Gallery Hopping in Chelsea, Part 1

Inside Serra's "Every Which Way"

I've lived in Punta Gorda long enough that my trips to New York feel a bit like Dorothy's visit to Oz. The city is technicolor with all the people and noise and traffic and smells (especially in the summer). My visits give me a chance to catch up with friends while enjoying an arts scene unlike that of Southwest Florida. (I'm not just talking about the desnudos in Times Square, although I suppose they are an art of their own. Click here to check them out.)  

Wendi and I headed to Chelsea, home to galleries galore. Once you get past the slight intimidation of walking into galleries manned by people who are mysteriously too busy to welcome you, it's a wonderful area to explore what's happening in the art world.

I fell in love with the large steel installation works by Richard Serra on display at two different Gagosian Galleries. The exhibition was Gagosian's 30th major showing of Serra's works since 1983. In fact, the Gagosian Gallery on West 24th Street was built with reinforced floors specifically to accommodate the weight of Serra's work. (His "Silence (for John Cage)," for instance, is a single 80 ton slab of forged steel lying flat on the floor of its own room.) 

Serra has said he only moves forward with a work once he has determined that "walking in and through and around the piece will be something that startles him." Both "Every Which Way" and "NJ-1" more than meet this goal.

"Every Which Way" consists of 16 slabs of rectangular steel of differing heights. Wandering through the installation was an immersive experience. Although many liken the work to a giant graveyard, it felt to me more like a beautiful forest. The colors of each slab are nuanced with different tones of rust and peach and gray (a bit of which Wendi took away with her after she brushed up against one).

Wendi inside Serra's "NJ-1"

Serra's "NJ-1" is an example of the mazes for which he is best known. The sculpture is comprised of six ochre-colored plates of steel that stand on their own volition. Walking through the work's 14' walls feels like being deep inside a Sedona canyon. The structure has so many different angles and curves that its ability to support itself is a bit mind-boggling.  Many of Serra's works were inspired by his viewing of a ship being launched when he was just four years old. He has said that he still remembers the awe with which he watched something so massive become almost weightless. He captures this duality in works such as "NJ-1."

 There were a couple of additional surprises at this exhibit. First, multiple security guards were on duty. It was curious both because none of the other galleries had guards and because "NJ-1" isn't a delicate work that one could easily harm. Nonetheless, the guards were asking people to be careful not to touch the structure. Perhaps they were there to protect against people's instinct to test the sturdiness of the structure by throwing themselves against the walls.

The second surprise was the consideration visitors gave to others' experience. We all allowed other art lovers the chance to take pictures and explore the work's nooks and crannies at their own pace. (If people proceeded through with the speed and single-mindedness displayed on New York's streets, it would be a quite different experience.)  Sharing others' respect for and appreciation of the work made my discovery of Serra's work even more special.

To get a sense of what visiting one of Serra's creations is like, watch the first few minutes of this PBS special about the artist.  Or if you happen to be in Spain, visit the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao where eight of his works are on permanent display.

While I would have been happy spending the entire afternoon enjoying Serra's art, there were many more galleries to explore. My next installment will share more of this exploration.  And here's a teaser: John Malkovich will be prominently displayed. 

Something Old and Something New

The theater scene in Southwest Florida definitely quiets down over the summer. But there is some still some theater to be had. Urbanite Theatre is opening "Dry Land" next week, and Florida Studio Theatre has an entire summer series.  And, of course, there's the upcoming season to get busy scheduling.

Playwright Lillian Hellman

Asolo Repertory Theatre is heading into the fifth and final year of its exploration of the American Character.  While most of the season sounds great, I was on the fence about "The Little Foxes," a play written by Lillian Hellman in 1939. My lack of enthusiasm wasn't for any reason other than the fact that I'm not a huge fan of revivals. There are so many worthy contemporary plays available for production, why look to the past?  (FYI, Asolo Rep isn't the only theater that believes "The Little Foxes" warrants further attention. Manhattan Theatre Club is also mounting a revival this fall, with Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon alternately taking on the role of Regina.)

While Asolo Rep is dark for much of the summer, its Guild gives its members a chance to get their theater fix with get-togethers to discuss plays being produced in the upcoming season. Next week's meeting will focus on "The Little Foxes." Always eager for an opportunity to talk about theater, I signed up, ordered a copy of the script, and got reading.  For those of you who haven't seen the play (or the movie), I won't give too much away. Suffice it to say that the Hubbard family is not warm and fuzzy. In fact, Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street" took his cue from the Hubbard siblings when he declared that "Greed is good." Though the Hubbards have money, they want more. When a lucrative business opportunity presents itself, the siblings are willing to go to great lengths to line their (individual) pockets. Regina sums up the family attitude when she says. "You know what I've always said when people told me we were rich? I said I think you should either be a [Negro] or a millionaire. In between, like us, what for?"

Taylor as Regina

The play is melodramatic, and I can understand why the character of Regina would be appealing to play. The role, first performed by Tallulah Bankhead, has been taken on by Bette Davis, Anne Bancroft, and Stockard Channing.  Elizabeth Taylor made her stage debut as Regina in a 1981 revival.  Interestingly--and sadly--Hellman based the story on her own family, with Regina being modeled on her grandmother.

I typically like to go into a play cold and let the plot unfold before me. In the case of "The Little Foxes," though, reading the play and thinking about its themes in advance has made me more interested in seeing it. All things being equal, I prefer to experience new writing. But classics have earned their stature for a reason, and I have no doubt that Asolo Rep's take on the show will be well-done.

