seeing it
A BUTCHER'S #46
A BUTCHER’S hook/look (Cockney rhyming slang)
in black and white
A quick catch up on what’s on in Chelsea - last week my round started and ended with two powerful exhibitions. If there was a theme to the day, I would say that it was black and white. By removing color, the emphasis is on composition, lighting, and textures, which are crucial elements in storytelling. Here’s a quick look at what I was looking at.
re-think
Don McCullin is a fantastic photographer - when one looks at his photographs, it’s hard not to think of what it was actually like to be him, right there, taking the photo - total immersion.
With his fame and notoriety as a photographer of war, strife, famine, working in such hostile environments as Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Biafra, among many others, I wasn’t aware of his interest in Roman sculpture. He is so skilled at capturing the human story, it’s not surprising that he adds his pertinent observation to what otherwise would be a very nice photo of a Roman sculpture.
‘We must not allow ourselves to forget that such beauty came at a price; this, after all was stone quarried by enslaved people and the statuary itself became the spoils of war, looted across centuries from country to country to this day’
This is a must-see show, If you can get there. The prints are so good to see up close - those blacks! If you are not around, here is a link to A Desecrated Serenity at Hauser & Wirth on 18th St. and get an eyeful.
potted
With our attention caught by the ceramics inside, we dropped by Rago/Wright’s auction showroom.
Naturally, I had to follow up on how the auction went which was scheduled for the next day. Very interesting. What can I say? - a lot of people out there have a lot of money! I mean I really like the work - it’s just that I cannot imagine being able to spend that much on a pot (albeit an excellent pot). Oh well.
Left: pair of vessels $33K (est $10-15K) Middle: monumental disc pot $21.6K (est $6-8K) Right: b/w pot $17.8K ($4-6K)
dazzling
‘Dazzle’ disruptive camouflage in WWl - the aim wasn’t to conceal the ship but to thwart tracking and range finding, making it difficult to estimate a target’s range, speed, and direction. The shading and depth of solid, recognizable shapes could be flattened through the use of paint. Very Cubist I’d say (and so did Picasso!)
and here’s a nice glass piece by Richard Marquis at R & Company
slowdown
In a time of image overload and relentless fleeting tragedy, this is Robert Longo’s way of slowing it all down - from the time spent creating each piece, layer by layer, with the oldest drawing material there is, charcoal, to your time spent looking at it. Monumental and cataclysmic in scale, he describes them as ‘epic’ - drawings that treat images as language, exploring volume, space, and form while challenging perception.
There’s something unsettling about being drawn into these hyper-real, large-scale depictions of tragedy and tension - riot police, raging forest fires, violent crashes, and overcrowded boats of migrants.
Take time to absorb the show at Pace, up till the 25th. or here at The Weight of Hope,
black & white in color
Of course, sometimes the urge to colorize was overwhelming. Another gem from the postcard pile.
Just a note here - I recommend installing the Substack app (free) on your phone. It’s easier, works well and looks better! Or online here - browse away!
