DIVINE VIOLENCE
October 5 – November 3, 2007
The Project
37 W 57th Street
3rd Floor New York, NY 10019
www.elproyecto.com "In “Divine Violence,” Daniel Joseph Martinez presents 128 gold paintings from a continuing research project aimed at naming all the groups in the world currently attempting to enforce politics through violence. In direct reference to religious icons, where the gilded background serves as a sign of divine grace, the paintings in “Divine Violence” are gold-colored panels featuring the hand-painted names of the radical political groups.
The transformation of the gallery space into a secular space of contemplation brings to mind Rothko’s chapel, and the installation functions as a commemoration and a record. Neither is the series encyclopedic, but instead it is an ever-growing rhizome of political terror. The artist acknowledges that the ongoing project is quixotic: his list currently runs to 1700 such groups, and the names are in a constant flux, so a final list is impossible. In that sense, “Divine Violence” is like a frozen glimpse of a chaotic process, and a view of aesthetics existing hand in hand with fear."
Lida Abdul
What We Saw Upon Awakening
October 4–November 17, 2007
Location One
http://www.location1.org/
'In What We Saw Upon Awakening the artist has created a surreal vision of the de-construction of a ruin. Remarkable for its compositional beauty and restraint, this film is a meditation on the aftermath of war, exposing the tangled after shocks of destruction, acceptance and renewal. In six minutes of classically framed and beautifully conceived cinematic shots, we watch as a group of men pull in a united effort on long white ropes, straining under this Herculean task. Slowly we grow aware that the ropes are tied to the stone walls of an actual house destroyed by a recent bombing in Kabul, which the men are striving to pull down. At first their efforts seem puny and ineffectual against impossible odds; their actions become a metaphor of all survivors’ attempt to deal with the devastation of war. Later the film ends with a burial ritual, symbolizing closure and a moment of communal healing when the ruins are finally put to rest so that life can begin anew."
Carsten Nicolai
Static Balance
October 5 - November 3, 2007
Pace Wildenstein
www.pacewildenstein.com
"In static balance (2007) ambient noise bounces off the surface of parabolic mirrors producing an acoustic field of varying density according to your location within the installation. A second work, fades (2006), mixes mathematical equations—primarily sine functions—and computer-generated images into a gradual increase and decrease of light intensity. White noise fills the space, and the light beams’ three dimensional qualities are accentuated by lingering stands of mist. static parabol 1 and static parabol 2 are two large horizontal wall works measuring 6 ½ feet by 13 feet. Without sound these static works evoke the pure pattern of their mathematical design."
Chiem and Read - I Am As You Will Be The Skeleton in Art
September 20 - November 3, 2007
www.cheimread.com/current
This is a group exhibition featuring works by more than 30 artists in which skeletons are the main subject. Included are drawings, paintings photographs and sculptures.
Paul Noble
Dot to Dot
September 20 - October 27
Gagosian Gallery
www.gagosian.com
Paul Noble was born in 1963 and lives and works in London. His large scale drawings often made by linking numerous pieces of paper depict fantasy worlds and abstract landscapes. In this installation he also exhibitions ceramic sculptures, and rugs but it is the drawings that stand out for their intricacy and depiction of both real and imagined places
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