Contemporary Art: Best Of New York`s Gallery Shows 2017

(Drivebycuriosity) - 2017 was a good year in the world of contemporary art. New York City, which has hundreds of art galleries, presented a flood of impressive art shows. It was so much fun to discover different styles and ideas and I was impressed by the variety of concepts, styles and techniques. Many exhibitions happened of course in the classy galleries of the Chelsea district, but the rapidly gentrifying Lower East Side is getting more and more a strong contender. I display here  my favorites from New York´s gallery shows 2017, as usual a very subjective selection.

In April Gagosian, a global art dealer empire, showed selected works by Albert Oehlen, who belongs to my favorites.  The German artist, born 1954, was a student of Sigmar Polke and friend of the late Martin Kippenberger and is known for the radical shifts in his work and style. W Magazin calls Oehlen the "change artist" (wmagazine).

In March Gagosian also displayed a painting by Mark Tansey, another favorite of mine because he blends photorealistic images with surrealist humor. The work is called "Reverb" (2017, oil on canvas, 84 × 60 inches unframed (213.4 × 152.4 cm).

I also admire Adrian Ghenie, who is born in Romania. The prestigious Pace Gallery in Manhattan´s Chelsea district exhibited some of his work in February.






                                                            Full Of Life, Joy & Lust

I am a fan of Anselm Kiefer. The German "is one of the most imaginative, original and serious artists alive", writes The Guardian( theguardian). I am fascinated by his vast pictures, often covered with massive paint, ashes & condiments like sunflower seeds. So I was very happy that Gagosian had a Kiefer exhibition this Spring. The show was called: "Transition from Cold to Warm".  The exhibition displays a very different Kiefer. Usually his works are very serious & sinister and they refer to destruction, death, decay & Holocaust. But this show was full of life, joy & lust.

And, yes, there also was an exhibition of art by the amazing Rudolf Stingel. The artist, who was born in 1956 in Merano, Italy and lives in New York and Merano, belongs to the chameleons of the international art scene. His oeuvre has a remarkable breadth, including hyper photorealistic paintings, abstracts, melancholic self portraits and much more. Gagosian displayed some of his breath taking paintings in December. Above you can see three of his wall filling murals, followed by some detail shots.









                           Economic Brush Strokes To Create Wonderful Scenes

My discovery of the year was the Korean artist Sangyoon Yoon @ Christine Park Gallery in June  (christinepark). I like the compositions, which remind me a bit of Neo Rauch, and I admire the technique. Yoon implements economic brush strokes to create wonderful scenes.

David Zwirner, another global art gallery empire, filled their walls in Chelsea with work by the hilarious Raymond Pettibon in June.

Van der Plaas Gallery on Manhattan`s Lower East Side had a group show in April, including an abstract by David Mehlen, from whom I would like to see more (dsmstudio), and "The Gift" by Jarred Oppenheim & Alannah Farrell.

Paula Cooper Gallery displayed amazing murals by Cecily Brown in November. Above you can see three of them, plus a detail shot.

In February I enjoyed "Pinball Cha Cha" by Gary Rudell (oil on panel) discovered @ Gallery Henoch & "Figure with Lilies" by Josh Bronaugh (oil on panel) @ Stricoff Fine Art. Both Galleries are in Chelsea. In April the Max Laniado gallery, which is also in Chelsea, showed wonderful paintings by Kaloon Chhour, who was born 1968 in China and lives now in France. Jack Shainman Gallery, another Chelsea gallery, displayed woven canvases by Hayv Kahraman (following a tradition from Iraq) in November.

Gallery Artifact, another Lower East Side gallery (artifactnyc), had frequently changing group shows. Above a small selection: A neo-expressionist painting by Melba Juez-Perrone (seen in January) followed by two collages by Susie Mckay Krieser,  a surrealist abstract by Erica Fromme  (all September) and another expressionist painting by Linda Manguiat-Herzog (plus a detail shot, June). 





                                                       Guardians Of The Molecules

The Lower East Side had more group shows of course. In July I spotted Maria Berrio`s Nativity @ Rachel Uffner gallery  and @ Betty Cuningham Gallery ) I enjoyed seeing Graham Nickson`s "Inlet: Approaching Storm & Philip Pearlstein`s "Two Models in Bamboo Chairs".

On the Lower East Side you can also find the Richard Taittinger Gallery, which is founded and owned by a heir of the French Champagne empire Taittinger. In January I noticed there "Guardians of the molecules" by Marius Bercea. The painting belonged to a collection from the art scene @ Transylvania`s capital Cluj-Napoca. According to the press release the place has been a thriving  contemporary art center for Romania and the international art world. It`s followed by another image from the show who`s creator I do not know. I like the painting anyway because it shows a mystery which reminds me of Neo Rauch`s works.

.

Gallery Nahmad Contemporary on New York`s Upper East Side exhibited paintings by Antoni Tàpies (from 1970 - 2003).  The Spanish painter, sculptor and art theorist (1923-2012) created elegant & unique compositions by using basic materials.  I discovered his works while visiting his hometown Barcelona (here my post driveby )

I was overwhelmed by quantity & quality of the art work I have seen this year and can present here just a small selection. You can find much more on my blog.


Stay tuned!