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Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava
What do Philip Guston, George Segal, Jeffrey Gibson, Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Wade Guyton have in common? At least three things. One, they’re all Artists. Second, they each had a NoteWorthy Show up in NYC this summer. Third, I bring them together in my look at each of those shows here as part of my coverage of the busiest summer in the NYC Art world since before the pandemic began.
Philip Guston: What Kind of Man Am I? @ The Metropolitan Museum
Installation view of 5 of the 8 works on view in this gallery gleaming under the just completed skylight project. Another work, one of his “abstractions” from the 1950s, which I wrote about here, was hung outside the door in the corridor to the Modern Wing to my right. Click any Photo for full size.
In Part 3 of my series on Edward Hopper’s New York I wrote about the Whitney Museum’s handling (mishandling?) of the extraordinary Jo Hopper Bequest in 1970. I mentioned that it was a lesson for other Artists going forward. In December, 2022, word came that Musa Mayer, daughter of Philip Guston (1913-80), had decided to donate 220 works by her father to The Met. As an American Artist (born in Canada), there’s little doubt the Whitney Museum of American Art (who currently own 3 of his Paintings, and 6 Drawings) was considered for this gift at some point (I surmise). Did their handling of the Jo Hopper Bequest (in which they the Whitney THREW OUT virtually all of Jo Hopper’s Art, and have recently sold a notable Edward Hopper Painting), enter into her decision?
Musa Mayer, the lady responsible for this extraordinary gift, discusses the finer points of one of her father’s Nixon Drawings @ Hauser & Wirth in January, 2017.
I don’t know. Ms. Mayer opted to make this exceptional & vitally important donation to The Met.
Riding Around, 1969, left, and Sleeping, 1977, right, both Oil on canvas.
To mark the occasion, The Met mounted Philip Guston: What Kind of Man Am I?, a concise, but powerful show of 8 Paintings. The show focused on the last decade of the Artist’s work from 1969 to 1980 and includes nothing but major works, in my opinion, including one of his “Klan” Paintings (which I wrote about in depth here). His last decade has gotten more and more attention as time has passed, after initially puzzling many viewers. Installed near the Impressionist and Van Gogh galleries, and not in the Modern & Contemporary Galleries across the hall (where at least one Guston is usually on view), I took that as an indication of The Met “saying” that Philip Guston is an Artist for the ages. I bet he’d be proud.
George Segal: Nocturnal Fragments @ Templon
Guiness Gold, 1995, Plaster, wood, acrylic, silverprint, 96 x 64 x 45 inches.
I can’t remember the last George Segal show I saw- if I’ve ever seen one. In fact, Mr. Segal (1924-2000), a contemporary of Philip Guston, may be best known to many New Yorkers through his Public Art installed in Port Authority Bus Station and his Gay Liberation Monument in Sheridan Square. Otherwise, it seems he has fallen into eclipse since he passed. So, George Segal: Nocturnal Fragments at Templon was a welcome surprise and an eye-opener.
Bus Station, 1995, Plaster and mixed media, 96 x 175 x 33 inches.
Mr. Segal is, perhaps, best known for his meditative Sculptures, but he was also a Painter and installation Artist. To this point, I’ve only seen his work in public settings, where the Artist places his figures in the existing surroundings. In Nocturnal Fragments we get to experience the full George Segal “effect” in environments of his own creation. It’s something no other Sculptor does and it works wonderfully here. The show provides a wonderful opportunity to experience the full effect of Mr. Segals’s skill over a generous period of time on two floors. I found it a breath of fresh air.
The Encounter, 1996, Plaster, wood, acrylic, silverprint 96 x 64 x 45 inches.
“Discovered” in a so-called “pop” Art show in 1962, Nocturnal Fragments shows, again, that Mr. Segal is much more and his work long ago outlived that tired box– if it was ever even in it!
Blue Woman Sitting on a Bed, 1996, Plaster, paint and wood, 96 x 96 x 83 inches. A different take on a scene that Edward Hopper mined often.
An influence on Duane Hanson and Ron Mueck, George Segal’s work has a unique mystery that reminds me more of Rodin than it does either of those two fine Artists. It seems to me it has more than held up since his passing, which should lead to his work being seen more often. I think a whole new generation of Art lovers will find much to like in George Segal’s work.
Jeffrey Gibson: Ancestral Superbloom @ Sikkema Jenkins
Have you ever seen a Painting shaped like this? SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME, 2023, Acrylic paint on elk hide inset in custom wood frame, 103 x 69 x 5 inches, hanging on the Artist’s Wallpaper (Untitled, I was told) which had a 3-D effect up close.
