Claus Mueller

Held at New York’s Metropolitan Pavilion from March 3-6 the eleventh edition of the art fair presented an international showcase of the contemporary art market. The fair is held annually in Miami and New York, featuring established and emerging art galleries. In New York, galleries from Europe, Africa, and the Americas presented more than 120 artists. Four  parallel platform programs were held:  ‘Perspectives’ offered  a series of panel discussion between industry leaders and the public on building art collections, artistic practice and cultural identity; ‘Play’ was dedicated to new media and video works; at ‘Prize’ a jury selected a cash grant to a solo exhibition artist, and ‘Projects’  included ‘Stacked Datsun’ a work by Janairo Roth, a metallic pixel installation by Mia Taylor, and Macon Reed’s  immersive ‘Eulogy For The Dyke Bar’ strikingly set up at the entrance of the show. Use of the internet has made acquisition simple. Once Pulse and the name of the artist is entered contact between the potential buyer and the gallery can be established.

Numerous pieces of art certainly stood out, though there were also many of passing interest.  THE RISING is a solo installation by the Russian artist Sergeii Isopov who is now living in the USA and is represented by Forrin Contemporary. It featured a tall more than life size figural sculpture surrounded by paintings with smaller sculptures. ‘Risen’ is a standing male figure with back to back paintings of male and female images made from completely illustrated interlocking sections. It is covered  in part by tattoos and paintings reflecting the erotic  surrealism Isopov aims at,  setting contrasting dimensions,  male and female, as well as surface and structure.

The Milan based Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea gallery juxtaposed in its space expressionist dystopian work by Giuliana Sale as in the distorted excessive image in his ‘Wine Lady’ to the readily accessible surrealistic paintings of Fred Stonehouse. Be it ‘The Sound of Failure’ or the ‘Mark of the Immigrant’ Stonehouse presents a fantasy alternative to our conscious perceptions in a manner that reminds of outsider crude and naive art, yet is very appealing given its deranged and often absurd content, like the black headed devil clothed in green shooting eggs from tubes attached to his limbs in the ‘Sound of Failure’ or the large tearing man’s head of numerous snakes  in ‘Mark of the Immigrant’.  His work reflects a dreamscape that is witty, puzzling and intriguing.

Mu Pan’s superbly executed work was presented by the Copenhagen based Morten Poulsen gallery. The artist from Taiwan was raised here and is living in Brooklyn. Mu Tan is prompted by storytelling and spending much time by himself  “imagining the reasons for explaining children’s stories…”. When older, after exposed to  the history of the United States, Japan, and China he ”began re-recreating the historic scenes as well as scenes from daily lives of common people and people in animal forms…wondering what I have observed if I were at the scene”. [Poulsen website]. As in ‘Squirrels’ from 2016, his paintings and drawings are characterized by an outstanding mastery of detail and precision with surreal elements, contrasting humans versus nature, iconic imagery and frequent political satire. In ‘Squirrel’ we can follow an exact depiction of many small and large squirrels vigorously battling in a tree top for food.

Hailing from Koream, Jaehyo Lee’s sculpture Go To Fair (2011) was one of the most impressive pieces I encountered at Pulse. Striking by its intricate simplicity and sophistication Go To Fair is a round log measuring 100 x 23 ½ inches standing upright. Covering the entire surface Lee attached to the burnt-black wood straight and bent stainless nails and bolts in alternating dense and wide configurations and size. The nails and bolts are sticking out creating multifaceted images because their surface has been polished and contrasts with the black background of the wood. The sculpture is sensuous and appealing. Lee’s gallery is Cynthia-Reeves from North Adams, Massachusetts.

Claus Mueller,  filmexchange@gmail.com