The show encompassed a great range of works. The spaces were used to the advantage of the artists, creating hanging walls to separate some of the works that were more dynamic. The show was a little confusing due to the lack of labels on the walls? I always find the labels misleading and confusing in the mason gross gallery. The spaces are very well defined, and the labels are always in the most ambiguous place possible. In this case strips of blue tape saying place label here were implemented. Hopefully that gets resolved.
So consequently I'm not sure who had the large Cy Twombly-esque abstractions on the far back wall, but they were intriguing. These paintings had drawings on graph paper still taped flimsily to them, raw canvas loosely hanging from the frame, and an orb of quiet color in the center. That particular wall almost always draws the most attention for me. Whatever goes on that wall is always well presented and centered. It usually steals the show. In this case, though the canvases were warped and unprimed, those paintings were the most memorable and presentable for me. The allure of the wall is most likely in that it is the longest horizontal span in the gallery, and it is directly across from the entrance doors. The wall dominates the scene in every show i've been to in mason gross galleries. And I'm a sucker for expressionist abstract landscapes via storm clouds and graph drawing paper. Who's paintings are those??
For the rest of the show a huge mix of installation, art objects, and various colorful items were strewn about the gallery. Something that happens often with shows that mix installations by one artist and paintings by another is distraction. A huge installation or interactive performance will dominate the gallery space. Whereas a minimalist artist with a clean or muted pallete will experience a clash of business that draws the focus away from their work. More specifically I am referring to the back left room where the center is dedicated to a very involved installation, and the works on the walls that surround and even enclose the installation are very simple, clean, and minimalist works that are engulfed by the installation.
If the artist were to make works that were both paintings and installation, such as the case of the back right room with the moose head, there is an appropriate way to incorporate such works.
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