Colleen Herman is an artist based in New York. Here, shares the exhibits she saw recently, including sculptor Simone Bodmer Turner’s new solo show.
Can you talk about the most recent exhibits you saw?
Proximity to some of the world's best museums, galleries, and pop up exhibitions
makes living in New York City a real dream. Seeing heroes and friends -
sometimes side by side - is so so special. I try to get to two shows a week?
Sometimes less, sometimes more! but that's about average. Here's a quick
rundown of what I've seen lately - hope you can get to them before they close!
One of my best friends, Simone Bodmer-Turner, opened up her solo show, Take Part In, at Matter last week. She's made the most incredible sculptures, furniture, and lighting - some at hulking scale! There are features that invite the viewer to engage directly with the work, twirling whirlies on sculptures and spherical pullies that turn the lights off and on. The textures are yummy- and consistent - so you can really let your eyes relax on the shapes and forms she makes. My favorite piece is called Gone Fishin' --- it has a wire arc that comes up from the base that plays with space and dimension in such a wonderful way. The whole show is joyful and chic - a real reflection of Simone.
I was also lucky to catch the opening of Nikita Gale's End of
Subject show at 52 Walker St. I met up with my studio neighbor,
painter Corey Presha, and we were both impressed with the space, the scale of
the show, the materials --- the consideration to all parts making the
whole. There are aluminum panels hanging on the walls that use words to
articulate the presence of a body, and I found the nuances in the
'handwriting' of the etching evocative of certain parts of the body, or certain
bodies specifically - certain people in my life - which then looped me back
around to a more general idea of bodies : that we are all made up of skin,
blood, and bones - just the same. There is a sonic aspect to the show too, and
at some points you hear instructions that would be given to bodies on a stage -
perhaps as part of a performance. It was interesting to observe the body
response of the others in the gallery.....were people there to listen or to
act? The power of the artist, and that of the gallery - was very much
reinforced in this show, and executed flawlessly.
Another
day I spent some time at White Columns to take in Looking Back / The
12th White Columns Annual, curated by artist Mary Manning. They often share
work they see via their instagram and I have come to find the work, and the way
they share to be so utterly tender. There's always a quiet intention and a
familiar feeling of warmth and connectivity that comes through Mary's eye. The
show is super special and a variegated mix of paintings - big and small -
drawings, sculptures, photographs and a video. They reprised the video
work The Disco Project by Neil Greenberg which he
originally staged at PS122 in 1995. This showing at WC uses text by
Greenberg that provides multiple layers of context for the viewer, many
personal life details about the performers you're watching in the dance, and
about the AIDS crisis that swept New York. The performers are wearing hot pink,
and the music and movements are athletic, celebratory, sometimes heavy -
sometimes so light I laughed out loud. A true depiction of moving through real
life and loss, I cannot recommend seeing this piece highly enough.
There
are other wonderful works in this epic group show....another dance piece - a
collage by Kandis Williams, a super soft watercolor by Monique Mouton, a
spectacular photographic installation by Deanna Lawson, and a favorite
work by Jaqueline Humphries that uses black light to reveal the information
embedded within.
That same day I caught the opening of Lynn Umlauf at Zürcher Gallery.
I've been an admirer of Lynn's work for years, her hand is evident everywhere.
When I view each piece, her process is revealed to me in a series of
subsequent a-ha moments that have helped me navigate some questions and
answers in my own work. This is a special show with a range of work from 1974
until 2022, a celebration really - of her creations and life, she passed on
2-2-22 at the age of 80. Color and shape dominate the larger works in the show,
and other walls display her carefully colored works on paper, her marks
deliberate and expressive. I observed a mix of people who knew Lynn walking the
show and others who may not have met her - but her presence was so fully felt.
The energy she put into the work, through her hands - and her body -
was still palpable despite decades of time passed.
(closes March 30, 2022)
Lastly, I finally made it to the MoMA to catch the last days of the
Sophie Tauber-Arp show, Living Abstraction. There is an overarching
notion that Sophie was amusing herself through color and material everywhere
she could - in drawings, paintings, graphic and furniture design, architecture
- puppetry(!), she made everything more festive and jubilant with her hands.
