~’NIGHTJAR’ . . UNDERDONK / more pix !! from evil eye to Em-ily / Sottobosco to: arf arf !!
‘NIGHTJAR’ – curated by ASHLEY GARRETT
featuring: SHARON CORE, PRISCILLA FUSCO, VALERIE HAMMOND, DEBORAH MASTERS . . & RUTH MARTEN
up thru JUNE 18, 2017
UNDERDONK, BUSHWICK
the gallery is open for public viewing: Sat & Sun / 1 – 6 PM
more pix . . from this strange, and eerie / on the dark side, botanical offering.
& which I dedicate to: EMILY DICKINSON.
curator ASHLEY GARRETT beside:
VALERIE HAMMOND, ‘Touch’, 2011.
pigment, gouache, color pencil, wax on Japanese paper. 48 x 25 in.
($12,000)
note . . the texture / and waxy, ‘off-radiant’ . . profile.
detail, VALERIE HAMMOND.
is that the evil eye ?
in the palm of the hand ?
to scare away evil / & not invoke ?
is that the magic -in the science of the bio ?
from the gallery notes:
“VALERIE HAMMOND’S traces lie somewhere between the spirit world and the human world – perhaps even a decomposition. Beginning by tracing the arms and bodies of her friends and relations, Hammond visualizes what transmutations of organic forms might lie inside the human outline. Filling this skin with a floral and infernal essence. flowers and fruit become wounds and ferns are skeletal in Hammond’s figures, imagining the slipping away of the human into a primeval space that might be of the land,or the sea.”
SHARON CORE . . ‘Untitled 3’, 2015.
Archival Pigment print, 31.25 x 24.75 in., edition of 7
($8,800 framed)
detail, SHARON CORE.
I spy . . thorns, and ‘rusty’ butterfly / night omens ?
hands, can ‘strangle’ – as well, as ‘grow’ and . . nuture.
from the gallery notes:
“SHARON CORE . . plants and grows the subjects of her photographs with her own hands. Having created a geodesic dome at her upstate studio, she explores the function and effect that long durational time can have on works of art. Planting, choosing and framing the contents of each photograph, Core is like a scientist as she moves all the way through form, even before it’s inception. The resulting photographs embody both the literal ‘sottobosco’ of the floral bed and it’s ecosystem and references the 17th century Sottobosco painting genre (as in the work of Dutch painter OTTO MARSEUS van SCHRIEK). Core’s photographs evoke a possessed, spatial presence in the woods, while a marginal world sets the stage for the darkening, deepening forest, from which slowly emerges an awareness of the delicate microworld of the forest bed.”
sottobosco: nature studies focused on the ‘dark, damp floor of the forest’, as opposed to say, carefully arranged floral arrangements in vases – sottobosco is Italian for ‘undergrowth.
source: ‘Holland (17th C) – by LESLIE KUO’
see: SHARON CORE – Wikipedia, b. 1965.
note the controversy re: her baked recreations of WAYNE THIEBAUD paintings (!!)
RUTH MARTEN, ‘#907’, 2015.
watercolor on 19C. print, 7-3/4 x 8 in.
($3,200 framed)
from the gallery notes:
“As a tattoo artist in New York in the 1970s and 80s and an illustrator for many years, RUTH MARTEN understands the power of images. Her works on paper unravel symbols and historical settings into new, mysterious narratives that change the power relationships between humans and animals. Awakening curious narratives in the 18th and 19th century prints she overdraws, Marten unearths something provocative from known historical contexts: surreal worlds where animals can have as much stature, emphasis and power as humans, and sometimrs even more.”
though in this particular piece, which is my fave – the 2 prim, young ‘ladies’ are the . . bio-animals ?!!
and yet, it’s also a very erotic, sad, & thorny ‘bush’. .not about to burst into blooms, any time soon – despite the watering . . . ‘tears’ / ‘bio-sperm’ ?
the symbolism . . could go on for pages. totally love-ly, stark, strange, and . . sad ?
detail, RUTH MARTEN
detail, RUTH MARTEN
detail. RUTH MARTEN.
well, maybe there is some strange death here ?
leaves turning colors, and then to: die ?
but, then again: maybe it’s completely the opposite ?
something to really contemplate, at any rate.
ASHLEY GARRETT helps us see the micro detailing, in RUTH MARTEN’S ‘in Repose’.
note: the random design on the T-shirt (!!) . . .
bio / bio / bio / the male & female ‘strange’ science – seahorse.
RUTH MARTEN, ‘In Repose’, 2017.
collage and watercolor on 20C. photo reproduction. 3-3/4 x 4-1/2 in.
(NFS)
RUTH MARTEN, detail.
this one, is more like the gallery note: animals . . taking on empowered / unusual. human (/) roles.
it’s quite micro . . painstakingly crafted, too.
def, check out: RUTH MARTEN – ARTIST/PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
and then, bow – wow !!
how really – eerie, strange & magical !!
the show takes on a humorous turn, and how funny – since everybody in this city . .
is currently DOGGIE OBSESSED, including ME !!
my ZORA, a gorgeous, sweet tempered, but can be scary if you – be bad !!
American Long Coat Akita, just turned one yr & 3 mos & weighs . . 86 pounds !!
& she follows me around – just like the dragon, in ‘Neverending Story’.
DEBORAH MASTERS, an assortment of strange and wily nily – clay doggy, ‘ghost’ / ‘puppets’ !!
DEBORAH MASTERS, ‘Lupi’. raku, threaded rod, satin, maple.
($4,000)
well, this one looks like a dog, but it’s a . . baby cheetah !!
DEBORAH MASTERS, ‘Baby Cheetah’. ceramic. threaded rod.
from the gallery notes;
“With her raku-fired “Little Ghosts,” DEBORAH MASTERS conjures up the spirits of animals. Evocative of altarpieces or devotional objects, these figures intimate aspects of Masters’ personal relationships with and attachment to animals. One can feel the memory imbued in Masters’ hands as borne out by the textures and definition of the figures in the sculpted animal’s face. Their satin dresses (femme / femme / femme) mark their wraith-like detachment from the living world. As if attempting to reverse the dying process , they honor the deep connection that can exist between animals and humans.”
yes, check out: DEBORAH MASTERS – ARTIST PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
as for the word: NIGHTJAR – !!!!!!
it is . . as strange with meaning – as it seems at first glance, what a beautiful . . musical, poetic-laden, scientific sounding – word.
it ranges in meaning all the way . . from a blood-sucking, bad-luck bringing nocturnal bird, to a simple chamber pot . . and then turns a really pretty steep corner: to perhaps being the bodily form – of a Patronus Charm !!
in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
an ancient & mysterious charm that can conjure a powerful, magical guardian / a projection OF ALL YOUR MOST POSITIVE FEELINGS !!
see: NIGHTJAR, PATRONUS CHARM / HARRY POTTER
it’s strange times / war-like and yet, charmed.
science has to meet poetry / and reign.
I’ve still got EMILY DICKINSON, running through my veins – so how delightful / that my jaunts
can bring me – here.
gathered around – the ‘NIGHTJAR’, in Bushwick.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH