PETER HUTCHINSON: THE LOGIC OF MOUNTAINS
1963-2013: A 50-Year Survey of Constructions, Collages, Books and Film
opened THURS, MARCH 7, 2013
the show runs thru APRIL 13, 2013
FREIGHT+VOLUME – 530 W. 24th ST – CHELSEA, NYC
MORE PIX – FROM THE OPENING:
painter ERIK DEN BREEJEN, and photographer KEVIN KAY at the PETER HUTCHINSON OPENING,
FREIGHT+VOLUME, NYC. MARCH 7, 2013.
the buzz circulating about ERIK, was that the booth solely dedicated to his color field ‘text’ paintings, that F+V presented at the untitled fair – at the recent Miami Basel art fair weekend 2012 – was a pretty big success. duh. I’m a pretty big fan of his work – so, great news.
they have a great (super, really !!) selection of his work: featured on the FREIGHT+VOLUME website
CRAIG POOR MONTEITH … had an interesting story line.
He works uptown at the long established GRAHAM & SONS GALLERY, which just happens to represent the estate of his late great grandfather, ceramist HENRY VARNUM POOR, 1888-1970. and, yes of that .. STANDARD & POOR !! turns out his great grandfather was a close friend of EDWARD HOPPER, yes that EDWARD HOPPER, and in fact was one of the few friends to attend Hopper’s funeral, in Turo on Cape Cod. apparently he, HOPPER – was a bit of a misanthrope.
wow, HENRY VARUM POOR was really quite the talent, and talk about SKILLS – quite the craftsman !! turns out he is considered to be one of America’s finest painters, and is also well known as a muralist, craftsman, and architect, as well as ceramist. He co-founded the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture .. and most impressive, he designed his now-famous studio and home, ‘Crow House’ on South Mountain Road in New City, New York.
yep, check out: HENRY VARNUM POOR – ‘Crow House’.
and .. DO NOT MISS: the gallery of his works !!
MARCELA SALVADORE, an art enthusiast from Ecuador, who is currently an exchange student at MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY.
so, what is she doing in New York ?
“I’m on spring break !!”
she was standing beside .. PETER HUTCHINSON’S ‘Avocado’, 1973.
Photo collage with text. 30 x 20 in.
($5,500.)
PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Avocado’, the text reads:
“making this video in Firenze, I drew on a blackboard with chalk tracing the growth of an avocado from the sprouting seed to the fully formed fruit.”
art world videographer, LOREN MONK aka JAMES KALM. two sides of the same coin. we reminisced about Simon, the late great SIMON CERIGO – and lamented .. the loss of his colorful, but accurate take on the art scene. as well as holding .. in that big round noggin, an immense oral history on the scene – going way back to the 80s.
nobody went to more openings, did the footwork like Simon. Loren told me he had caught a nice cameo of Simon .. way back in the SPRING of 2009 – at the ERIK PARKER, ‘CRISIS CREATION’ – PAUL KASMIN opening.
and sure enough he did !!
hey, I guess if a bonafide digital ghost pops up, you are allowed to let him – up .. on stage !!
the video is noteworthy for 3, ok 4 things . . .
1. the intro .. JAMES KALM: here’s SIMON CERIGO .. “he’s a professional art critic .. he won’t talk unless you pay him ..” haha I can hear the laughter breaking out .. across the computer world all the way to the desk of Charlie Finch, and all.
not that he didn’t have the goods.
ever try to invoice a collector, or even an art reporter for that matter ? in this town of tightwads at best, outright crooks – at worst.
2. his true love of art .. and his knowledge. this nite it went, roughly: yes I have known ERIK PARKER for 10 years now, from when he first scribbled on RIRKRIT’S apartment/installation at GAVIN BROWN’S Passerby, when he was still a student, still in school. (at COLUMBIA, where Tiravanija teaches).
I can even add a little color to that: .. and yeah, Erik Parker bitched heavy that Gavin wouldn’t pay him even one thin measly dime when the entire construction was promptly sold. Parker went on to swear .. up and down 15th St – that that was gonna be the last time he was going to scribble his stuff .. on somebody else’s wall. actually he was right, his scribble was quite the ‘star’ .. he had ‘dirty listed’ galleries – and named names !!
a real first. though pretty commonplace, now.
