BUY, TWEET, OR BURN: The Best and Worst of the Berlin Art Scene

Until the end of May, I’m away in the States for an exhibition I’m curating. This week’s Buy, Tweet, or Burn takes place in my home away from Berlin: New York City.

As a freelancer, I have a small and nearly empty bank account, but I still dream about buying artworks off the gallery walls. Of course, not all great art can hang above a couch, so my fanciful thoughts then fade to debating the merits of the works on hand and the art scene itself—typical thoughts for a critic and curator.

BUY
Jack Smith’s films and drawings at Barbara Gladstone Gallery.

I’m a fan of re-historicizing avant-garde figures whose works have fallen by the wayside. Jack Smith’s films are more erotic than Kenneth Anger and even a little messier. Every time I walked into Barbara Gladstone this week, the galleries were packed with an attentive audience. Artists Ryan McNamara, A.L. Steiner, and T.J. Wilcox were invited to utilize previously unreleased cinematic material by Smith to create contemporary works influenced by Smith’s mysterious, mythic, and performative approach to film making.

TWEET

Heard through the grapevine: artist Jessica Jackson Hutchins and her husband Stephen Malkmus will be moving to Berlin this fall. Although another Pavement reunion tour seems doubtful, artists in Berlin can rejoice because Jessica Jackson Hutchins will probably need to hire a studio assistant!

BURN
Curatorial concepts Martha Stewart would love.

The theme of Matthew Marks’ current show in its small 502 W. 22nd location is Spring: a larger-than-life fly by Katharina Fritsch, a series of tulips by Cy Twombly, and even more flowers provided by Terry Winters. This theme is just too cute for me: I would prefer a straightforward presentation to a silly concept suited for housewives.

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