addressing queer or immigrant bodies my practice is tailored to showcase the trauma, history, and barriers these people face. Reflecting on the lack of space and agency they posses, I present my pieces in environments were they can thrive and be safe. The work I create is colorful, innocent, gentle, soft, and safe. The use of clay, paper mache, glitter and crochet are important in my work because of their cultural and personal value. The use of accessible material has always been important in my practice and in the cultural development of my communities. I use material and methods that have been passed down by generation in my family to showcase the importance of their experience and honor their endurance. My art is a vehicle to celebrate the majesty of cultural heritage contrasted with challenges of living safely in the United States as a member of the immigrant and queer communities.”

Bravo! Some of Moises’ work can be seen in “Forget Me Not”, a two person show (also featuring Caroline Liu) at Roots & Culture in Chicago. It will be up until the end of August.

Happy Saturday! This feels like an intro to the podcast, but it isn’t {the podcast will be back this fall though}.

I don’t usually write about my own work here, but I’m pretty proud of this feat … I’m not sure how I pulled this off, but somewhere between having major surgery and now, I made 18 new small pieces {15 panels, 3 sculptures} for an art show at Ian Tan Gallery in Vancouver. It’s titled “appreciating the little things” because, well, 2020. If this shit show of a year has taught me anything, it’s to embrace the joy that comes from things like baked goods, pets, and the couch.*PLEASE NOTE: all tiny people in the pieces are socially distanced! Here is my artist statement and some of the work. You can see the entire show right here.

DANIELLE KRYSA
appreciating the little things
Aug 20 – 31, 2020 {preview is on as of Aug 15!}

Walks around the block, perfectly pink sunsets, freshly baked pie, and actually being home to water the plants. Before March 2020, most of us took these simple pleasures for granted — and then, whether we liked it or not, we were forced to embrace them… sourdough bread, anyone? While this new ‘normal’ has caused a rollercoaster of emotions for the entire world, there are silver linings. We’ve slowed down. We’ve discovered how much we love hugs. We’ve given Mother Nature a chance to catch her breath. We’ve taken our dogs for walks, watched the sun set, baked everything, and watched our gardens grow.

This show is filled with 18 small mixed media pieces — both panels and sculptures — that celebrate all of ‘the little things’ I overlooked while being too busy to notice. Tiny people snipped from the pages of old books, explore each of these wonders, marveling at their magnificence. There truly is so much beauty surrounding us all the time, we just have to stop long enough to see it. Here’s to appreciating “the little things”.

And that’s that. Thanks for looking/reading. Have a lovely weekend ~ Danielle

Sigh. Venice 2019… that feels like a zillion years ago. This breathtaking sculptural light installation is the work of Netherlands based, Spanish artist Nacho Carbonell. “Inside a Forest Cloud” is the title of the large chandelier, and yes, that’s exactly where I’d like to be right now… inside a forest cloud. The grouping as a whole is titled “Monumental” and was part of one of my favorite shows in Venice last summer, “Dysfunctional” at Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro. Here are Nacho’s words about why he does what he does:

“I like to see objects as living organisms, imagining them coming alive and being able to surprise you with their behaviour. I want to create objects with my hands, then I can give them my personality. I turn them into communicative objects that can arouse one’s sensations and imagination. In short, what I want to create are objects with a fictional or fantasy element, that allow you to escape everyday life.”

Yes. YES. Escaping everyday life sounds fantastic right now. Happy Friday.

Oh. My. Word. This is “Ecology of Time”, 2018… zillions and zillions of found beads made of glass, leaded-crystal, Swarovski crystal, ceramic, plastic, acrylic, resin, bakelite, mother-of-pearl, shell, pearls, jade, agate, and the list goes on! This suspended stunner is the work of Australian artist Louise Meuwissen. She has been “painting with found materials” since art school, and I could not love this more! Oh, hold on a second…

“I’m a collector by nature, and have always loved the treasure hunt of second hand shopping at op-shops and markets. I’m attracted to objects that contain a certain level of care, communicate something of a specific time or place, or otherwise feel particularly precious. I love things that are handmade, have bold or unusual prints, are made from luxurious materials, or evoke some sort of nostalgia.”

Okay, love is now officially through the roof.

*Quote above via this interview Louise did with Obus in August 2019.

Gasp! Okay, Italian squares are already magical, but just imagine turning a corner – gelato in hand – and seeing THIS? These pieces are the work of Italian artist Fabio Viale. I had so many questions, especially about how he applies those gorgeous tattoos?! Luckily, I found an interview Fabio did with designboom earlier this year. Here are a couple of Qs, and the corresponding A’s:

designboom (DB): why don’t you create your own busts, your own figures, and instead prefer to take classic iconic references?

fabio viale (FV): the images that come to us from the past do not belong to simple sculptures: they are icons, they are symbols, which have been able to resist in time. I don’t think it’s a matter of aesthetics or content, but rather of survival during the historical periods. I’ve always been attracted to mysteries, such as the mona lisa (leonardo) or the pietà (michelangelo), and their study has led me, during their reproduction, to understand the artist’s personality more analytically which these works generated.

DB: which technique did you use to tattoo your marble work?

FV: when I decided to tattoo the marble, I realized that it was very important not to paint it, but being able to make the color penetrate into the porosity that is proper to this material. only in this way I could reach the effect of the tattoo on human skin in the most realistic way. experimenting with colors and surfaces: this was the beginning that then led me to a wise mix of texture and color chemistry.

Ah-mazing. Happy Monday. {thanks to @underthehickory for sending me a link to Fabio’s work.}