Playwright Mark St. Germain

And now for something brand spanking new -- "Relativity" by Mark St. Germain at Florida Studio Theatre.  FST is a core member of the National New Play Network, an alliance of nonprofit theaters that "champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays."

One way NNPN accomplishes its mission is through its Rolling World Premieres. Each new play in the program is mounted by at least three theaters within a 12-month period. This provides the playwright the opportunity to collaborate with different creative teams to bring his work to the stage. Participating theaters receive $7500 towards the costs of the production. Since its inception in 1998, NNPN has introduced theatergoers to more than 50 new plays.

St. Germain's "Relativity" is part of this year's Rolling World Premiere program and will be produced as well at theaters in Skokie, Illinois, Seattle and Iowa City. I jumped at the chance to sit in on a rehearsal of the show and can now count myself among the handful of people comprising the play's very first audience. (How cool is that?)

The foundation for the show is a little known fact about Albert Einstein and first wife Mileva Maric. In 1902, before the couple married, they had a daughter Lieserl. No mention of the child can be found after 1903. In "Relativity," St. Germain envisions one possible explanation of what happened to Lieserl. The scenario enables him to explore the differences between Einstein's public and private personas.

Actors Robert Zukerman, Ginger Lee McDermott and Sally Bondi made the play come alive without costumes or a real set. Their performance was engrossing, and I found myself wondering which parts were fact and which were derived from St. Germain's imagination. I was particularly interested in a reference to a contract written by Einstein outlining the conditions on which he would stay married to Mileva. The agreement included mandates that she would expect no affection from him and that she would stop talking to him upon request.  (A Google search revealed that such a contract did in fact exist. Click here to read the agreement in its entirety. The document, along with a motherlode of other Einstein correspondence, was auctioned off at Christies in 1996.)

"Relativity" will run at FST from June 22 - July 2. If you want an immersive Mark St. Germain theater experience, you can see a matinee of "Relativity" and an evening performance of his "The Fabulous Lipitones" on June 25 only. Thanks to FST for providing a place for theatergoers who brave the Florida summers to sit back and enjoy the show. 

All Florida Juried Exhibition at Alliance for the Arts

Harry Messersmith

Last week-end, I ventured down to Fort Myers' Alliance for the Arts for a multi-faceted morning. After a free outdoor yoga class and a whirl through the Green Market (where I scored some delicious ceviche), I headed inside to catch a portion of a "walk and talk" about the Alliance's 30th Annual All Florida Juried Exhibit. I always love a docent tour, but this one was particularly special since it was led by juror Harry Messersmith.

At first glance, Messersmith might be an odd choice as a juror for this show. While the exhibit was open to all mediums, most of the 49 works in the show (and I assume most of the 305 submissions) were paintings. These days Messersmith is primarily a sculptor (with his own bronze foundry no less). While talking people through the show, though, it became clear that he's an expert in all fields of art. He's served as juror for dozens of art fairs and exhibitions and worked himself in most mediums.  His thoughtfulness about and appreciation for the artwork made it clear why he's such a frequent choice.

Dareau's "Everything Has to Go"

 The Best in Show award went to Laurent Dareau for his "Everything Has to Go." To Messersmith, this work excelled in all criteria required of a prize winner -- strong composition and drawing, excellent craftsmanship/execution, interesting concept and effective storytelling. I will admit to being confused by Dareau's inclusion of cartoon characters. To Messersmith, though, this choice helped convey the tension between childhood and adulthood. He also noted the way Dareau "layered life" in the work and used both strong lines and soft lines in different parts of the painting. I was fascinated by how different this work was from Dareau's "Camille" that was juried into the Visual Arts Center's National Art Exhibition. (For those who saw the show, "Camille" was the portrait of a woman naked from the waist up with angel wings that flowed into the top of the divan. It can be found on his website by clicking here.) I would love to chat with the artist about his different styles of work and how he decides which painting to enter into a particular show.

Hull's "Elevation No. 7, Altitude Series"

 Sarah Hull is another artist whose name I am familiar with from the National Art Exhibition. (Her 2014 painting of glazed donuts entitled "Nice Rack" was a crowd pleaser - and one of the first works to sell.)  Hull's "Elevation No. 7, Altitude Series" bears little resemblance to her donut work (for lack of a better term) other than the strong use of color. To many viewers, Hull's work is a nice Florida painting of an outing to the beach. To Messersmith, there's a lot more going on. "Art has the ability to change the world by showing there's a different way of thinking available," he commented with reference to Hull's work. He liked the way the view from above reminded him of living life on the edge and noted the tension between the dark hues of the ocean against the cool tones of the beach.  I love this painting and enjoyed seeing how Hull's work has progressed. (Her earlier work can be seen on her website by clicking here.)

Venditti "Woman in Bath"

Daniel Venditti's "Woman in Bath" prompted another interesting discussion. Messersmith noted that Venditti drilled holes in the canvas and hung it using steel wires. To him, the way the painting was hung was a part of the artwork. Was the artist's intention to negate the piece as "art"? Was he saying something else entirely? The work also led viewers to raise questions about primitive/outsider/naif art. (While Venditti is clearly a trained artist, the work does have something of a primitive feel to it.)  Messersmith shared his view that this genre of painting is powerful because of the truth of the experience.

Viewing the show with Messersmith was a real treat. While I would have enjoyed the show on its own, hearing the juror talk about what struck him in the works was educational and interesting.  Kudos to the Alliance for hosting a great show and selecting such a dynamic and generous juror.

The 30th Annual All Florida Juried Exhibition runs through June 30.  Make sure to stop by the Alliance and check it out if you're in the area.