Taking the PULSE on contemporary art
March is the month of Art Fairs in New York City, and hundreds of galleries from all over the world are showing their works. The city’s fairs give an opportunity to take the pulse on the art world not only in New York, but globally. Navigating the rather intimidating number of art events to see in the city, The Absorbe decided to take the temperature on the contemporary art scene at PULSE. Founded in 2005 PULSE has become an important part of the New York art calendar. The focus of the fair is on cutting-edge art and emerging galleries and this year’s highlights include new media, new ways for the art world to handle digital technology and, of course, commentary on current events.
Macon Reed’s Eulogy for the Dyke Bar
Greeting the visitors at the very entrance of the fair is Macon Reed’s Eulogy For the Dyke Bar, a handmade installation of an actual bar including pool table, bar disk and jukebox. The installation comments on the mass closing of lesbian bars and ultimately poses questions of why these physical spaces are important, why this is only happening to lesbian bars and not gay bars, and how we can create new spaces for feminine spectrum communities.
Brenna Murphy and Sabrina Ratté at Laffy Maffei Gallery
At Paris Gallery Laffy Maffei, art has adapted to new technology. The gallery has recognized the fact that the art market is based on rarity; while at the same time new technology allows art to be printed and reproduced indefinitely. How does an artist handle that especially if their work is already created digitally? Laffy Maffei has decided to handle the new art market by making a distinction between intellectual creation and materiality, making it possible for the collector either to buy a share of the intellectual property or a custom made print.
Isidro Blasco at Black and White Gallery
The Black and White Gallery shows Isidro Blasco’s architectural works. The artist uses digital images that are cut and mounted on building materials to create three-dimensional recreations of platforms on the L-train. The technique makes the pictures come to life at the same time as it renders the recreated places slightly distorted, making New Yorkers see familiar spaces in a new way.
Simeen Farhat at Pentimenti Gallery
Philadelphia’s Pentimenti gallery is showing Simeen Farhat’s beautiful resin sculptures, inspired by Middle Eastern poems that call for freedom of thought. The sculptures are made out of the words of the poems that are then being deconstructed and layered in her sculpture, thus creating a new more abstract interpretation and a modern commentary on contemporary oppression.
The Chair Affair at Kinder Modern
At design gallery Kinder Modern, Lucas Masseen and Margriet Craens are bringing chairs to life in the gallery’s first ever art installation. The Chair Affair, showing a variety of chairs in erotic poses, is about the implied intimacy of everyday objects. The project is part of the gallery’s goal to show the intersection of physical space and function, and the ongoing relationships of the people living in that space.
Story by HELENA CALMFORS.
