By far the best work I saw during the Bushwick Open Studios was by Ross Tibbles. His work of mixed media and found objects, insist on something familiar and airy – yet eerily dark. Something about his aesthetic really appeals to me. The ripped paper mounted on half painted board, just the hood of a grey sweatshirt hanging. I just could not take my eyes off the unbalanced yellow level with some kind of gas tank covered in yearbook portrait papier-mâché .
The icing on the delicious treat that was the Tibbles studio visit, was instead of the typical exhibition contact info postcards, Tibbles thumbtacked a ‘missing cat’ tearsheet with his contact info to the door. A work of art on its own right.
Honourable mention to JR Larson, amazing functional sculptures made of raw organic materials. Especially love the birch trees.
Aaron Williams’ photographs are printed on paper that is crushed, wrinkled and cut to introduce new perspectives in the landscape and the other works that explore portraiture superimposed into reconstituted landscapes. Very striking.
The paintings and illustrations by Julia Norton, bring washes of vibrant colour over finely outlined layers of mountain surface drawn in pen. The vivid colours add a vintage hyperreal quality to her washed coloured landscapes.
Loved the abstract photography by Carmen Von K. In this age of instagram and visual photo sharing, it is such a pleasure to re-look at photography in an unconventional way. The photos are closeups of layers of tape and cardboard, but the size of the print and the way the bright pop colours intersect the textures of the tape makes looking at an non-objective photo such a pleasure.