3. his, Simon’s legendary – it seems, (well if you read any of the media obits, you know !!) love of the marijudwanna !! since we are, after-all talking all things: earthy, flowery and organic !!
not to forget: ‘narrative’ !!
yep, he would tell you exactly when & where .. he had smoked the smoke with the artists at hand.
4. dude, he gave a shout-out to artlovers !!
watch: ERIK PARKER ‘CRISIS CREATION’ – by JAMES KALM / YouTube, posted MARCH 2009
SIMON pops up .. about 7 minutes into the 10 minute take.
yeah, but no denying. life belongs to the .. living.
PETER HUTCHINSON , ‘International Landscape’, 2006. Photo collage with text. 80 x 120 in.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘International Landscape’. I especially liked this piece for the way the collage – displayed, and revealed.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘International Landscape’.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘International Landscape’.
we’ll give the last word … to photographer JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, and actress, the lovely MIZUO PECK.
to .. life.
behind them, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘The Logic of Mountains’, 2010.
Photo collage with text.
80 x 120 in.
ONE LAST SET OF PHOTOS – TO POST WED of THIS WEEK . . or, something like that.
between the ghosts, and turning the clock ahead .. I got a little blogger ‘jet lag’.
you know: time. in all its layers, and dimensions.
day to day: it’s just one big … time collage ?
ALL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
EXCEPT – PHOTO OF SIMON CERIGO: WHICH IS A YOUTUBE / SCREENGRAB VIA JAMES KALM
thank you, JAMES.
~PETER HUTCHINSON .. PIX FROM THE OPENING .. PART II |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 11th, 2013, 10:59am
PETER HUTCHINSON: THE LOGIC OF MOUNTAINS
1963-2013: A 50-Year Survey of Constructions, Collages, Books and Film
the show opened Thurs March 7, 2013 / 7-9PM
and runs thru APRIL 13, 2013
FREIGHT+VOLUME – 530 W 24th St – Chelsea, NYC
PETER HUTCHINSON: THE LOGIC OF MOUNTAINS / 1963-2013: A 50-Year Survey of Constructions, Collages, Books and Film . . . has the feel of a mini-museum-in-a-gallery retrospective. the exhibit has great depth, but is also swift, and sweet, and well . . . fleeting in nature.
and, yes. you can think .. about that.
PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Tube Project for Utah’, 1969.
Photo Collage with text, 23 x 28 x 3 in.
($7,500.)
the collages were by far, my fave delight . . .
photos, flowers, and thoughts / what’s not to admire, question, wonder and peruse.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Tube Project for Utah’.
talk about the ‘Wizard’, and the road to . . . Oz (!!)
if I could discern any real pattern/formal evolution in the work, from early to present, I would say, based on this presentation .. that the earlier works were more ‘narrative’ in their own real-world compositions, e.g. the ‘barren’ road leading to the horizon, while .. the latter works develop a grid-like formal partition .. in their collage organization.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Tube Project for Utah’.
though it’s hard to tell from the photographic depictions of the exhibited works on the gallery website, all of the carefully framed works, which are unique by virtue of being collages, as opposed to straight photographic prints .. are accompanied by brief texts, in Mr. Hutchinson’s own interesting, spindly script.
so flow .. the thoughts of the artist, from behind the lens, and the paste jar .. so to speak.
these flower-like scribbles themselves .. often include slight jokes, and/or exact details .. to help you break-down & analyze, study .. the meanings behind the extremely pictorial, as in v-i-s-u-a-l rich . . . ‘pictures.’
when I asked Mr. Hutchinson about these notations, he said simply: “narrative art.”
which made me stop, and ponder: was he at the cutting edge of ‘narrative art’, like other people were at the edge of say, site-specific earth art ?
p-r-o-b-a-b-l-y. did come .. to mind.
this one says: “Tubes contain a cactus and chemical crystals mixed with salt.” these tubes are photographs, but in other pieces, actual glass vials, or containers .. of another sort of scientific nature are right there, adhered to the work.
this is a later piece . . .
PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Birds of Paradise’, 2009. Photo Collage with text.
40 x 60 in.
($10,000).
