Serial Meditations at Nurture Art

Serial Meditations at Nurture Art
Originally uploaded by killerfemme

Nurture Art is one of my favorite galleries, and yet it has been over two years since I have been there. On Friday I attended the opening of "Serial Meditations" at the new Nurture Art space at the edge of the Williamsburg/Bushwick industrial area. This show was curated by Melissa Messina and Amy Brandt and includes the artists Ju Young, Ban, Judith Braun, Janice Caswell, Richard Garrison, Bridget Lewis, Rita MacDonald, David Pierce, Patrick Schmidt, Tina Schneider and Eliza Stamps. I first met Melissa and Amy in the context of the Brooklyn Museum's show Global Feminisms, which they both worked on. In contrast to that very in your face, political show, Serial Mediations, as its name implies, is quiet. Most of the pieces are black and white, monochromatic or use color in a very subtle manner. Looking at the work has a calming effect and while they often simply use lines and shapes, I felt like I could continue looking at the works and seeing more in them. This was certainly true of Richard Garrison's spirograph drawing, which created a thick, black line on creme colored paper. By repeating overlapping circles with a ball point pen Garrison created a texture and depth to the image that almost looked like it was produced by an etching. In contrast, Birdget Lewis' piece of delicate strings of glue suspended from with silver pins is as much about the shadow it creates on the wall and it's interaction with the light than the actual object itself. In its tranquility this show is very exciting because instead of leaving feeling nothing, despite the minimal nature of the work, I felt revitalized.
I also posted this on the riffrag blog.