The Life of The Journal At Venus Over Manhattan
By Katie Chen
The Journal Gallery at Venus Over Manhattan includes commissioned works from the gallery’s 21 current and former artists celebrating the zine and subsequent gallery. The exhibition, called “Life,” is a 10-year retrospective of the art collected by The Journal publication’s co-curators and founders, Michael Nevin and Julia Dippelhofer.
A Jeff Zilm film emulsion is shown across from an acrylic on canvas piece by his good friend, Jeff Elrod. Sarah Braman and Joe Bradley, who are both shown in the gallery, are also friends. The exhibition is not just the “life” of the zine, but the friendships of it as well.
Sam Moyer plays with the idea of pairs, employing a diptych, juxtaposing different materials. The bottom panels are marble slates while the top panels, though looking identical, are canvases made to replicate its bottom. Dan Rees also explores the use of complementary pairs with his works, which are acrylic paint on canvas that are then imprinted onto the wall. Displayed in titanium white and cadmium orange, Rees plays with textures, shapes and abstraction.
Leo Gabin, an artist collective of Lieven Deconinck, Gaëtan Begerem, and Robin De Vooght, is known for their contemporary take on painting, sculpture, and digital media. Their paintings, which mostly consist of collaged abstract content found via social media and Internet videos, are heavily influence by street art. Leo Gabin’s piece, All Facts, is the standout piece of their painting work.
The exhibition is on view at Venus Over Manhattan in New York through July 25, 2014.