Jayson’s “Halcyon Days” opens at Salon 94

I was reading all the press and blog reviews of Jayson’s show today compelling me to write.  Now he can put the Journal under his press belt.  I’m sure there will be write ups in every major publication form artforum to the Times about this show.  His first solo in New York!  The show out preformed my expectations as his first Coogi piece was constructed for our thesis show back in 2011 and although the ideas are the same the actual execution of this work for exceeded what he put on the walls back then.  These pieces are simply elegant and a real step forward for the notion of object making for Jayson.  In the past people might have criticized him for making rough punky drawings, I happened to always love them.  I know he views him self as an object maker not a mere performer like many think he is from his Hennessy fame and this is the perfect way to step in the arena.  It might be time to put Henny on hold and simply ride the wave of being Jayson from this point forward.  But I guess he can’t do that and he probably won’t want to as he say’s it was for his online presence he would not be where he is at right now.  I am simply thrilled that my fellow Penn alum are getting such recognition from the art world these days. Jacoby was just featured in the Brooklyn rail and now this for the Pharaoh.  I can’t wait to see what happens next! The only thing that kind of rubs me the wrong way about all of this is a quote from the galleristny where they talk about a conversation between Jayson and William Powhida where Powhida tells Jayson he is now an “insider.”   Honestly where all aware of this notion, he has been an insider since grad school when the Ali G article came out. From that point it was just a matter of time to what major gallery would step up to the plate and give Jayson the shot he totally deserved.   I simply found it in bad taste of the galleristny to publish this in the story about him but Jayson handled it with grace!  … I guess I’m just as bad drawing attention to it.  Now Jayson make those Benjamin’s cause you know he did found our school. And through some of the extra paper my way, help a brother out. (and by brother I mean smallish Jewish man)  

 http://www.salon94.com/

Stop trending up!!!! its bad for art

Yeah we friends and shit at Josee Bienvenu is a perfect example of a gallery show that is trying to ride the hipster wave of coolness. I hate to be this critical of anything but this show is just an example of what not to do.  It looked like a bad grad school thesis show!!! With unimpressive text pieces, paintings off the internet referencing art in the digital age,  black exploitation pieces painted childlike with text trying to be clever and the piece to the left of post-its and spray paint.  This is all derivative of works we have all seen over and over again.  Please stop this non sense as show like this force young talented, and well educated artist to feel this is the kind of work to make if they are to get to show in Chelsea.  They are just recycling old ideas that at one point in history where fresh or challenging to the world.  Now the works seem to calling this time as the end of art.  The only thing worse was the show that opened at David Zwirner, on June 28th Stand Like the Hummingbird.  This show explored the same ideas presented as in the lesser show with notions of objecthood and gender and race politics in art, at least when the works at Zwirner where made they where in fact avant-garde.  There is always a good deal of terrable art in Chelsea, but when shows try to be at the height of critical discourse and falls shot as these two shows did it just leaves a terrible taste in my mouth as to the state of things.  I'm usually am a champion a Zwirner, but this show was a real let down for me for me .  I love many of the artists in the show, and after a year of very strong shows that have mostly been hung very well this one just seemed like a fire sale with very little for thought in its execution.

Beasts of Revelation

DC Moore, like many of the stronger galleries in Chelsea went with a large group show to ring in the summer.  With such a title one would expect a dark show filled with allegory and a true sense of desperation that many including myself often feel about our present paradigm.  The truth is the show is more or less a playful mockery of this religious realty.  Most of the works if not all are self portraits or in there least self referential to the ego of the artist.  Are we in fact as artists these Beasts who are ringing in the end of time?  Truthfully we need to move past this and be the individual saviors of society.  We are the last independent free thinking individuals! We should be coming up with the solutions to the worlds problems.  But the quantitative controllers don't let this happen leaving us on the periphery to struggle and play the commodity fetish game of the art market relying on them as our support.  When in realty they should look to us as leaders or partners.  Matt Freedman's Sculpture above to me says exactly this!  He is Heracles club in hand and can return after exile to ring in a time of great prosperity.  However his power is simply limited by a system way beyond him.  Forcing him to be simply be a bobble head shaking around as the world crumbles.