artists of interest in the NEXT Fair

Here, briefly, are some works that I thought were interesting in the NEXT fair:

Christine Tarkowski's installation. I saw her work towards the end of my visit on Sunday and there was not enough time to take it in so I can't really comment on it in a sufficient manner, but it was enough to make me want to know more about this Chicago-based artist. Above is a photo from the fair and below is a link to her work on the Priska C. Juschka Fine Art website: www.priskajuschkafineart.com/artists/Christine_Tarkowski/statement.php



The Chadwicks (J. Blachly and L. Shaw): The Golden Age Micro Brewery at Winkleman Gallery
(image to the right). I'm not really sure how this work is used--as a prop for performance, photography, or installation (or perhaps all of those things). There is a funny photocopied pamphlet that accompanies this structure that looks like one of those roving puppet carts that one sees on the street (although inside of the pamphlet the viewer is playfully chastised for not being able to distinguish this model from those puppet carts). Below is a link to the gallery owner's blog. The gallery site doesn't mention the Chadwicks. www.edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com/2008/04/forecast-windy-with-chance-of-high.html.

Paul Shambroom's work addresses structures of power. Shambroom is a Minneapolis-based artist. He had a fabulous show awhile back at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Photography of his series "Meetings". At NEXT I believe he was showing in the Kavi Gupta booth. The photograph displayed at NEXT is part of his current project "Security" which documents, according to Shambroom's website, "official U.S. government preparedness and training in the aftermath of 9/11. Here is a link to Paul's website to view his work: www.paulshambroomart.com





Also of interest were a set of three photographs by Joao Paedro Santos. Interiors lit by some kind of fluorescent lighting system that are present in the works. Really beautiful and mesmerizing. I zoned out on finding his gallery representation.

















Lastly, I really loved this piece by Kristof Kintera at the Jiri Svestka Gallery in Prague www.jirisvestka.com. Simple execution; a great sound piece. The gallery director said that the piece had to be changed for the states as the discharge in Europe put out 50,000 volts, but the electrical wiring here would only put out 25,000 volts. He said it was still dangerous anyway. Here is a poorly documented video of the work: