~JJ PEET . . MAGiCSTANCE – LAST DAY !!
oops, it’s summer !!
and you know, I’m thinking . . Christmas in July ?!!
while tomorrow, FRI JULY 31, 2015 . . . is the last day to catch . . JJ PEET downtown.
JJ PEET – MAGiCSTANCE
JUNE 17 – JULY 31, 2015
ON STELLAR RAYS – 1 RIVINGTON ST, LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC
more gallery info: on the show
PIX FROM THE OPENING – WED JUNE 17, 2015
On Stellar Rays, the sunny south side of Rivington, just literally a few steps west of the Bowery . .
open the doors, and up you go . . one flight of stairs.
JJ PEET, munching on HONEYCOMBS !!
we get ya, I think.
honeycombs are . . such an ‘mazing shape. natural technological wonder. futuristic and ancient, organic structure. but cereal ? so did we forget something ? cereal is supposed to be so ‘out’. and yet, eating them straight out of the box, never seemed so cool.
this guy can do . . NO WRONG IN MY BOOK.
even the Egyptians . . ate honey.
didn’t they find some thousand-year-old honey in a tomb, and wasn’t it still good, to eat ?
yes, yes and yes.
which brings us to the title of this show: ‘MAGiCSTANCE’ – !!
which refers to . . . “the idea that when a viewer is alert, aware, and attuned to a greater consciousness, unexpected connections and coincidences are more likely.”
and I would say from the subject matter – stay alert at all – times.
it’s scary – out there.
so, yeah. STAY – ALERT !! even without . . the ‘unexpected’ connections.
JJ PEET, ‘CLOWNEWS’, 2013.
ok, so this was the only piece with a ‘ceramic’ vessel, a hand-built ‘cup’ – in it. and although the clay cup was standard size, for JJ !! the piece, and actually – all the other pieces in the show – were actually kind of mini / nano in size – for what they actually were, which was wall- mounted multi-media sculptures – that posed many strange and wonderful objects against – the bad news of our cruel, nasty world as it turns, on its axis !! and pulls us along.
so, no.
clay potters – aren’t just artisans, who are good with their hands. and, no – they don’t have their heads – in the clay, I mean . . sand.
J PEET, ‘CLOWNEWS’, 2013. the title says it – all.
Stoneware, porcelain, cedar, copper, brass, and fabric.
7 x 12 x 4 in.
on the right, CANDANCE MADEY, founder-director of On Stellar Rays.
JJ PEET, ‘SHiELDNEWS’, 2015.
Porcelain, aluminum, c-print, rubber, fabric, plastic, and acrylic on panel.
25-1/4 x 11-1/2 x 6-1/2 in.
well, the title surely makes clear, what the narrative-type image does . . express.
it’s quite a wonderful little scenario.
I wonder if that little classic, storybook porcelain couple – is ‘found’ ?
whereas the figure on the left – is all i-m-a-g-i-n-a-t-i-on !! contrast.
free-form, STAR WARS !! KAWS ? X marks the KAWS ?
I love how that super creative blob – is animated.
it’s my favorite one single element in the whole entire show.
what’s even more currr-ious is how JJ PEET has NO animals in his works, except for the humans, of course. I mean the web, social media – is absolutely overrun by pets, esp cats and dogs.
it’s amazing – you can see even the most hunky of guys, and they’re posting the cutest videos of their little kitty-cat furballs ?!!
must be the – stress ?!!
damn, I like that. surface vs surface. matte vs shiny . . strange vs glossy.
likewise, with the smallest of details, and color ‘points’.
and then, the bad news . . kicks in.
just on the other side of that sunny day umbrella.
I was told that this exhibit was also very unique for JJ in that usually his ‘sculpture’ shows, as opposed to his pottery shows, are just all over the place – with pieces hanging from the ceiling, etc and free-standing etc, and I got the impression, somewhat chaotic – but this show was very precise, and just wall-mounted.
JJ PEET, ‘INFO’, 2013.
Porcelain, paper, pine, acrylic, and aluminum.
11-1/2 x 21 x 6 in.
as you can see, the element of ‘light’ – and, in particular . . ‘cast’ colored light – was also a big part of the design. beautiful. transparent light vs opaque clay. light ‘art’ vs bad news.
unglazed organic-shaped matte clay, reflective shiny flat acrylic, transient red ‘rays’.
very STAR WARS, or is that Mad Max ?
it’s certainly not Egyptian !!
love the tiny ‘red’ carpet !!
white-out, the classic retro industrial . . tipping point.
and so annoying, to use. you guys are so lucky, you have NO idea.
oh no, missing. the heart-breaker.
lost ? stolen ? tortured ?
alive ? dead ? hurt.
bad news, the white-out may as well be the stand-in for the (doomed) Twin Towers.
the beautiful intersects with the unthinkable.
new-age rays of industrial light vs ages-old hand-wrought raw porcelain.
with . . almost a battleship element, going on. trouble in a bottle.
industrial chic. matte terror.
surprisingly, there was also a large ‘painting’.
JJ PEET, ‘REPORT_CODE_1’, 2015.
Acrylic and ink on panel. 94 x 60 x 2-1/4 in.
it was full of strange code, glaze recipe code ? bio-code ?
but I’m pretty sure – this was a camera.
it was also very binary – in contrast !! starting with the black line vs the purple ‘haze’, the well delineated vs the sublime drop-off. strangely, not too much cartoon imagery, if any. nor pets !!
honeycomb – yes. pets – NO. not even birds.
suitcase – yes. where’s Waldo – NO.
the exhibit was under-stated, but made its point(s).
plastic (art 101 – surfaces, matte, shiny, etc) . . and, political/social commentary/content-wise.
JJ PEET, ‘INTO’, 2013.
Stoneware, photograph, pine, aluminum, acrylic, rope, and paint.
19 x 32 x 7 in.
this one was the most Mad Max, futuristic, and the most brutal, and also had that ‘raising the red flag’, of danger – red light.
I mean, gorgeous, in a nano – scale way, right ?
a very sweet harmony . . of contrasts.
almost . . a ‘song’. a theater-piece. a diorama.
this piece really rocked . . mini !!
right down to the ‘caution – orange’ .. beads. on a teeny tiny dollhouse clay plate, of course !!
I’m thinking . . binary code ?
offerings ? hospitality ? would you eat a ‘fruit’ from the hand of – this man ?
yin yang. good vs evil. Alice in Wonderland ?
so, not cool. evil.
it’s like our media culture got thrown back at us, revoltingly. not . . as in: rise & revolt.
inverse rag & bone society. twisted out.
pop culture – not. pulp fiction > not.
JJ PEET, ‘UPLiNK’, 2015.
Porcelain, ink, aluminum, granite, sealed form core, and black and white c-print.
31-3/4 x 18 x 24 in.
JJ PEET, made for contemplation.
JJ PEET, made in the USA.
shiny, conservative, sneaky, not preachy.
but, definitely . . messag-ing.
on point.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH