Keren used to describe one her favorite places in the world to me, Mt Sinai. Her tender descriptions communicated a deep love of the environment which I always found hard to imagine. At the time we were city dwellers, painting in studios that were embedded deep in the urban jungle of Chelsea - New York City. Our lives were for the most part lived in shadows, with no clear horizon. New York City can be like a giant fish tank. We never left the city together the entire time we shared it. Paz has been living in Israel for almost 10 years now and over this time I have seen the environment and landscape creep back into her art. The passionate spoken descriptions of Mt Sinai have translated into delicately handled paintings that are labored with love. The transition has been slow and subtle but it there is no denying it now. Despite the tender beauty of the new work, there is a barren, brooding mood inherent in each painting. The tones of color imply an impending storm rising from the stillness. Whether it is intentional or not, Keren's art is charged with political and social statements about living on the edge in a region burdened with conflict and war. The tranquility in the painting seems temporary, an illusion of peace with a prevailing threat forever lurking on the horizon. In the stillness though there is hope, a love of the moment and a will to find beauty and humanity regardless of the struggle or impending chaos. The work is a beautiful and true reflection of the artist and her thoughts, the environments reflecting her passions, fears, hopes and dreams.  

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Together with this months feature exhibition [The Animitas by Veronica Ibanez Romagnoli] we are releasing a new series of photography by the artist in limited edition print. [caption id="attachment_10132" align="alignleft" width="290"] Animata's # 27, 2009. Photo Print by Veronica Ibanez Romagnoli[/caption] These gorgeous photographs remind us of the enormity of the landscape and our place within it. Focusing on the Animita, Ibanez captures the resting places of the dead. Not dissimilar to the sarcophagi of the Egyptians, the Animitas are homes for the souls of the departed. The Animitas are constructed from basic materials and are often adorned with offerings like flowers and gifts for the spirit. Each dwelling is prepared and maintained by the family and friends of the deceased. Set against the remarkable backdrop of the Chilean landscape, they are aesthetic marvels that defy scale. The humble, miniature dwellings are scattered throughout the landscape, sometimes in the most unusual places - as if all alone in the world. Visit Veronica Ibanez Romagnoli's page in our SHOP to view her complete print portfolio. [caption id="attachment_10138" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Animata's # 30, 2009. Photo Print by Veronica Ibanez Romagnoli[/caption] [caption id="attachment_10126" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Animata's # 26, 2009. Photo Print by Veronica Ibanez Romagnoli[/caption]

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The new work by Michelle Matson 'Untitled' 2014 (below) that is on show now at Postmasters in New York City is not all that it seems at first glance.           What appears to be a sculptural structure made of simple styrofoam cubes littered with food scraps and tennis balls, is actually a carefully crafted sculpture of imitation. We live in a world of imitation - a Louis Vuitton bag in the store may be copied in some backwater factory and sold on the street for a small fraction of the price of the 'original' sold in the store. It's our business to take a high value artwork and reproduce it in a limited edition print that is essentially a replica - only it costs almost nothing compared to the original. To the undescerning eye the copy is as good as the original, it feels the same, weighs the same, looks the same - so isn't it essentially the same? What makes one item more valuable than the other? Duchamp offers a theory - that is one of context; if a run of the mill bottle rack is turned upside down and placed in a Gallery, it is more valuable than the exact same bottle rack that you have sitting in the garage. It's an interesting philosophical question that makes you question the way we assign value to objects. Why do we value one thing more than another, even if they appear exactly the same? I remember being quite taken with some sculptures by Jeff Koons. The pieces were these inflatable pool sculptures that seemed to float around Sonnabend Gallery when they were exhibited in 2003. I was totally convinced that they were appropriated plastic blow up toys until I touched one. They looked like plastic toys, the only difference was that they were cold to the touch - not plastic at all, rather exact replicas cast out of aluminum & steel. He reversed the Louis Vuitton scenario - making a mass produced $5.00 pool toy into a multi million dollar work of art. Matson seems to be playing with the same ideas. In this sculpture she has taken rather utilitarian items, like styrofoam cubes and created hand made replicas, stacking them into a sculptural formation as if they were the real thing about to be carved out. She has then hand made scraps of discarded food like banana peels (from paper) and imitation tennis balls and thrown them atop the sculpture like preciously disregarded trash. Its quite a commentary on the precious verses the utilitarian - like Koons, something rather benign and valueless has been converted into art. This line of thinking is very relevant to our lives at the moment. Mass production techniques have elevated the copy to a state of almost perfect imitation. Retailers have cottoned on to the idea, designers like Stella McCartney not only cater to the exclusive one off, but make high quality garments that can be massed produced through better production capabilities and offer them through other retailers at a fraction of the price of the items in her stores. Just as good as the high end thing - for most of us? I think so. Matson & Koons reverse this thinking and the result is fascinating. Visit Michelle's website to view more of her amazing work.

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They teased us with the 'leg throwing' scene at the beginning of the season, but we had to wait until the season finale of The Real Housewives of New York City to see the drama play out! Aviva Drescher's characteristically dramatic, polarizing personality made for great television Wednesday night when during a climactic argument she ripped off her prosthetic leg then slammed it onto the dining table to demonstrate the 'only fake' part of her. We can't help but draw the connection to Robert Gober's infamous wax sculptures of dismembered body parts protruding from gallery walls. Once again life imitates art - thanks again Aviva for parody! [caption id="attachment_9983" align="alignleft" width="476"] Aviva Drescher's leg lying next to one of Robert Gober's wax sculptures'[/caption]  

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Talented, tenacious, smart and determined, Michelle Matson is gaining the critical respect long since established with her artistic contemporaries. Walking past Michelle's paper sculptures as a student at the School of Visual Arts was always an exciting experience. I found it remarkable how she could transform a traditionally soft, delicate material into such hard hitting, grotesquely comical sculptures. Primarily a sculptor, Michelle is an amazing craftsperson, wowing as much with the 'build' as with the content of her work. I remember a portrait that she once made of her partner at the time of us studying at SVA, there was a technical quality to the painting that was impressive but also an undefinable mystery that she achieved through the way it was painted.  Her commitment to craftsmanship and materiality has only strengthened since then and it is amazing to see her work as it has evolved to this point. [caption id="attachment_9974" align="alignleft" width="213"] Sculpture by Michelle Matson[/caption] Matson is included in an exhibition at Postmasters this month titled 'This is What Sculpture Looks Like' - a survey of new ideas in sculpture from the new generation of female artists bursting onto the New York contemporary scene. Roberta Smith from The New York Times noted 'The best things about this overflowing group show of sculptures by 16 artists are its freewheeling spirit and sprawling diversity of approaches, materials and subjects, as well as its exclusively female roster. To a degree, these factors balance the weaker, more conventional inclusions. Among the show’s standouts... Michelle Matson who lampoons public art, adding paper apples and banana peels to a Sheetrock mock-up of a sculpture, as if it were already dotted with colorful garbage.' New York Times July 24th 2014. Matson has been featured in Beautiful Decay as well as being a contestant on America's Work of Art. To follow Michelle's career or purchase Michelle's range of prints visit her PROFILE page at www.twfineart.com.

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