Courage in Retrospect: SPRING/BREAK Art Show NYC 2022

James Parker Foley, Crossing Paths, 2022. Oil on linen. 35 x 32 in.

Visit SPRING/BREAK Art Show NYC:
DATES: September 7 - 12, 2022
LOCATION: 625 Madison Ave, New York, NY
BOOTH: 1035
TICKETS: Click to purchase

COLLECT ARTWORK

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery is proud to announce our fourth year of participation in SPRING/BREAK Art Show’s installation in New York City, occurring September 7-12th. The booth will feature a two-person presentation of artwork from James Parker Foley and Alex McClay.

James Parker Foley and Alex McClay use a combination of vastly different media and imagery to convey a similar message: the reclamation of power, particularly in relation to the female body. In their paintings, Parker Foley renders women in a dynamic, dramatic way: faceless bodies are splayed across the composition in impossible contortions, drawing attention to the way we represent the female body, especially in media like horror films. The lack of expression allows the figures to coolly disassociate from the proceeding activities. Self-possessed and self-aware, the paintings themselves gaze back toward the viewer. Meanwhile, Alex McClay’s work is figurative in a non-literal sense: in her multimedia pieces, she conveys the feeling of having a body that is female, and all of the innate hurt that comes with it. She is paying tribute to womanhood, while also pointing towards the consequences of the male gaze, and the boundaries established specifically to survive it. 

Parker Foley’s works embody this sense of feminist assertion, often conveying worship and deification through her vivid hues and rich textures. Their work incorporates mythic journeys and quests, centering on one or more heroic figures. They incorporate yonic symbols, portrayed as divine in the universes they create. Parker Foley leans into the epic, and describes the figures’ task as Sisyphean in the sense that they’re stuck doing this task as long as the painting survives. The faceless figures live in a world that is entirely their own: Parker Foley revels in the ability to turn to painting and make all the rules, creating their own feminist universe where the women are awesome and terrifying and in total control. 

Alex McClay, Courage in Retrospect, 2020. Emergency blanket, survey tape, bamboo yarn. 62 x 68 in. each

In McClay’s work, the body is ever present, but never rendered: she alludes to the treatment of the female body subtly through text, material choice and construction. At the heart of her work is the tension of boundaries: a delineation of intended protection that so often becomes a site of violation. McClay explores the power dynamics that underwrite our most intimate and vulnerable spaces: our bodies, our minds, our homes, and our identities. Using language/text, the femme body, and a variety of unusual materials, she constructs objects and experiences that call attention to the lines “that separate me from you and mine from yours.” 

In a series of textiles, Alex McClay uses emergency blankets made of reflective mylar, pieced together to reveal words woven into their surfaces. Though the practical application for this material is to stay warm and signal for help in emergency situations, McClay uses the blankets to represent a symbolic means to an end, a protective layer, and an emblem of survival. Survey flags and survey tape used to mark and measure land appear in a series of textiles and installations. These materials are reappropriated and serve as representations of the invisible barriers that guide our everyday lives. Similarly, cement, most often used to build walls that protect us from the outside world, is broken down and cast into small pieces in a series of text-based installations. These materials have been taken from their original contexts and transformed to communicate through embedded language. This language, often honest and vulnerable, offers the viewer a glimpse into memories of trauma – of moments when boundaries failed and proved permeable. 

Announcement: Art On Paper NYC 2022

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery is proud to announce our inclusion in Art On Paper New York 2022. Located at Pier 36 in Downtown Manhattan, the fair will feature 100 galleries focused on top modern and contemporary paper-based art. We look forward to featuring artworks by gallery artists Wilhelm Neusser, Nathaniel Price, and Coral Woodbury.

Occurring during Armory Week NYC 2022, the dates of the fair are September 8 - 11.

We will announce further details soon. For more information about Art On Paper and to purchase tickets, click here.

