Accident Blackspot group show @ Freight + Volume

Summer group shows are usually a snooze fest. Most are a dump of gallery artists or a show with no real theme or idea with a host of name brand artists. Though they may bring in the crowds, there is not much beyond that. "Accident Blackspot" a group show at Freight + Volume is a remedy to the summer group show blues. Challanging the mainstream aesthetics is the underpinning of the show. Risk is another. The artists and curator risk total failure in the project, which I find exciting. If there were only more shows like this one!

Artists in the show include:
Ivin Ballen
Rob Erickson
Keltie Ferris
Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg
Joseph Hart
Himi Jen Dricks
Fawn Krieger
Ree Morton
Ian Pedigo
Daniel Seiple
Ali Smith
Wendy White
Tamara Zahaykevich

Wendy White @ Leo Koenig

Action abstraction, graffiti, instillation and architecture all combine in Wendy White's show at Leo Koenig. The combined panels and assemblage nature of the work seems to be less about a "picture" and more about the action on the surface. There is no romanticism here. White lifts textured moments from the streets of urban metropolises and rearranges them in paint. For more info and images please check out the artist's and gallery website.

note: the images in the post are lifted from the Leo Koenig website. The batteries for my camera died :(

What the Midnight can Show Us group show @ Museum 52

What the Midnight can Show Us at Museum 52 is a group show of artist all working with abstraction in one degree or another. The opening was packed so I could not get many images. The artists in the show include Rachel Foulion, Julia Goldman, Van Hanos, Yadir Quintana and Ryan Sullivan. For more information and images please check out the gallery website.

Sharon Engelstein "Blow Job" @ Sunday

Sharon Engelstein's show titled "Blow Job" at Sunday gallery in the L.E.S. exhibits sculpture produced by cutting-edge technology. The big yellow piece titled "Slow Head" in the middle of the main gallery is made of nylon and is blown up by a fan (hence the title of the show). The pieces in the back gallery are rapid prototype made by using a 3-D printer used in the industrial design industry. Although the work is produced by new technologies the work possesses a soft sensuality usually lacking in work produced by these means. For Engelstein the computer is a tool like any other, a means to an end not the end to the means. Definitely stop in to see this show!

Omar Chacon @ Bronx River Art Center

Omar Chacon at Bronx River Art Center is a refreshing blast of color in a city that is usually quite gray. Over the years Chacon has patiently and intently mined the possibilities of poured and dripped paint. Chacon has developed his dots, drips and drips that are cut to form mosaic like tiles into a personal lexicon to create works that grapple with world politics and art history as subjects.

Chacon will have his International debut with Magrorocca in Milan, Italy in September 2008 and his New York City solo debut with Green Contemporary in January 2009.

Chacon is also represented by Lincart in San Fransisco.