John Beech

John Beech, at Peter Blum, through 3/19.









John Beech at Peter Blum, on anaba 4/10/2007.
John Beech in Begin Again Right Back Here, at White Columns, on anaba 10/25/2008.


John Beech

Jason Fox

Jason Fox, The Upper Depths, at Peter Blum, in Soho - very first thing I noticed when I walked in was the Schulz biography... displayed with a mass market Philip Dick sci-fi novel, Balzac's Old Goriot, and a book on Josef Beuys.

The Dick novel is Radio Free Albemuth... one of Joe Bradley's paintings was titled Abelmuth. Jason Fox was one of the artists included in the Bradley-curated Peanut Gallery, maybe they are sharing books and ideas. I wonder if Bradley's misspelling is intentional or if that was just a typo.

Jason Fox

Jason Fox - the figure is cut paper.

Jason Fox

Can't find my list with all the titles and dates... I'll try to add them later. The work in the show is all dated 2006-2008.

The blue is blue tape. 

Jason Fox

I see a Redon head inside a giant spacesuit helmet.

Jason Fox at Peter Blum, Soho.

RELATED: Jerry Saltz on Jason Fox, Jason Fox on PaintersNYC 1/16/06, on PaintersNYC 6/3/06.

space + totems

Scott Kiernan, in Beauty's Burden, curated by David Gibson and Jennifer Junkermeier, at Ernest Rubenstein Gallery (of The Educational Alliance). Closes October 31st.


John McCracken, at David Zwirner.


All purply.


Matthew Day Jackson, at Peter Blum - after Charles Ray after McCracken, I guess. The cosmonaut's space suit is made from US Army blankets... Dario Robleto?


Jason Middlebrook being installed at Sara Meltzer.

more in group shows

Larry Bamburg, in Stubborn Materials, at Peter Blum - his sculpture is made of silvery detritus attached to fishing line, spinning from a ceiling fan... really beautiful in the sunlight. I don't think there was any sound, but I'm remembering it like soft wind chimes.

I made a bad video, it's on youtube.

This show also had soft yellow foam sculpture... I think I saw three soft yellow foam sculptures in three different shows this visit, including the John Chamberlain at Zwirner. Plus, this is the gallery that recently had a yellow foam piece by John Beech. Some yellow foam pieces are better than others, for sure.... I liked the John Beech, but not the one in this show (can't remember who did it).

Philip Akkerman, at Goff + Rosenthal - he's in a three person show with Francis Alys and Stephen Bush. Akkerman is really good (again), Alys is interesting, and Bush is a snooze/yuk.

Here is a shot of Bruce and Ryan, studying Akkerman. Bruce is up to something... be careful, Akkerman!

Pierre Manzoni, in Substance and Surface, at Bortolami - Achrome, 1959 - stones on small canvas, painted white.

There is disappointingly little, in English, about Pierre Manzoni on the internet. It's funny to see what artists are on Wikipedia, and who is missing. Kind of a joke. Some galleries are really on top of all that, maybe? I think any artist that is bought by Saatchi, his people put on Wikipedia... but it's amazing who isn't listed... no Joe Overstreet, for example, no Rosalyn Drexler.

Not saying there is anything at all wrong about Saatchi, or whomever, putting his artists on Wikipedia... just that being included, or not, on Wikipedia doesn't seem to be much of a measure of artistic relevance or significance.


Elliott Green, in By Invitation Only, at Kinz, Tillou + Feigen - Saw this show, enjoyed seeing the Elliott Green, and then happened to see the same painting on the cover of a literary magazine a few days later; he has a small spread of more work in the center. I think the magazine was called Fence.

He sometimes works with Amy Sillman and David Humphrey, as a collaborative called Team Shag; I also relate his stuff to Ellen Birkenblitt's.

barely related: the Elliott Green was at Kinz, Tillou + Feigen, the gallery that JB shows at. I can't believe it... and it wasn't long ago, late in the fairly depressing comments here, that I brought up Ader and Johnson, and the lure of suicide at sea. Too sad, maybe it isn't true.. nothing's confirmed.

Richard Artschwager, in Shadow, at Galerie Lelong - Speaking Woman - made of rubberized hair? So weird, rainbow afro.

Catherine Lee, also in Shadow, at Galerie Lelong - two flat hanging pieces of canvas, covered with a tiny grid, each little square filled with the same teeny tiny calligraphic element. I think it's from the seventies.

Didn't at all care for the dull Angelo Filomeno in this show. A big piece of silver embroidery, with skull. Covers all the bases I guess, except, no yellow foam.


Patrick Smith, in New Mutants, at Canada. Oh. He's on Wikipedia... that's funny.

The Ahmed Alsoudani drawings at Thierry Goldberg were good... bigger than I expected, after first seeing them on James Wagner.

John Beech

John Beech at Peter Blum. I was really into his sculpture...


This piece is like a little tomb or sarcophagus... kind of Paul Thek. Just a big block of dirty foam, some plexi, and some silver tape.


He had some sculpture on poles leaning against the wall... called leaners. This one is Cushion Leaner #1... it's an old blue denim(?) cushion encased in plexi.




Sonotube Leaner, Blunt Leaner, Car-Mat Leaner.


These leaners are a little like Huang Yong Ping's Face/Brains... but from THE FUTURE.

thanks, John Beech.