Exhibition Highlights from New York City, January 2022

Last week, our Associate Director, Kaylee Hennessey, joined members of Gallery NAGA for a trip to New York City to see how some Chelsea galleries were heading into 2022. As gallerists and curators, it is always important for us to know what is going on in the world and to see what fellow galleries have on view. A continuation of the celebration of figurative work, craft, and vibrant color were prominent elements across the neighborhood. Here are our takeaways for the year’s fresh start.

Installation view: Jennifer Packer, The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing at the Whitney Museum of American Art (on view: Oct. 30, 2021 - April 17, 2022) Artwork pictured: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Breonna! Breonna!)

Gallery wall of Jennifer Packer’s figurative paintings, Whitney Museum of American Art.

Our first stop was the Whitney Museum of American Art, where we worked our way down four floors of exhibition space. The top floor hosted a solo exhibition of fiercely colorful paintings by Jennifer Packer, featuring over 30 works from the past decade. I was very drawn to her figurative works above all. Packer weaves her subjects through the compositions, often abstracting features or sections of the body in a dreamy wash omitting detail, while features like the hands and feet are beautifully rendered in full detail, highlighting her technical abilities.

This was a standout exhibition, and a fantastic start to a great day of gallery hopping.

Liza Lou at the Whitney Museum of American Art

A few floors down, Making Knowing: Craft in Art, 1950-2019, yielded a satisfyingly textural collection of artworks featuring decades of material exploration and visibly process-driven pieces. Rounding the corner towards the end of the exhibit put me face to face with Liza Lou’s Kitchen, a piece I have personally long-admired but had yet to experience in person. Created between 1991-96, Liza Lou’s life sized, 168-square-foot kitchen is “a tribute to the unsung labor of women throughout time” (Whitney). Covered in millions of glass beads, one could spend hours examining the details and still manage to see something new with each glance.

Liza Lou’s Kitchen, 1991-96. On view at the Whitney Museum of American Art through February 20, 2022.

James Castle at David Zwirner: On view through February 12, 2022

On the top floor of David Zwirner’s West 20th Street location was a solo exhibition of works by Idaho-based, 20th century artist, James Castle. Small drawings on found paper gave an intimate view into the artist’s life. The scale of Castle’s work was just as cozy and warm as his subjects, often loose and architectural, but always very home-centric. The works were paired with Castle’s bundles and boxes, which contained his drawings in groupings and were dispersed throughout the family’s property during his lifetime as a way to store his artwork.

Seismograph of Color, Abraham Palatnik at Nara Roesler

A retrospective of the late Brazilian artist’s work, Seismograph of Color combined conceptual canvases and geometric abstract sculpture that radiated strong energies across the gallery. Palatnik’s artwork immediately conveyed a strong Bauhaus influence. His optic and kinetic works created a visual dialogue that bounced viewers around the room, drawing them in to examine the details of his cut and assembled canvases and the intricacies of his process.

Abraham Palatnik, W-H180, 2019. Acrylic paint on wood. 43 1/10 × 67 3/5 × 1 3/5 in. On view at Nara Roesler through March 3, 2022.

Steve Locke at Miles McEnery Gallery: Annotations & Improvisations (Curated by Kristen Becker)

Stumbling upon a familiar face from the Boston art scene was one of the trip’s best moments. A selection of Steve Locke’s Homage to the Auction Block series was exhibited alongside artists “highlighting the complexities around issues of authorship and origin.” (Miles McEnery)
Inspired by the color studies of Josef Albers, Locke’s Auction Blocks nod to the complex racial histories of Western Modernism.

Maria Nepomuceno: Roda Das Encantadas at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Sprawled across the floor of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. was a captivatingly large installation of beads, woven palm, rope, and materials rich in texture and color. Paired with wall pieces that commanded an equal amount of attention, Maria Nepomuceno’s artwork transformed the white wall space into an experiential installation emphasizing her skill and craftsmanship. I dreamt of sitting smack in the middle of the floor installation and joining the world of figures she had crafted (unfortunately, that is frowned upon in most art spaces).

