Gary Gissler, "whiteness of the whale", 2018, Paper and ink on gessoed panel, 60 x 48 in.
What's with the dead bodies? Yes, that's an actual question from the New York fairs. This week on the podcast, I invited the artist William Powhida on to the show ostensibly to discuss what we saw last week. The discussion, though, ended up going far deeper. On the podcast, we talk about:
What we want from art in an increasingly tumultuous world
What landscapes, florals, and a dead body trend at the fair say about the world.
The shifting landscape of art, which includes many new faces and names
Plus, we talk about all the work in the shows that sparked thought!
At 1:13:13 in the podcast William Powhida mentions how artist Gary Gissler caught their eye at The SPRING/BREAK Art Show:
“And then…very close by there was I think work by the artist Gary Gissler. I hope I am not confusing Gary with another artist… It was at Anita Rogers Gallery. The artist in the exact opposite way… the harsh collective of work he had like obsessively arranged a full chapter of Moby Dick using like tiny individual characters cut out in like a 6-point font or smaller. So, on the very sort of large piece you’re looking at just what appears to be a kind of like textural, minimalist pattern but it’s an entire chapter of Moby Dick. And so, this relationship to like fine, obsessive drawing or typography played out in like a few different works. I just thought that was like a really kind of strong body of work that stood out at the fair." - William Powhida