These two exhibitions have very little to do with each other except that I happen to see them in the same week.
Haroon Gunn-Salle, Senzenina, 2018
One of the strongest pieces in the exhibition at the
New Museum and definitely impressive is by South African artist Harron Gunn-Salle. Ready to jump headless and hand-less men all in black are forever in tension.
Anupam Roy’s “Surfaces of the Irreal” (2018)
The next image is by Anupam Roy, who talks about violence in India. This contradictory depiction of death/love and black/red creates my favorite push/pull of beauty and horror.
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At the other side of town
Folk Art Museum hosts an exhibition by outsider artists, including some of my favorites like Henry Darger.
Henry Darger
A sheer volume of the text he has written is mind boggling. This is a part of his illustrations that depict girl/boy who are fighting for their lives in the never-ending battles.
Malcolm McKesson
Something about the atmosphere created with this circular and dynamic technique made me stop and loo a the figures again. So much to read in as to the relationship between them, the place, the sounds. The pen marks are almost chaotic and yet the figures are in their almost dormant positions among the falling apart world.
Josep Baqué
Should I say that this is my favorite? Even with the cartoon like imagery I find these fascinating.We have Bruegel and Bosch in bright colors ready to be added to the scenes of the hell and purgatory. Maybe it is the absence of the background that makes so much more appealing.