From room to room, you can sense the fun she had dreaming up ways to bend her
visual language into new materials. She made art that kept the heart light and
the spirit lifted. This is timeless artwork, in my opinion, as the heaviness of
life is a never ending constant. Tauber-Arp's work exhibits the play of a
childlike mind with the precision and consideration of a seasoned professional
who values a full life of friends, nature, and beauty. The stained glass
commissions particularly grabbed me, where the strength of her compositions
provided a particular kind of balance and visual harmony -- owed to
her clear-cut color choices. It's fun to imagine the conversations and
critiques she would have with her artist partner Jean Arp, and to consider how
much influence they had on each other - pushing to further limits because of
their relationship. A show that will leave a lasting impression.
Exhibition that has stayed with you/is memorable so far?
It's difficult to list just one so I'll just give the highlight real, in an attempted
chronological order... first laying eyes on Claude Monet at the Baltimore
Museum of Art in 1991 really changed my life and that feeling informs how I
make paintings today... Then walking through the Art Institute of Chicago with
my dad and sister Shannon - and getting as close to Seurat's A Sunday
on La Grande Jatte as Ferris Bueller did in that film.....tearing up
at the Musee D'Orsay in college: which was a sharp reminder of that
impressionable BMA visit in my youth.....playing dress-up with my pal Sami to
go to the opening of the Fela Kuti exhibition at the *old* New Museum when it
was still on Broadway....paying homage to the Joan Mitchell's at Cheim and
Reade in 2018....visiting the last day of Garciella Iturbide's
photography exhibit in Oaxaca, of which she was in attendance - in platform
Converse!.....and revisiting the Met when they reopened their doors after the
pandemic lockdown to see Epic Abstraction. My love and I
cycled to Giverny on a trip to Paris many years ago - and that remains a
wonderful memory. Walking into my own show in Los Angeles to see other
*strangers* walking around on a Saturday morning - taking in the art - really
stopped me in my tracks. I've been spectating for a lifetime, and in this new
chapter - I'm finally participating and that feels incredible.
What exhibitions or gallery/museum are you
planning to see next?
Next up is a trip to Madrid --- I depart next week! Enroute to an
artist residency in Mallorca, Spain. I plan on spending a whole day at the
Reina Sofia, and another at the Prado - mixing in as many galleries and other
shows as I can muster in 2 days.
Portrait photo: Kava Gorna
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Over the past eighteen months, we've been starved of art and culture with museums and galleries being shut during the pandemic. The first big exhibition I went to post-lockdown this year was at the RHA Gallery (Royal Hibernian Academy) in Dublin, Ireland. The RHA is a modern art museum which houses Irish and international art. The Gallery runs an annual exhibition, this year is the 191st year, and it is run through a submission process accepting pieces across painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, print and mixed media. The space is quite airy, with five different rooms across two floors. I am usually drawn to modern, contemporary more abstract pieces but there was such a variety on show here that it opened me up to all manner of styles.
Before that, I visited Making and Momentum at the National Museum of Ireland which was a celebration of Irish modernist architect and designer, Eileen Gray, curated by fashion designer Richard Malone, which included a reimagining of some of Gray's most memorable works by current artists and designers. A dream home could be filled with pieces from this exhibition.
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I associate art, museums and galleries with travel as one of the first things I do when I am visiting a new city is to look up what exhibitions are on. One that always stands out is a visit to Atelier Brâncuși in Paris. On the piazza beside the towering, inside-out Centre Pompidou sits a modernist block of concrete and glass and once you get inside, you will find an exact replica of Romanian artist Constantin Brâncuși's studio as he left it at the time of his death in 1957. He bequeathed his entire studio to the French state on the one condition that it would be displayed as he left it. His sculptures are masterful, his tools exquisite.
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What
exhibitions or gallery/museum are you planning to see next?
