Monumental Piccolini at LA VIOLA GALLERY

James Kalm Brings viewers a brief tour of "Monumental Piccolini", a provocative show highlighting current abstraction by contrasting the ambitious scale of classic "New York School" works with the more modest productions of contemporary practitioners. One of the contentions of curator Jennifer Riley was that, due to market forces, monumental works are being ignored by galleries. It's hoped that by creating a dialog between works, scales and generations the sphere of formalist abstraction will display its vibrancy. Includes interviews with Craig Fisher and Jennifer Riley

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• James
• Kalm
• Jennifer
• Riley
• Craig
• Fisher
• Jim
• Long
• Don
• Gummer
• Olsen
• David
• Brodey
• Holly
• Miller
• Doreen
• McCarthy
• paining
• drawing
• sculpture
• abstraction
• Lower
• East
• Side
• New
• York

[TomHendricksMusea]

Lots of the usual puffed up, over sized and under done generic art. Surprisingly bad for so many artists works. Very derivative stuff here. What do the NYC reviewers say about the show?

[jameskalm]

@TomHendricksMusea I don't spend much time worrying about what the "reviewers" say. I prefer to let people take a look and decide for themselves.

[camp3rchizzle]

Thanks for the video James. I know you've been around the block and have seen many fads come and go, but I'm curious about your take on all the abstraction in NY these days. I too paint abstractly, but arrived at it in relative isolation all the way in Ohio; here its terribly passe (especially in a gestural style). After seeing this years Armory Show and shows like this, its clear that the market is returning to abstraction. Any thoughts? Appreciate your time.

[jameskalm]

@camp3rchizzle This is a sticky subject. There remains in New York a strong legacy for AbEx. Much new painting is a rehash with a conceptual component added to help ameliorate the passe quality. It seems to me that you can now paint any style you want but you must have a dose of self consciousness of what your doing (what it means to make a painting and be a painter) and where you fit on the stylistic time line of art history.

[claureic]

The problem of scale is a fascinating one: Is a large work more potent because it is large (Rothko, Serra...)? Or is a small work more powerful because it is small (Noskovsky...)? In France, they tend to dismiss American Abstract Expressionists from the NY school precisely because "they couldn't paint small" (apart from the obvious nationalistic bias, it does ask a question). I personally think a small Warhol fright-wig is more haunting than a huge one...Great show, great video James.

[jameskalm]

@claureic Personally, I think the French are still nurturing some "sour grapes". The entire New York School was a challenge to the legacy of the School of Paris. At this point it's all academic, Abstract Expressionism became a dead formulaic academic style by the late 50s. The market shaping the art is also part of the scale question.

[ALTHEGREAT101]

I love the show. Derivative???????????????

[hankjunior]

There are some gems in here i would like to own.

Thanks James

[cochinealake]

Beautiful works.