the art collectors

Friday, March 13th, 2009

TACfocus :: SCOPE Picks

Josh Keyes at David B. Smith Gallery

SCOPE wins our pick for the best overall collection of galleries and artists on view at the numerous art fairs in New York last weekend. Read on for the full recap, click pics for larger views.

Before entering, we were greeted by Maya Hayuk’s SCOPE Special Project, an outdoor installation which successfully transformed the fair’s entrance into a welcoming and colorful kaleidoscopic tunnel.

Maya Hayuk Installation

Out of state fans camped out overnight for a chance to purchase two Josh Keyes paintings from David B. Smith Gallery. Congratulations goes out to our TACforum members who were lucky enough to grab these. The gallery’s main focus was given to new works by Gregory Euclide. We were also pleased to find the best A.J. Fosik sculpture we’ve ever come across (which incidentally, came via Gallery L.J., who didn’t have enough wall space to hang it at their Bridge Fair booth). 

Josh Keyes

AJ Fosik at David B. Smith Gallery

The hardly recognizable Ron English paintings on display at San Francisco’s Shooting Gallery were a great surprise. We had first eyed these rare children’s drawing paintings at English’s home, where they had been tucked away for years, and were delighted to finally see them publicly exhibited. Unfortunately we can not speak as highly of Greg Gossel, who continues to churn out seemingly uninspired replications in the style of FAILE – and yes, we know who they’ve pulled from as well. In our estimation there is a difference between inspiration and imitation. Was he doing this before he saw their work? – Somebody please prove us wrong. Then there was Erik Foss’ massive American flag, constructed from spray-painted beggar’s signs and adorned with (used?) condom stars. The piece seemed more likely to be placed alongside Dash Snow or Dan Colen – given their popularity, that’s probably not a bad thing. 

Ron English at Shooting Gallery

Erik Foss at Shooting Gallery

Erik Foss Detail

Taking advantage of the popularity of Chinese Contemporary Art, Amsterdam’s Willem Kerseboom Gallery displayed emerging talents, Ayako Rokkaku, Wang Zhije and Yin Jun.

Ayako Rokkaku at Willem Kerseboom Gallery

Wang Zhije at Willem Kerseboom Gallery

Yin Jun at Willem Kerseboom Gallery

An eye-catching solo installation from Camille Rose Garcia was the focal point at Jonathan Levine’s booth (See our separate TACfocus post for more). Also on display were two works from Jeff Soto.

Jeff Soto at Jonathan LeVine

Jeff Soto

Krampf Gallery showed the porcelain sculptures of Ma Jun, whose mix of traditional Chinese imagery and mediums with modern and western cultural references first caught our eye at SCOPE Miami this past December.  

Ma Jun at Krampf Gallery

Ma Jun

Finally, the ink drawings of Juan Francisco Casas, rendered entirely with Bic ballpoint pen, were a clear triumph for Fernando Pradilla Gallery. More on that soon, when we post a TACfocus highlighting his art. 

Juan Francisco Casas at Fernando Pradia Gallery

Juan Francisco Casas