~SOPHIE CRUMB & ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB – PIX FROM THE OPENING
SOPHIE CRUMB & ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB
opened SEPT 7, 2014
the show runs SEPT 7 – OCT 19, 2014
DCKT CONTEMPORARY – 21 ORCHARD ST, BTWN CANAL & HESTER, LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC
mom and daughter in the gallery storefront window . . a study in contrast.
the show turned out to be more buttoned-down than full-out Satan, i.e. rowdy and rude to the extreme – and was more a mother / daughter – contrast in graphic / observational drawing styles, and subject matter. though it did tweak heavy . . ribald (Aline) – and explicit (Sophie).
so . . ‘wicked good’ – actually works.
though, NYC Fall 2014 – was certainly up for a full-on onslaught of bad behavior, perhaps these 2 comic book-based artists – working and living in France – didn’t feel as raw as we New Yorkers do, and maybe they just didn’t want to be pigeon-holed . . as ‘too naughty’ for tv ?
a line – both of them have crossed in the past.
the show didn’t punch ya in the face – it more a stroll . . through the mirror, reflective as opposed to aggressive. a generational song of sorts. I think you only get one chance – at grabbing the art world’s attention, and desperate as it sounds I was ready to be socked in the face – with sheer and utter tastelessness (Aline) & too much info esp from a young girl controversy (Sophie).
but c’est la vie. raw sex and very bad behavior was not on the menu.
Aline was stepping back a bit and laughing at herself, and her world of like-minded pals, striving to stay young, and afloat – !!
all funk, and . . good times – will never pass us by.
Sophie and her friends, on the other hand – are all young and gorgeous, perfectly put together and full of inherent style – in a word: awesome – so, of course they are all full of angst & wondering what it’s all about, and of course – nobody is . . laughing.
Aline has seen it all, and also has Sophie to show for it – so . . all good.
what’s to . . sweat ? (except for the aging…)
and, where’s the next party ?
ok, so I’m a hippie . . but I gave birth to YOU, you awesome chic little creature.
tell me about it !!
ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB – a live wire, if there ever was one.
SOPHIE CRUMB. well you wouldn’t want to bullshit her. these artist kids, it’s liking looking god in the face, and then some.
ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB, ‘Temporarily Blonde’, 2012.
colored pencil, ink, glitter and glue on paper.
17 x 14 in. ($4,500)
ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB, ‘Queens for a Day’, 2012.
colored pencil, ink, glitter and glue on paper.
14 x 17 in. ($4,500)
this was as raunchy as it got – and it was actually kind-spirited, it only became sad when it started to remind me of . . Goldie Hawn.
ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB, ‘Larger than Life’, 2012.
colored pencil, ink, glitter, mixed media.
17 x 14 in. ($4,500)
I found this piece by Aline – astounding. its ‘youthful’ vibe really set it apart from the other pieces, without being self-conscious. it looked like something a really talented kid would put on . . ROOKIE.
it went clear past the funk, and onto . . sweet sixteen. without any guile, and no irony.
all natural – skills.
it was a showstopper . . for me.
note: the typical ‘AKC’ – signature, lower right hand corner of above.
ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB, ‘Sad Eyes’, 2012.
colored pencil, ink, glitter, mixed media and glue on paper.
17 x 14 in . ($4,500)
this one seemed both very young, as in the primitive strokes of the pencil, as if it were sketched out by a kid, a teen, a pre-teen, and at the same time – wise beyond . . words.
AKC – this was Aline’s go-to signature.
SOPHIE CRUMB, ‘IX’, 2014, watercolor and ink on paper.
14-3/8 x 12 in. ($4,200)
Sophie’s work had a much more strictly observational, realist tone – a graphic quality you can find in some of her father’s work, as well. her ‘compressed’ line and composition was diametrically opposed to the funky and generous, inherently comic line of her mom’s hand. Sophie’s portraits had the edge of ‘editorial’ work – that is graphic illustration or photographic work done for magazines, esp those covering fashion. minimal, mysterious, chic. not quite brooding, but . . if not, than . . what ?
SOPHIE CRUMB, ‘Le Gout des Robes’, 2011. watercolor and ink on paper.
12-7/8 x 17. ($7,500)
this one was a rare piece by Sophie that both caught the comic flair & drama of her mom, esp the woman on the left could be a dead ringer for Aline, but, as well – if you squinted past the outrageous touches – absolutely mimicked the deadpan graphic observational quality of her dad’s hyper realist drawings.
it was interesting to note how Sophie’s signature – recalled her dad’s, in both style & font rendering.
SOPHIE CRUMB, ‘Brigitte Lahaie’, 2013.
watercolor and ink on paper.
8-1/2 x 6-1/2 in. ($3,200)
this was as explicit as the show got – but it really didn’t turn the corner into . . down and dirty, raw and raunchy. I mean maybe if you lived in a fundamentalist white cult, 19 kids and counting, whatever. or a Muslim community.
but NYC, not much.
it also was her best ‘rendering’ style, if you ask me. dead on, but in a very casual way. you can just see the comic book influence hovering in the air, even though it’s so realistic. hyper realistic. and yet very
animated as in comic book.
very hard to define, and yet so curious. so powerful. so visually rewarding.
just like her piece, ‘Teeth’, 2014 – that was the ‘poster’ image for the show.
see post below.
you could see her dad’s purely ‘graphic’ or ‘realist’ influence dominated her style, as well as her signature – over her mom’s. father daughter, what’s more to say.
though it’s curious. as this is a mother daughter show. mothers daughters . .
what’s more to say.
SOPHIE CRUMB, ‘Models’, 2013. watercolor and ink on paper.
14 x 10-3/4 in. ($4,200)
this seemed to be an effort to distance herself from both her father and her mother, but it tweaked a little too ‘stylized’ to be the heart of the matter. the end game conclusion. but it did speak to her generation’s fashion world sensibility, and . . yes, ROOKIE.
as opposed to the funky, hippie, ribald, and shake-em up status-quo blasting of her 60s psychedelic era parents !!
well she’s young, and why can’t she experiment, and branch out – artistically.
SOPHIE CRUMB, ‘Pig Tails’, 2014. watercolor on paper.
10-7/8 x 7-7/8 in. ($3,200)
Sophie at her best, a combo. the realism of her father imbued with the wider ‘generosity’ of line – of her mom. a combo – tamped down and sharply observed, – and coming up:
I’m SOPHIE, don’t mess with me.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH