Bozidar Brazda, installation view, Image courtesy Bortolami gallery
Standing on the north side of 25th and 10th allows pedestrians such as myself to glance into Bortolami’s front window and make superficial judgments on shows such as the Bozidar Brazda exhibition currently on display. Just last week, the chained table hanging from the ceiling seemed to me exemplary of the crap that lands in Chelsea galleries these days, so I didn’t go in. The decision was probably influenced by the Hope Atherton exhibition I attended in 2006 , which was filled with paintings that were beautifully executed – so much so that they felt like decorative objects before anything else.
The kind of snap judgments are made all the time when viewing art, even though it often leads to overlooked, and lazily evaluated subject matter. In the case of Bozidar Brazda, B. Blagojevic’s review on artcal zine suggests the artist’s work may easily fall prey to such problems describing it as “challenging, and the rewards for scrutinizing observers are mixed.” Blagojevic goes on to examine the installation in one of the most thorough and invested reviews of a conceptual art exhibition I have read on the web. Mimicking the back and forth within the piece itself, Blagojevic does not give us a clear thumbs up or down on the piece, opting instead to lay out an array of levels upon which the work functions and evaluates it’s effectiveness at each stage.
Aside from inspiring a great deal of thought on an artist I never thought I’d spend that much time on, the review reminds me of why I like the emerging personality of artcal zine. It fills an absence on the web that has long needed addressing; the long form review (modernkicks not withstanding), and a focus on conceptual art and low cost or free events. At present I’m a fan of anything that provides some relief from the market driven reviews and stories that currently litter most US publications, which I guess means more coverage of the hoyty toyty intellectual crowd from us. Well, that and or regular updates from the art section of fleshbot.
{ 3 comments }
Someone told me that Bozidar Brazda doesn’t show at Bortolami Gallery. Did he quit? Probably not related to this review of that review. But somewhat relevant.
Someone told me that Bozidar Brazda doesn’t show at Bortolami Gallery. Did he quit? Probably not related to this review of that review. But somewhat relevant.
Someone told me that Bozidar Brazda doesn’t show at Bortolami Gallery. Did he quit? Probably not related to this review of that review. But somewhat relevant.
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