Overall, it was great to see what NYC has on view right now and we look forward to exploring Los Angeles next month!

Maria Nepomuceno, Roda Das Encantadas at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Written by Kaylee Hennessey, Assistant Director

Artist Spotlight: Marlon Forrester

Image courtesy of Marlon Forrester

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery is proud to represent the artwork of Marlon Forrester, an artist, educator, and athlete working in Boston, MA. Forrester’s work centers primarily on the corporate use of the black body, or the body as a logo. We recently chatted with Forrester about his work, his life, and his influences:

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery: How were you introduced to the arts, and when did you know you wanted to pursue it?

Marlon Forrester: I grew up watching family members take part in constructing sculptures/floats and performing in different costumes for Carnival. There was no real separation between art and culture while growing up as a youth. I come from a rich cultural background in which five different ethnic groups; Black, Indian, Amerindia, European and Chinese exist in Guyanese culture. It is indeed a melting pot for both race and religion.

AOG: What, to you, is the most important part of your practice?

MF: The most important part of my practice is my exploration of concepts related to the black male body and basketball through performance, painting, drawing, sculpture, large scale installations, and video. Transformation and ritual is the foundation element.

AOG: You were a professor at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. How has your work as an educator informed your studio practice?

Image Courtesy of Marlon Forrester

MF: I worked previously as a professor at SMFA but currently teach as a graduate adjunct instructor at MCA. While teaching at SMFA I taught watercolor and paper, essentially a mixed media class that explored the additive and reductive properties of water. The material application of paint is an emotional space for transformation through mark making.

AOG: In your “Passing Series,” a performance based body of work, you lie prone in public places, tossing a basketball in the air. Can you speak a bit about the series, as well as the way the public in those spaces reacted while you were passing?

MF: In the "Passing Series" the audience responded to my performance in public spaces with a certain sense of excitement, engagement, and curiosity. Some of the viewers attempted to and wanted to interact with me throughout the performance by either pretending to reach for the basketball or walking in close proximity to my body. The "Passing Series" remains a celebration of the slave passage in which slaves were brought from Africa to the Americas.

AOG: You’ve mentioned the importance of self care in your studio practice. What is self care for you, and what does it do for your work as a whole?

MF: Self care is essential to all human beings and within the context of my studio practice it is the ability to remain unrestrained, untethered, released from the formal constructs that inhibit compositionally and materially play. Painting with both hands, splattering paint, spraying paint on to surfaces, painting upside down or from a state of imbalance serves to contextualize and parenthetically flatten out space in my work.

AOG: What was a moment that really stuck out to you in your career, and why was it important to you as an artist?

Image courtesy of Marlon Forrester

MF: My entrance into Yale as a graduate student for Painting/Printmaking radically shifted my perspective on art making. Color theory, critical and theoretical spaces for thinking and art production moved into the forefront of my thinking. Performance which has always been an innate aspect of my identity became an acceptable tool that I could incorporate into my practice. I think having Magdalena Campos Pons as a mentor. Other instructors such as Peter Halley, Robert Storr, and Huma Bhaba, Mickalene Thomas and other amazing artists also elevated how I thought about art not just as passion but as a commodity connected to the art market.

AOG: Can you tell us a bit more about yourself outside of your work?

MF: I'm married, have two beautiful children, write poetry, freestyle, still shoot hoops, love chess and frequently find that mentorship through teaching is also a driving passion of mine.

AOG: Any advice for the next generation of artists?

MF: My advice to the next generation of artists is quite simple, "Be the change that you want to see.” I think, essentially give yourself the space to believe that your reality and future can be formed by your dedication to your dream. Each mark, each cut, each thought buildings on top of another and is of great importance so use them wisely before someone else does.
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Abigail Ogilvy Gallery looks forward to hosting our inaugural solo exhibition with Marlon Forrester in September of 2021.