Weekly Recap (week of May 7)

Ok, another week bites the dust. I admit I'm getting really worried that I'm running out of ways to introduce the Weekly Recaps. I mean, at some point, it's going to get redundant, if it hasn't already. Regardless of the lackluster introductions, the content of our blog is always changing, which means these recaps will ultimately never get old. Right? We had contributions this week from 5 different contributors this week, including our own publisher, Steven Zevitas. He was able to grab some shots (not the best, but not bad for an iPhone) of his trip to Frieze and NADA last weekend. We might as well start there...Click here to see the full post, and click "more" below to see summaries of our other terrific posts from the week.

Jonathan Lasker at Cheim & Reid

--- The week started off with a great essay by Kansas City Contributor, Hallie Miller, on painter, Davin Watne. As Miller notes, Davin's work "began an exploration of the collision of these two worlds early in his career, but his latest work poses his gaze on a more basic aspect of this dichotomy. Using glamorously cycloptic eyes and a slew of richly hued sculptural pieces, Watne has taken his focus from the literal collision of the modern and natural worlds, slowly seeped out the physical drama, and cast his eyes upon our biology." There is more to the work, and the essay, so go here to view it in its entirety.

Davin Watne | The Alien, oil on canvas, 96"x 72"

---- We're excited to have Jenni Higginbotham, from Sante Fe, keeping us posted on the contemporary painting scene in the Southwest. This week she visited LewAllen Contemporary to review work by Bernard Chaet. "Known best for his landscape paintings, the subject matter of Chaet’s work at the gallery includes beaches, sea bathers, rocky coves, harbors clogged with boats, stormy horizons and a smattering of still lifes. His work challenges and celebrates the representational power of paint." See more by viewing Tuesday's post!

Bernard Chaet | Burnt Sienna Sky, 1999-06, oil on canvas, 30 x 37.75 inches, Courtesy LewAllen Contemporary

--- "In her third solo show “Everywhere Close to Me” at Taylor De Cordoba, Charlene Liu creates and mediates really special moments with her works on paper. Using delicate cutouts, overlapping and woven papers, and sculptural pigmented pulpy constructs, Liu creates a world that is both delicate and daring." Ellen C. Caldwell visits the gallery to review Liu's latest works, and lets us in on her discoveries, here.

Charlene Liu | Amid the fleeting light (DETAIL). Courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell.

--- Ellen followed up her Charlene Lie post with a review of Stephanie Washburn's "Twice Told" at Mark Moore Gallery. "Washburn creates a distinct and unusual medium through a combination of many. Mixing paint, digital media, and everyday three-dimensional items, she creates the surface for and subject of her photographs." View the full post!

Stephanie Washburn, Reception 4, 2011 | digital c-print | Edition of 3 + 2 AP | 40 x 30 inches Courtesy of Mark Moore Gallery

--- About 24 hours ago we posted Nadiah Fellah's interview with painter, Libby Black. Her show ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ is currently on view at Marx & Zavattero Gallery through May 26th. Fellah remarks, "Black has carefully selected and curated the images in the show, mindful of how flower paintings can be associated with ‘Sunday painters.’ To combat this tendency she has injected a layer of darkness and playfulness into the show through unique juxtapositions. For instance, between still-lifes of colorful bouquets is one of a high heel shoe with a penis extending from the toe, a design by Vivienne Westwood. The placement of a woman’s crotch sheathed in nothing more than nude pantyhose next to a painting of a flamingo’s head instantly brings to mind the phallic nature of the bird’s beak." Read the entire interview here.