THE ART SHOW (2020) PARK AVENUE ARMORY
By Belle Mcintyre
This year’s 32nd edition of The Art Show presented by the ADAA was full of the blue chip galleries and artists that represent its hallmark. Intriguing unfamiliar works were from both emerging and established artists.
Abelardo Morrell, chiefly known for his oversized camera obscura work, showed his Glassware Still Life at Krakow Witkin. The image contains a grouping of transparent glass objects which seem to be existing on several spacial planes. The picture is produced by scanning several different images into a program that then attempts to make sense of them and creates a a ghostly, subtly complex composition.
Glassware Still Life #1, 2019 © Abelardo Morrell
Petzel has given over their whole booth to the colorful abstractions of Walead Beshty. The luminous prismatic shapes in the photograms are created by folding photographic paper into 3-dimensional shapes before exposure to light from all angles. The paper is then flattened for mounting, but retains the pentimento from the folds and creases. This series is an extension of Beshty’s earlier explorations with shattered glass. The shapes are shard-like, and the images are reflected in the mirrored floor, achieving a striking effect.
© Walead Beshty
Bortolami showed a large, singularly beautiful image by Elise Sigichelli of a window with a sheer curtain that appears to be billowing from a slight breeze. This is part of a larger body of work which engages with windows as part of architecture, and which Sigichelli has installed in a variety of architecturally significant locations.
Untitled (1244), 2020, © Elisa Sighicelli
The iconic portraits by Zanele Muholi never fail to arrest the eye, and often delight their viewers with dramatic high contrast darks and lights, and ironic whimsical accents found within the formal framing.
Kusile III, 2002 Cartwright, Cape Town, 2019 © Zanele Muholi
Sondlo I, Oodi Weavers, Botswana, 2019 © Zanele Muholi
© Zanele Muholi
Tshatha, Umlazi, Durban, 2019 © Zanele Muholi
There is always a rich offering of classic prints presented by Howard Greenberg Gallery, which include work by Lisette Modell, William Klein, Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt, Robert Frank, Sol Leiter, Weegee, and others. Danziger showed Brett Weston’s Dunes, Oceano, a sublimely lyrical work, as well as Underwater Bodies. Fraenkel showed a large collection of fabulous gelatin silver prints by Lee Friedlander.
If there was a trend to be spotted, it was noted by several that the show was thematically geared toward works that are modestly scaled. There were far fewer oversized works, which seemed ubiquitous compared to previous seasons. That may not be the case at The Armory Show next week, which usually lends itself to bolder statements. It could be a sign of the uncertainty of the times we are currently experiencing.