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Birds of Paradise.’ the text:
“Of course, seagulls are not the tropical birds of paradise but to me they might as well be, soaring in the bright blue sky, expressing freedom and the ability to survive, they represent the ever-present spirit of nature”.
even if you just get to watch pigeons from inner city front row seats, you know the longer you watch, you will get to see, be able to pick out .. the stout sentinels that guard the flock, the bravest scouts that take flight in pairs to roam the far-distant horizon from higher points, and of course, the dance of the breeders, the iridescent sheen of their neck feathers, more opulent than mother-of-pearl . .
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Birds of Paradise’.
there seems to be a house in this one, and you can easily divine the compositional ‘divide’ of the grid-like organization of the photos, with some / most it seems at first, almost still roughly uncut .. or, better stated: slightly cut, but still in their total original ‘print’ rectangles . . .
it’s a closely held ‘quilt’ format … that, look closer is .. often, and eerily, deconstructed.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Birds of Paradise’ .. with cut-out bird shapes, breaking into the composition.
yep, I DID ask (!!) Mr. Hutchinson, what kind of magazines or catalogs, thinking must be old-school stock for sure .. that he cut into .. to get such bright colors and hard paper stock ? haha.
but, hey, great question !!
turns out: he takes all of his own photos .. and cuts them up !! and back in the day that meant hi-gloss, heavy stock, color vibrant KODAK PAPER.
they don’t sing, “momma don’t take my Kodachrome away” – for nothin’ !!
not only that, he also grows MOST (!!) of the flowers he photographs, yes, himself – as well.
go tell that to a contemporary collage ‘party’ artist.
so like I said, great question.
this is an artist, scientist, botanist, just saying.
this is the breed of visual arts thinker, observer, organic world thinker and eco-catcher/artist, who brought today’s world .. to art, back when most people really hadn’t gotten the ‘change of mindset’ yet.
the press release says:
“Born in England, Peter Hutchinson has lived in the United States for over half a century and has practiced art for nearly as long. Beginning as a geometric (I knew it !!) painter. his close contact with minimal artists in New York such as SOL LEWITT and TADAAKI KUWAYAMA exposed him to conceptualist thinking at its inception.
But Hutchinson turned away from minimalism and conceptualism’s rhetorical bent, preferring to follow a more overtly poetic and nature-oriented path. In this way, he remained true to his British roots, mirroring and even anticipating the landscape orientation, and physical commitment, of artists like RICHARD LONG and HAMISH FULTON, and evincing the heritage of the great poets and painters of the 18th and 19th century, including CONSTABLE, WORDSWORTH, and BLAKE.”
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Birds of Paradise’.
one can discern the snip snip of scissors at work, here, in this ‘patch’ … too. but look even more closely, and you can catch some drawing, some hands-on .. vibrant, yet minimal line work, as well.
a hands-on ‘bridge’, if you will.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Birds of Paradise’.
same here.
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Birds of Paradise’.
this patch even has some .. what looks to be green/yellow ‘tips’ of oil paint applied with a fine brush.
compositional camo, or what !!
the whole crew at the end of the opening . . . I’m thinking this show represented a great deal of thought, planning, and plain ole … hard work.
from left:
PETER DONNELLY, who is Mr. Hutchinson’s current studio manager; F+V’s KEVIN KAY, followed by Mr. Hutchinson’s longtime friend, VIRGINIA DWAN; at center, the artist, himself: PETER HUTCHINSON. F+V owner/director NICK LAWRENCE who produced the show .. and the rest of the FREIGHT+VOLUME gallery staff: ASHLEY DILLMAN, TAYLOR LANGONE, and last but not least, MONICA TRUONG, who received a nice ‘design’ credit – on the gallery website essay, in connection with this show.
they are standing in front of: PETER HUTCHINSON’S – ‘The Logic of Mountains’, 2010.
Photo Collage with text, at 80 x 120 in. – also the largest piece in the show.
