There are many wonderful summer shows up right now in Chelsea, from group shows to solo exhibitions, sculpture to painting to mixed media; you certainly get a little taste of everything. While I enjoyed many exhibitions, there are three that left a strong impression on me: Annie Pearlman/Adrianne Rubenstein/Alyson Vega at White Columns, Skins: Body as Matter and Process at Garth Greenan Gallery and Intimisms at James Cohan Gallery.
Curator Alison Dillulio's Skins: Body as Matter and Process discusses the 1970's second wave feminism, in which artists challenged the patriarchal paradigms in art . With works by Lynda Benglis, Mary Beth Edelson, Harmony Hammond, Ralph Humphrey, Kiki Kogelnik, Howardena Pindell, Zilia Sánchez, Joan Semmel, Richard Van Buren, and Hannah Wilke, the show is diverse in medium and style. Many of the works consist of the representation of the body (mainly the female body)- a rebellious subject to make the epicenter of one's work at the time. The works are sensual-a warm and almost erotic air palpable throughout the space. Yet at the same time, you can feel the groundbreaking nature; the artists decision to change art through material, subject matter, color scheme, and process. My personal favorites are Kiki Kogelnik's Untitled (Hanging) and Zilia Sánchez's Troyanas, poliptico but the exhibition is full of strong works. Open until 29 July, Skins: Body as Matter and Process is a very important show to see this summer.
