Lower East Side Gallery Map

Miguel Abreu Gallery, 36 Orchard St: "Folder and Application"

"Folder and Application" is a show of Blake Rayne art work that comes down tomorrow, June 26th.

Blake Rayne is a 1992 Cal Arts grad that has shown extensively in the US and Europe. His recent show of paintings also features one small installation along with two objects that accompany paintings. There are four general "applications' of painting in the show; one being silhuettes of fabric. The boldest piece in the show may very well be a piece with a cut out letter "a" made of heavy black, droopy felt, draping over the face of the canvas. Another interesting technique used in the work is the inclusion of plexi glass panels and strips of transparency. Transparent surfaces create ephemeral shadows on the surface of the painting that talk about the immateriality of text.  These clear panels are positioned along the sides and in the corners of the work, written on and flipped over as to confuse the viewers ability to read, thus bringing in issues of reading time and legibility in relation to pieces of art. Over-all the show seems to have various threads running through the body of work that complement eachother only through aesthetic contrast.

Lisa Cooley: 34 Orchard Street

Lisa Cooley is currently hosting the Solo Exhibition entitled," We Care About You" until June 27th.

The artist Andy Coolquitt, is a Texas born artist, living and working between New York City and Austin.

"We Care About You" is a show of sculptural installations, made up of found objects and materials such as couch cusions, light-bulbs, wire, ceramic figurines, lighters and push pins.

The work immediately references a DaDa sensibility with its reoccurring adoption of not only salvaged materials but their orientational reference to house hold items. Pieces like, "attainable excellence" feel much like a standing floor lamp or coat hanger, leaning vertically against the gallery wall with a stem of three lights at the top and one arm extended closer to the floor. The "installation" of objects is characterized by a propped-against-a-wall-composition, encompassing all but approximately five pieces in the entire show.

This loose and repeated organizational pattern of propping, does perhaps reinforce an interest in how objects interact with interior space. The one room design and slight dilapidation of the Lisa Cooley gallery floors call out to images of an old attic or playroom. The space feels relatively full to a viewer who must consciously maneuver around the hanging piping and lift shoes above connecting power cords.

Although seemingly junky, the aesthetic of the work remains relatively minimal. Coolquitt's objects are lively and playful; constructed with a childlike curiosity and calculated ignorance toward functionality making, "We Care About You" a pleasantly lightweight discovery in the China Town gallery scene.

http://www.lisa-cooley.com/exhibitions/