Now that
things are getting back to normal, I am looking forward to travelling again. I
am going to Paris next month and I will visit Centre Pompidou to see the
Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition. Someday I would love to see the Louisiana
Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. There's a lot more to see!
Georgia O'keeffe, from 8 September to 6 December, 2021, Centre Pompidou
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Can you
talk about the most recent exhibitions you went to?
I just managed to catch the last day of Drawing on Style at Cromwell Place, which was a fantastic fashion illustration exhibition featuring the likes of René Gruau,René Bouché, Antonio Lopez and Carl Erickson. I love to see fashion illustration close up, especially the ones that capture everything with a few minimal strokes. I’m obsessed with hands because despite studying fashion illustration I could never draw them - I guess I never put in my 10,000 hours! There were some beautiful Gruaus and Ericksons at this show but also some more restrained Lopez pencil drawings. Despite being decades old, they have a timeless appeal that I love.
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.jpg) Clockwise from top right: Antonio Lopez; Carl Erickson; Rene Bouche |
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For me it
all goes back to the Anthony D’Offay gallery in Dering Street in the late 80s.
I used to go in there on my lunch break from my Saturday job at Debenhams and
enjoy having the Harings and Scharfs all to myself. I don’t think I
realised it was an ‘important’ gallery, it was just conveniently situated
as a nice respite from the ladies separates department! Through seeing the
work, I would read about the associated cultural scene and immerse myself in
the fantasy of New York life.
What
exhibition are you planning to see next?
I’m still
hoping to see Night Fever: Designing Club Culture at the V&A in Dundee.
What I've seen online looks incredible; it’s a celebration of global club
culture and design including clubs in New York, Paris, Manchester, London and
Berlin. It’s on until January so I think I’m still in with a chance.
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Jina Han is based in London. Here she talks about the exhibitions she saw recently.
Can you talk about the most recent exhibition(s) you went to?
I recently went to two design exhibitions in London - No. 43 by Atelier LK and 50 Vyner Street, which was curated by Béton Brut London and Modern Art Hire. They were both very inspirational shows that showcased a mix of art, furniture, craft, and decorative objects. No. 43 was curated inside the late artist Ron Hitchins' home, and therefore had a more intimate and comfortable atmosphere, while 50 Vyner Street was more pristine and structured in a white-cube space. I thoroughly enjoyed both shows, as they demonstrated how objects, especially furniture, can give off such a different energy depending on the surrounding environment. For example, the Charlotte Perriand daybed shown at No. 43 looked so inviting and comfortable when removed from a white-cube setting and placed within the context of a home. It felt like a great opportunity to witness and experience design objects up close, and reminded me of their functionality that we often forget about when it comes to pieces that we only see in museums.
It was also very thoughtful that the two head designers, Lisa and Ruby, decided to stay true to the nature of Hitchin's original home, and circulated the show around the late artist's works and living environment. All the original patterned wallpaper was left on the walls, and his signature ceramic tiles and sculptures were well integrated into the space, always reminding me of the life that existed there before this show.
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At 50 Vyner Street, nothing seemed out of place or "too much," which is very difficult to achieve. In conclusion, I left with many new items added to my wishlist, and a determination to work harder to be able to afford such things.
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I have several memorable exhibitions in mind that will always be with me. The first is the 2011 Alexander Mcqueen Savage Beauty exhibition put on by the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. I was twelve years old at the time, but it still left a huge impression on me and helped spark my interest in pursuing fashion during high school. I still remember the dramatic gowns and iconic iridescent scaled heels, and how I was swept away by the incredible suspense of the exhibition. To this day, I think it was the best fashion exhibition I've ever been to, as the clothes really came alive off the mannequins and fueled the imagination.
