At first sight, I was underwhelmed by Brinsley Tyrrell’s show, Ohio Lands Forever, at Busta. The large-format pieces with their electric colors and ropey splatters struck me as gimmicky and shrill. Tyrrell’s enamel on steel technique threatened to skid out of control–obsession with process has shipwrecked many artists. But after a couple of processions around…
Category: Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Galleries, Reviews, Thumbs-Up-Down, Uncategorized
Review: Truppe Fledermaus and the Carnival at the End of the World
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•The collaborative team of Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick recently filled the Galleries at Cleveland State U. with posters, postcards, and photos from their magical world of speculative fiction and false history–Truppe Fledermaus and the Carnival at the End of the World. While Kahn and Selesnick’s magic realism reminds me of artists like Magritte, or…
Art Museums, Cleveland, Reviews, Uncategorized
Cleveland Museum of Art 2013 Staff Exhibition
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•I attended the annual Cleveland Museum of Art Staff Exhibition the other day. Like last year, the show is in the museum’s lower level by the parking garage. Unlike last year when renovations forced traffic through this area, the exhibition space is now well off the beaten track. The quality–like last year–is uneven. Exhibitors come…
Art Museums, Bio, Cleveland
Museum Etiquette
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•For me, standing in front of a painting is like listening to a concert or attending a play. I try to meet the artist on his terms and I open myself to the work to discover its secrets. Most of all, I enjoy looking at paintings; it gives me intense pleasure. So, if you see…
Artists, Cleveland, Galleries, Reviews, Uncategorized
Review: Augusto Bordelois at CSU
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•The Cuban-born, Cleveland-based artist Augusto Bordelois is showing some striking works at Cleveland State U. The exhibition, titled “Based on a True Story,” is filled with large-format paintings full of bold colors and simple shapes that burst their frames and overflow the shallow space, as in the accompanying photo. The designs are strong although simple;…
Art Museums, Artists, Cleveland, Paintings, Uncategorized
I Can’t Get This Little Painting Out of My Mind
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•The Cleveland Museum of Art, like most museums, rotates the paintings in its permanent collection. The museum recently rotated its Dutch School collection, happily bringing into view this little gem by Gerrit Dou. When I say little, I do mean little. This exquisite painting is a mere 6 3/8″ x 4 3/4.” Take a moment…
Artists, Cleveland
RIP Joseph O’Sickey
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•NE Ohio Joseph O’Sickey died Monday at the age of 94. I Reviewed his current show at The Bonfoey Gallery here.
Artists, Cleveland, Galleries, Reviews, Uncategorized
Review: Joseph O’Sickey at Bonfoey Gallery
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•Just now there is a lot of news and information about O’Sickey. The Canton Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition of his work through July 21, and the Bonfoey Gallery’s exhibition runs through the 13th. The Bonfoey exhibition–Travels: Provence and Maine–consists of an outstanding collection of large works that provide those or us unfamiliar…