MORE PHOTOS – FROM THE OPENING – POST SHORTLY / HAPPY ART FAIR WEEKEND, Y’ALL !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~PETER HUTCHINSON .. PIX FROM THE OPENING .. PART I |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 9th, 2013, 1:23pm
‘PETER HUTCHINSON – THE LOGIC OF MOUNTAINS’
1963-2013: A 50-Year Survey of Collages, Constructions, Books and Film
OPENS THURS MARCH 7, 2013 / 6-9 PM
the show runs MARCH 7 – APRIL 13, 22013
FREIGHT+VOLUME – 530 WEST 24th ST – CHELSEA, NYC
read MORE: about PETER HUTCHINSON & the show … yes, read it.
it’s a beautiful, intimate essay penned by F+V’s NICK LAWRENCE, himself.
see MORE: works from the show …
PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘THE LOGIC OF MOUNTAINS’, 2010. photo collage with text. 80 x 120 in.
IMAGE COURTESY: FREIGHT+VOLUME
PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘THROWN ROPE TACTICS’, 1992. Mixed Media Construction, 12 x 38 x 3 in.
IMAGE COURTESY: FREIGHT+VOLUME
~PETER HUTCHINSON .. THE LOGIC of MOUNTAINS .. OPENS THURS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 6th, 2013, 12:47pm
CHRIS WATTS, also in the MFA program at YALE had a recent exhibit of new work at ARTSPACE VISUAL CENTER in Downtown Raleigh, NORTH CAROLINA.
the show ran DEC 7 – JAN 26, 2013
see: ARTSPACE, RALEIGH, N.C.
CHRIS WATTS, ‘ICE CREAM LOVE’ .. IMAGE: ARTSPACE WEBSITE/CHRIS WATTS
CHRIS WATTS, FROM: HIS WEBSITE/CHRIS WATTS
that looks to be CHRIS WATTS, himself – on the left, from the back.
n-i-c-e.
~CHRIS WATTS .. ARTSPACE, NORTH CAROLINA |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 5th, 2013, 9:28am
FILE UNDER: OEDIPUS the KING
PIX: from the one night screening of ‘Swollen Foot’, 2012 – a short animated video based on the classic ‘Oedipus the King’ Greek tragedy . . .
with original art by NICHOLAS STEINDORF, and original soundtrack/music & choir by DARREN WILL . . .
presented by CoWorker Projects at Entwine – FRI MARCH 1, 2013.
YULIA TOPCHIY of CoWorker Projects . . . seems to be achieving her goal of having the small lower west side ‘boite’, Entwine – become a dynamic night-time hub – for artists, filmmakers and musicians.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, left, and DARREN WILL – have taken a somber classic narrative – and rendered it ‘contemporary’ and relevant, again.
way more than one could imagine at casual glance . . .
yes, the oracles . . . have spoken.
NICK STUMPF, singer & drummer for the hard-kickin’ Brooklyn band, FRENCH KICKS, did the hauntingly profound sound production for Darren Will’s original music on ‘Swollen Foot’.
yep, check: FRENCH KICKS
LUKE RATHBORNE did the sound mastering – for this indie project.
Luke Rathborne fronts the dynamic Brooklyn-based ensemble bearing his name.
DARREN WILL plays bass in the band.
yep, check: LUKE RATHBORNE
with a shout-out to ANDREW GUENTHER, and TIFFANY . . . who Luke relates is expecting his second child, a sibling for Easter Lily !!
you go, Guenther.
‘Swollen Foot’. Title & credits typeface design by KATE CERIGO . . .
truthfully, the venue – Entwine, though right-on, very intimate – for screening short video projects, was not so good for seriously listening to the music – it’s way too close-quartered, and the creative-type patrons on the very edge-of-whatever is new and happening in the city – are intensely animated and engrossed in sharing … verbally (!!) . . . but the solemness, seriousness and beauty of the ‘choir-sung’ sound track did seep through.
one day I’d love to hear it – in a ‘real’ sound-focused environment.
the choir – seems to be a who’s who – a virtual round-up, the motherlode of the new wave of raw musical talent trying to stake a place – in this city that never sleeps, or stops: right now.
