Wednesday, April 20, 2011

SOFA


I saw the SOFA Show in New York at the Armory last week. I was somewhat appalled by the overall lack of real quality or inovation in the show itself, seemed like a glorified craft fair. Lots of jewelry and very highly polished pots. There were a couple of acceptions, though. The highlight, in my humble opinion, was Goro Suzuki's wonderful tea bowls at Gallery Gen. Like a quilt, they are reconstructed fragments of simply glazed ceramic, joined with Kintsugi, a traditional method of repairing broken pottery by laying gold on the adhesive in the crack. Aparently this is especially true of tea bowls. His use of this technique with great intention exhibits a real flare for reinventing an impossibly old and used form. So poetic. I was reminded of Cezanne in their gorgeousness and true innovative vigor.


Another breath of fresh air was Jun Kaneko, my old mentor. His famous Dungos, always bold and undeniable were on display at Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art.



Marcia Lyons had these cool cubes dripping with paint on view at David Richard Contemporary.


I look forward to the day when "art" and "craft" end their meaningless war.



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