STORM KING SCULPTURE PARK
A 500-acre sanctuary where sculptures go to live. The park is speckled with hundreds of sculptures, both massive and miniature. Sculptures for sitting, for viewing, for climbing, for feeling. Sculptures that become part of the land, and sculptures that stick out like alien monuments. Viewing art in open air is always more refreshing. Moreover, the rolling hills gave me a sense of giddiness similar to swimming in the ocean for the first time. If I wasn’t already dizzied and in awe of the tremendous works of art that surrounded me in such a beautiful setting, then rolling down the giant hills like a toddler certainly did.
MICHAEL MAHALCHICK PERFORMANCE AT TANDEM BAR
I had the privilege of seeing Michael Mahalchick perform as part of the Movement Research Festival last spring. Along with Mahalchick's understated and hilarious performance, I was delighted by Brian Belott's orchestration of a vocally competitive, intense debate in gibberish (before 2011's Performa of the absurd), as well as the graceful, choreographic expressions of the no doubt beautiful women of the Kate Bush Dance Troupe.
JACK STRANGE AT TONYA BONAKDAR
Deep down, I think most people go see an art exhibition for the reasons of pure entertainment. In Deep Down, Strange's solo-exhibition at Tonya Bonakdar this year, the artist succeeds in making art fun, as well as making fun of his art. At the entrance of the exhibition, a series of American $1 - $100 bills are cut up and collaged into peculiar, funny little characters; a light gesture towards a grand metaphor comparing money with the absurd. The rest of the show was just as quirky with ipod-touch devices looping videos of a computer-animated shark and a dolphin reciting dada-isms, submerged in plastic bags, just like a prize goldfish from the county fair. The sliced heads of a cornucupia of vegetables are sprung into action with cartoon motion lines, and fruit pits are presented as auditory beings, something that no one can actually see or hear. The sound installation, Staring into Seeing, was one of the most immediately disorienting and astonishing works of art I've seen all year. After listening to it, and participating (which is voluntary, as viewer can listen and hear the track, but one must actively choose to participate), I literally left the gallery feeling dizzy, confused, and somehow, enlightened — as well as lightened up.
JACQUES LOUIS VIDAL AT MARC JANCOU
See review from March here!
THE VIEW FROM THE VOLCANO: THE KITCHEN'S SOHO YEARS, 1971-85 AT THE KITCHEN
I came here in the middle of summer on one of those hot, sweaty days where the best idea isn't to go swimming at the beach or a city pool, but to bask in the refreshing AC-pumped galleries of Chelsea. This exhibition provided the opportunity to view rare and important video works and film, as well as video and photographic documentation of groundbreaking performances that took place at the Kitchen in this time period. I was honored to be able to see Elizabeth Streb's Fall Line (1982) and Two Moon July, and multi-artist, multi-disciplinary program originally produced for television in 1986. The last time I was able to sit down and have access to a collection like this was when I interned for EAI!
EDWARD BURTYNSKY, Dryland Farming, AT BRYCE WOLKOWITZ (especially when compared to Andreas Gursky at Gagosian)
I want to own one of these. I have long admired the work of Andreas Gursky (see review from 2007!), but compared with the concurrent show at Gagosian Gallery this fall, Burtynsky wins my vote for the best aerial photography this year. Compared to Gursky's self-titled show, Dryland Farming, takes the politics of environmental issues into account on a more intimate scale, using color, composition, and texture to communicate a more immediate emotion.
PETER NADIN AT GAVIN BROWN'S ENTERPRISE
Forget aesthetics, formal composition, use of materials, concept...Peter Nadin's enchanting exhibition at GBE was my favorite smelling exhibition of the year. Besides the earthy smell fresh carved wood wafting throughout the gallery from the small forest of plinths holding terra cotta sculptures, the final gallery held an enormous shallow pool filled with honey. The robust, yet sweet, smell could easily be unconsciously nauseating if one mistook the thick, black substance for tar or another caustic material. If the smell wasn't enough, fresh honey (from Nadin's actual, working farm, Old Field Farm) was actually available for sale in a pop-up market in the back end of the gallery (where I must add sold some of the most delicious eggs I've ever tasted).
CARLOS CRUZ DIEZ AT AT SIMON BOLIVAR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
If spending a week in Venezuela wasn't enough of a mind-fuck for a Midwestern girl like me, then getting dropped off at the airport and seeing this was just the cherry on the cake.
FILM: MELANCHOLIA & THE TREE OF LIFE & UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
Although I certainly made good use of my Netflix this year, marking checks on my "Films to See" list, knocking them down like flies in a cinematic marathon, I still found time to make it to the theater. This year, 2011, was all about the visual. These three films needn't have a plot or script, so long as I could see them. I have often said that my number one criteria in determining a good film is that if you take a screenshot of any frame in the entire film, if it would make a beautiful photograph, then it will make a beautiful film (I'd like to do this with Blood Simple, or Casino). Visual mediations.... Each frame, each second, is deliberate and thought out in these films. Bravo Lars Von Trier, Terrance Mallick, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
STUDIO VISITS
I had the privilege to be invited into many artists' studios this year, for conversation and dialogue on their work, my work, other artists' work, current events, pop culture, and the weather. Nothing is more magical than experiencing an artist's work where it is made, and for an artist to reveal their true intentions of how it should be viewed, why it was made, and what will come from it in the future. I also love to experience the variety of their studios. Some are chaotic with tools everywhere, dry mold and pastes on the wall, paint splattered in every crevice. Others are impeccably organized, spick-and-span, not a paint brush to be found. Some artists use massive power tools, while others use only a laptop. Thank you for inviting me into your world, for your hospitality. I hope for many more in 2012!
MY REGRETS
I am kicking myself for not seeing:
THE CLOCK BY CHRISTIAN MARCLAY AT PAULA COOPER
I dreamed about coming to the gallery at 2am to meditate with this piece. Regrettably, I was actually dreaming.
ROBERT IRWIN AT PACE
Oh Bob (can I call you Bob?), you are my dream artist. Unfortunately, I was too nervous to come over and see you this year.
RYAN TRECARTIN AT PS1
I know I would have had a lot of fun at this show, as I do with all of Trecartin's work. Thankfully, some of my best friends had a psychedelic, spiritual experience with these installations, and I will never hear the end of it.
GREEN GALLERY, MILWAUKEE, WI
For being a Wisconsinite, I can't believe I still haven't made it back to visit one of the most talked about young contemporary art galleries in the US.
