Sunday, June 10, 2012

back to basics: color and form



Polly Apfelbaum, Color Nest, 2010-11, Plasticine, polymer clay and glitter; photos courtesy Ameringer McEnery Yohe




Stone Gravy
curated by David Pagel
at Ameringer McEnery Yohe

I love this show. 
Bravo David Pagel, man of many hats including the Parrish Art Museum's own LA-based adjunct curator, whose exhibition Stone Gravy is a perfect summer treat. It's on view at Ameringer McEnery Yohe through July 7th.


Polly Apfelbaum, 4 some, 2010-11, Plasticine and polymer clay

Polly Apfelbaum has been flirting with process, painting and installation for decades, and in that time she's morphed into one of the most interesting artists around. Her works are rascally and sparkling, ingenuous and urbane at the same time, and they stretch the margins of painting to parts unknown. 

Matt Wedle, Flower Tree, 2011, ceramic

While I was busy doing something else ceramics has become a new art form altogether, evidenced here with sumptuous works by Matt Wedel and the forever excellent Ron Nagle, a national treasure.

Ron Nagle, Beirut Canal, 2009, ceramic
Richard Allen Morris, Power Bar, 2000, acrylic on pine panel

The title of the show is taken from "stone soup" -- a folk story in which soup is made for the weary and hungry from inedible scraps. For Pagel, Stone Gravy seems to be a sort of homage to the fundamentals of art making. In the catalog text he attempts to identify the circumstances "...that are intrinsic to the various ways artists make matter matter."


Allison Miller, Solid, 2011, oil and acrylic on canvas

David Pagel, responsible for some of the most intoxicating shows at The Parrish including the current exhibit EST 3: Southern California in New York, on view through June 17th, brings a little California sunshine wherever he drops anchor. 

Don't miss this delightful show.








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