Jeffrey Gibson: Ancestral Superbloom was one of the most beautiful shows of recent memory, and aptly titled. A virtual supernova of color, most of the pieces centered on a quote from a popular song lyric, turning it into something of a mantra.
THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, 2023, Acrylic paint on canvas inset in custom frame, acrylic velvet, acrylic felt, glass beads, plastic beads, vintage pinback buttons, druzy crystal, artificial sinew, nylon thread, cotton canvas, cotton rope, 60 x 50 x 5 1/2 inches
His gifts with color are obvious at a glance, but it’s the clarity of his compositional conceptions and how extremely well he executes them that impress me, along with his fresh approach to, well, everything.
Detail of THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.
His work is incredibly detailed, requiring and rewarding viewers to work their way around each piece, with each detail adding to the richness and intricacy of the experience.
The show coincides with the publication of An Indigenous Present, a NighthawkNYC NoteWorthy Art Book of 2023, , conceived by Mr. Gibson, which features the work of 60 Indigenous Artists. It’s the best introduction to/overview of this work I’ve seen- an amazingly rich collection.
THE STARS LOOK VERY DIFFERENT TODAY, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset to custom wood frame, 88 x 80 inches. A line from David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Gibson: Ancestral Superbloom continues to add to his stature and importance.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby: Coming Back to See Through, Again @ Zwirner
Blend in – Stand out, 2019 Acrylic, colored pencil, charcoal, and transfers on paper 95 3/4 x 123 3/4 inches
Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s NYC debut, which this was, has been a long time coming. Perhaps best known to most from the series of enthralling books published around shows elsewhere, her work is in the Permanent Collections of The Met, MoMA and the Whitney Museums. Pretty precocious for an Artist only born in 1983 (in Nigeria, living and working in L.A. this century). Her career has been in steady ascent. Her latest work shows an amazing juxtaposition of time and techniques through her use of transfers and paint. Frankly, looking as closely as I could, I couldn’t figure out how she does it.
Potential, Displaced, 2021, Acrylic, colored pencil, and transfers on paper 72 1/4 x 60 inches
Layers of photo transfers are seamlessly combined with layers of paint. Each one increasing the depth and adding countless details to the story. Everything is rendered with such smoothness it was beyond me to discern layers that I knew were there. Her craft is as stunning as her Painting.
“The Beautyful Ones”Series #10: A Sunny Day on Bar Beach, 2022, Acrylic, colored pencil, pastel, charcoal, and transfers on paper, 78 1/2 x 53 3/4 inches.
It’s all in the service of her subjects, some she’s apparently related to, some not. They’re each treated with such compassion and understanding, it’s hard to tell which are which.
Detail.
Ms. Crosby’s work rewards the casual glance, and extended close study, while serving as something of a bridge from her life now (in the US since 1999), to her Nigerian upbringing. In the process, it helps others begin to understand it, as she presents it in a multifaceted memory standing on layers of time, history and place.
Wade Guyton @ Matthew Marks
Installation view. All works are Epson UltraChrome HDX inkjet on linen 84 x 69 inches each.
Wade Guyton’s installations are always an interesting element of his entire show experience. In fact, his book Zwei Dekaden emphasizes just that aspect in over 200 installation views over two decades. It’s now like it wouldn’t be a Wade Guyton show without the installation. And so it was at Matthew Marks. The unique steel rack installation was explained thus- “In 2021 Guyton moved into another floor of his studio building that the previous tenant, a clothing company, had filled with metal hanging racks. Rather than remove the racks, he repurposed them to hang his paintings for storage. In the current exhibition, Guyton has duplicated this set of racks and installed paintings in the same manner,” per the press release.
I couldn’t resist making the installation part of seeing the work.
The work looked handsome on its mounts and the structures themselves provided for interesting “other” views of each piece as a visitor moved through the racks. Cross members added unexpected elements to works on the next row and provided a chance to see pieces at a bit of a distance.
Untitled, 2022, (WG5374)
But all of this is secondary to what’s being displayed. Wade Guyton has been at the forefront of combining Printmaking and Painting in interesting ways for a long time. Admirers will find new takes on some familiar themes, but there is also much that is new. The sense of being “somewhere else” was interrupted by pieces based on New York Times front pages; recent headlines jarring a visitor back to “reality.” I love how he incorporates images/Photos into his work, and some of the printing of others has a “squeegee” look that always reminds me of Jack Whitten. Here, it’s still fresh and it’s nice to see the Artist continue to find new possibilities. As he has, once again, with his installation. Both work extremely well together.
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