Nicholas Steindorf and Darren Will bring us – performers:
~ MICHAEL IAN CUMMINGS: Voice
of the DEAD TREES, and SKATERS
~ JOE JUREWICZ: Voice
of DIRTY ON PURPOSE, and NECKBEARD TELECASTER
~ JON WILEY: Voice
of SPACECAMP
~ DEB OH: Voice
of DEB OH and the CAVALIERS
~ ANNA NORDEEN: Voice
solo/ANNA NORDEEN
~ JARED VAN FLEET: Voice
of VOXTROT, BEIRUT (!!) and Solo/JARED VAN FLEET
~ DARRELL DUMAS: Voice, Piano
of ARVEL, and solo/DARRELL DUMAS
~ DARREN WILL: Voice, guitars, bass, synth, drums
see @smileoutofhell/BROOKLYN
but, back to the video . . . animated images by NICHOLAS STEINDORF
so the story, behind ‘Swollen Foot’, goes . . .
that Nichloas Steindorf wrote a poem using words from the classic ancient tragedy, which he handed over to Darren Will, who set the new/ancient .. words to music, to be sung by a live choir in the Greek tradition-somewhat . . well, you know what I mean. and then Nicholas took that, the music – and set it back to an animated abstract pattern-based video format … imagery.
so, from text to music to abstract imagery … get it ?
from ancient Greece … to cutting edge NYC, the myth still resounds.
wikipedia has a pretty good take on .. ‘Oedipus the King’ . . . . the Athenian Tragedy written by SOPHOCLES, and first performed circa 429 BCE.
interestingly, HOMER’s ‘Odyssey’ contains the earliest account of the Oedipus myth .. the doomed young prince, destined to become King of Thebes, is destined to kill (unknowingly) his own father, and marry (unknowingly) his own mother – essentially the sins of the father (Laius) visit the son. and the Oracles really did speak, back in those days, but even then . . . obliquely.
apart from the obvious ‘drama’ . . . the play sends out a message about how in trying to avoid the prophecies, one does carry, or bring them about.
apparently at the end of the play, the chorus repeats: the ‘common’ Greek maxim: “that no man should be considered fortunate until he is dead.”
P.S.
File under: such is life, and ART even today,
ancient Greeks, move aside. . .
the whole project resonates … powerful.
I don’t know what our recently departed contributor, music reviewer, art maven, artist, and pal .. SIMON CERIGO, a proud Greek, who Nicholas Steindorf knew thru Kate . . . would have thought of that last line.
“no man should be considered fortunate until he is dead” ?
hey, new ghost: send us a definitive take on that, will you ?
R.I.P. . . . Simon.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~NICHOLAS STEINDORF, DARREN WILL, NICK STUMPF, & LUKE RATHBORNE . . . YULIA TOPCHIY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 3rd, 2013, 11:08am
CoWorker Projects Presents: ‘Swollen Foot’ – a video screening by NICHOLAS STEINDORF and DARREN WILL
TO-NITE – FRI MARCH 1, 2013 / 7-10 PM
ENTWINE – 765 WASHINGTON ST – WEST VILLAGE, NYC
see about: CoWorker Projects
‘SWOLLEN FOOT’, 2012
The narrative is told through the choir, score, colors and patterns. The verse of the choir is a reconfiguration from the text ‘Oedipus the King’ by SOPHOCLES.
In Latin Oedipus means “swollen foot”.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF . . . is a multi-disciplinary artist currently in the MFA program at YALE.
He screened a set of videos with CoWorker Projects in April of 2012.
see: OPENING NITE PIX: NICHOLAS STEINDORF / CoWorker APRIL 2012
see: NICHOLAS STEINDORF
DARREN WILL . . . works in the mediums of music and sound. He has contributed compositions to group exhibits, short films, television projects, and various other projects. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe.
~NICHOLAS STEINDORF & DARREN WILL at ENTWINE .. to-nite |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 1st, 2013, 11:16am
WALTER ROBINSON: ‘INDULGENCES’ . . . OPENS TO-NITE – FRI MARCH 1, 2013 / 6-9
the show runs MARCH 1 – MARCH 31, 2013
DORIAN GREY GALLERY – 437 E9th St bet 1st AVE & AVE A
see: a preview of the show
WALTER ROBINSON, ‘Oh Boy, ah’, oil on canvas. IMAGE: DORIAN GREY GALLERY
~WALTER ROBINSON .. opening to-nite |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 1st, 2013, 11:04am
SIMON in his short-lived gallery, SIMON CERIGO GALLERY on AVE A – in the Lower East Side – with an early WALTER ROBINSON painting. the news chimp. circa 1986.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~SIMON & WALTER .. ca 1986 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 1st, 2013, 11:03am
