Once entering the Rox Gallery in the lower East side, I could not avoid but notice immediately the beautiful, vibrant colors that characterized every single painting of “Heavenly Bodies”. Although at first, I must admit, the abstract nature of Tom Smith’s work made me feel confused and incapable of defining what it is exactly that I am looking at, after a closer observation of the paintings I finally found myself able to identify with their hidden meaning.
Undoubtedly, the usage of radiating, neon colors serves a very specific purpose: to attract the viewers and make them feel as if they are personally experiencing the landscape represented in the painting. As Tom Smith had pointed out during our discussion in the gallery, “the painting is shining a light on you (the viewer)”. As he further explained, the colors are meant to be seen in relationship to what is around them as opposed to when they are isolated. Therefore, the colors that are used in a single painting often contrast with each other to create a sense of depth in a two-dimensional painting. However, while I thought that the paintings themselves represent an infinite world in which the viewer is almost invisible, I thought that their frames in fact made the viewer feel restricted and contained within their borders to some extent.
Out of the three different sections of the gallery, I particularly enjoyed looking at the three dimensional paintings that Smith had created during his trip to Iceland. When I first looked at them (specifically the one below), it seemed clear to me that the work is meant to represent a sort of destruction in the form of fire and rocks. In my view, the 3D effect made these themes stand out even more because it awakened not only my sense of sight, but also my sense of touch. Although I did not actually touch the painting, I found it fascinating that just by looking at this particular work, I was able to almost feel the texture and the heat resulting from the radiating red color and the little wooden pieces glued together.
After looking individually at every work, I was able to recognize numerous themes that demonstrate landscape, such as fire, water, nature and sky. Coming to this conclusion, I realized that these themes established the foundation for the name “heavenly bodies”; while all these forms of different landscapes are meant to represent ‘heaven’, the viewers and the different perspectives that they hold represent the ‘bodies’.
After visiting the Rox Gallery and seeing Heavenly Bodies, I have truly learned to appreciate the value of abstract art. I am confident that Tom Smith’s career is awaiting great success!
Marcel Dzama’s Une Danse des Bouffons, is a film that can be described as a “Dadaist Love Story.” It is currently part of an exhibit at the David Zwirner gallery along with related two and three dimensional work.
These works deal with many themes, among them “death.” Inside, I gravitated toward the long piece in the back of the room and, honestly, in the first couple of minutes this theme did not really stand out. It looked more like a circus; it was as if the people in the piece were in costume and doing all sorts of acrobatic acts.
Once I looked closer, I began to see the men with guns and the people surrendering. There is also a man holding a presumably dead man. I continued to walk around and look at the other pieces with this idea in mind. I then saw another piece:
Just some chess pieces, a chess board, and a beheaded human, head rolled away, but still close to the body. And another two fitting pieces:
Exploring death in art (or in anything for that matter) always puzzled me. Death is confusing, frightening, and eerie. I always approach the subject by, well, avoiding it altogether. I suppress any kinds of thoughts relating to it because it’s simply overwhelming. Many use the same approach as me. So, I admire artists like Marcel Dzama. To create works of art that have this kind of idea in them must mean the artist dwelled on it. They must have contemplated for hours on end in the preliminary process. Then they must have dealt with the idea while physically creating the projects. Just having the works in an exhibit continue to remind the artist of this theme. How do they do it!?
As I continued to contemplate this throughout the exhibit, I thought I stumbled upon a possible answer. Besides art being a way to cope with this difficult concept, there is also the idea that death makes way for the new. There must be death for birth to occur.
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