Robert Colescott at Blum and Poe Gallery (19 E 66th St.) through April 13th 2019
This show was definitely not what I was expecting. There were around 10 pieces on the fourth floor of a converted uptown apartment. I did brief research on Colescott, and I think without that I would’ve been lost to the matter of his paintings and sketches without it. His work seemed to bare resemblance to Phillip Guston’s, which makes sense because it’s from the same decade. Colescott’s work also resembles Guston’s in his use of portraying the villain. The crow in Colescott’s pieces represents Jim Crow Law, and becomes a personification, a type of portraiture. His method of portraying the gruesome and somber in viciously vivid colors and cheerful storybook-like scenes is something I would like to imbue in my own piece. There is a playful, whimsical quality to what I want to create but I think it leaves space for an expression of my gruesome, solemn interpretation of myself. My preferred medium is painting, so I think this exhbibit was valuable for creating my work in the future as well.
Mimi Gross Among Friends, 1958-1963 at Eric Firestone Loft (4 Great Jones St.) through Saturday, April 2oth 2019
Okay I know I originally said that I was going to visit the Alice Neel exhibit, but turns out the gallery is closed on Sundays and Mondays so I went to see this one instead. Although this exhibit of Gross’s work only features a small self portrait on a piece of a the wagon she traveled around Italy on, she is similar to Neel. Gross paints and illustrates complex stylistic portraits that express the relationships and personalities of her subjects through color palate. This exhibition made me realize that making a good portrait is not just about creating a likeness of the subject, but also figuring out a way to let their personality pour out though their physical body. I was unfamiliar with Gross’s work before this show, and I am now captivated by her works and stories. While again this is not a sculpture exhibit, and barely relates to my current project, I think it will impact my future works. This research has made me think more about the portrait than the self portrait but one cannot exist without the other.
