A weekend of art fairs and a biennial show can leave one quite tired. Chatting with dealers and curators, walking, waiting, looking, looking more, watching people, checking out their shoes while sitting comfortably (I'm looking at you Armory, thanks!). In years past, I have complained about Armory's lack of seating. This year, thanks to the migration of several galleries to other fairs, there was plenty of seating and the VIP area was huge. All in all, a pretty good trip although not much work was memorable. There were some great pieces that I will highlight here over the next few weeks but one work sticks in my head. Actually, it's a bit haunting.
At the Whitney Biennial, I was introduced to the work of Michael Robinson, a video artist. He creates shorts that collage video footage, audio, and effects. His piece Hold me Now is something I won't forget anytime soon. You can see for yourself here.
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| a still from Michael Robinson's video Hold Me Now |
If there has to be an overall winner, it was Volta. Lots of strong, interesting work including a performance by DC's own Wilmer Wilson IV at Conner Contemporary (gotta root for the home team you know.) I also viewed some exquisite (and smirky) charcoal works from Trevor Guthrie @ Barbarian Art gallery, an installation about time from Peter Holst Kenckel @ Specta, some lovely paintings from William Swanson @ Marx & Zavattero, and paintings by Terry Haggerty @ Kuttner Siebert that simply vibrated (not literally).
I'll post more about all these artists in the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy their work as much as I did.