Art openings rock. Yes, there’s art, and that’s really great and all, but what’s truly great about art openings is the Open Bar where wine (and sometimes stronger stuff too!) flows freely. And that’s what initially brought me over to Cueto Project at 551 W21st St (www.cuetoproject.com) where Artists Anonymous had installed their latest show I hate the World and the World Hates Me. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the booze was the least interesting thing in the room!
As I wander through the hanging art and installations I am struck by an emotional rawness, an unhindered comfortability with the shocking and grotesque. A truly unnerving piece featuring a contemporary interpretation of Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Destruction, made me glad for the bright gallery lighting. This is one Goddess you do NOT want to meet in a dark alley. My other favorite piece was an installation of a black room. The walls, chair, floor, rug, computer, dog, rat and taxidermied deer head on the wall were all painted flat black. There was a large painting hanging on the back wall, painted gloss on matte black of a grinning clown. In this blacked-out world there was one thing untouched — a tree. The tree is either swallowed and drowning in that black existence, or a ray of light illuminating the life of whatever poor wretched being calls the place their home. It held me for so long I had to sit on the floor and get comfortable. The natural next step was to look for the placard telling me who created this complex world — but there was none to be seen. Then I noticed something was off, I began looking at all the pieces and there were no plaques in the gallery. No signatures on the art itself. Interview time.
Read the rest of the article through my column at: classicwines.com
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Happy new year!