Another
exhibition I thoroughly enjoyed was the Charlotte Perriand retrospective at the
Fundación Louis Vuitton in Paris that took place in November 2019 right before
Covid-19. I was taking a course on Le Corbusier during university, and we all
went to Paris together on a field trip to see his architectural works in
person. Luckily, we were able to catch the Perriand exhibition, which actually
included many works by Le Corbusier, as they often worked together on his
projects. It was very exciting being able to see all the works in person, as I
had so much background information about these designers fresh on my mind from
the course. I think there is something very special about seeing things in
person, after only reading about them or seeing pictures online. The scale of
the exhibition was enormous and so comprehensive, including all of Perriand's
works, inspirations, and partners' works as well. There was a very thorough mix
of paintings, tapestries, furniture, lamps, and photographs on multiple floors
-- almost to the point where it was a little bit overwhelming. The rooftop was
therefore a perfect break from all the art, where you could have a coffee
looking out over Paris, and also appreciate Frank Ghery's design of the
building. All in all, I think this show was just one of the best retrospectives
I've seen for a single artist, and would have loved to have seen it a second
time to take a closer look.
What
exhibitions are you planning to see next?
Noora Vesterinen is based in Paris. Here, she talks about the exhibits she saw recently.
What is the most recent exhibit you went
to?
While visiting my family in Helsinki, I went to see Tony Vaccaro’s exhibition ‘Life is Wonderful’ showing his fashion and lifestyle photography from the 50s to 70s. Not only did he photograph artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder, but he also took iconic photos of a Finnish brand Marimekko for Life magazine in 1964, photos that still greatly influence the visual communication of the brand.
In Paris my most recent visit was to Musée de l’Orangerie, which is a highly underrated museum located in the Tuileries garden. Since 2017 when Cécile Debray was named as General Heritage curator, the exhibitions have been smart and captivating, never too obvious but always reflecting the time we live in – and the recent exhibition Magritte/Renoir; Surrealism in full Sunlight was not an exception.
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I’m always repeating myself but Margiela, the Hermès
years-exhibition truly changed my point of view in fashion and I scroll through
the exhibition book whenever in need of inspiration.
I also have great memories from Centre Pompidou.
During my first year in Paris I lived five minutes away and as a student I
could go in for free. I spent so many evenings there that I still remember the
permanent collections by heart.
What exhibit are you planning to see next?
Fondation Louis Vuitton will present the art
collection of brothers Mikhaïl and Ivan Abramovitch Morozov starting from the end
of September. The remarkable collection includes both French and Russian modern
art and it is presented for the first time outside Russia.
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Gabriela Pelletier is based in San Francisco. Here, she talk about the exhibits she saw recently.
Can you talk about the most recent exhibit you went to?
The most recent exhibition I went to was the Last Supper in
Pompeii: From the Table to the Grave at the Legion of Honor museum in San
Francisco. The exhibit is focused on the love of food and drink, dining culture
in Pompeii. There were over 150 objects such as Roman sculptures, mosaics,
frescoes, household furnishings, and tableware. What I found most profound
about the exhibit was being able to view the objects of every day from Pompeii.
I thought it was amazing that some pieces/objects mainly the tableware,
sculptures, and frescoes were completely intact and truly frozen in time. It
was mesmerizing to view a piece and imagine how it was used, where it was
placed or what occasion it was used on. As you walk through the exhibit you
fall into a daydream of what daily life was like before the tragic event.
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The most memorable exhibition I've been to was the Hilma af Klint: Paintings
for the Future featured at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City,
2019. This was a memorable exhibition for me because it was such a special trip
to NYC for me at a pivotal time in my life. I was going through a devastating
breakup while also spending beautiful quality time with a dear friend of mine
who truly knows me at my core and lives in NYC. We spent the day running around
the city getting brunch, walking through parks, going to museums ( yes we went
to three that day), buying fresh flowers at your classic corner bodega, walking
through Soho, and grabbing dinner at one of the best hole-in-the-wall
restaurants. The exhibit was so refreshing to me because the paintings are
massive and just stunning. They are so beautiful and filled the empty parts of
my heart with much-needed warmth and hope.
What exhibit are you
planning to see next?
I would love to see the Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love and the Judy
Chicago: A Retrospective at the De Young museum in San Francisco!
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