REVIEWDUMP 09.01.25
Cedric Bardawil, Flowers, MASSIMODECARLO
I did say I would be experimenting with formats; namely the REVIEWDUMP, which I plan on pumping out after gallery hopping on Thursdays when I’m in London. I really do love the quickfire DivaCorp/early MAR style but I’m not entirely sure I’m a good enough writer to pull it off — that being said, my immediate Notes-app/voice memo opinions do tend to be more representative of my thoughts than a Google-doc opinion I’ve taken five days to edit, and are probably more digestible. Feedback on my humble but correct opinions is very much welcome as I enter this new phase.
Auguries of Innocence — Cedric Bardawil
★★★★☆
In terms of acting as a ‘snapshot of contemporary painting’, the Anomie Review has got it pretty bang on: blurry and overtextured portraiture, high contrast flash-style umbra, semi-fauvist landscapes, way more acrylic than oil. I was afraid that a lot of this work would be afraid to commit to itself; while there is a lot of thin-to-over layering/blank space/visible canvas, it generally works in the arts favour. There is always the niggling fear that these sorts of choices are motivated by a lack of ability rather than a deliberate engagement in symbolic technicality, but this is a gripe that goes back way further than the millennial conte. Standouts are Lindsey Bull and Victoria Cantons, if only for the post-ironic embrace of tradition - spent a good half hour or so entranced by David’s urethra in Maverick (2024), which my companion adored and I hated for very similar reasons. Great piece. It’s a pleasant if slightly undaring show that nevertheless raises good questions about the extent to which the Western canon continues to influence new artists, and I’ll certainly take it over yet another review exhibition full of oilpaint memes on canvas and boorish textile art.
Jakkai Siributr, There's no Place — Flowers
★☆☆☆☆
Speaking of textile art, which I know we’ve all found difficult to talk about since the Unravel exhibition, so much of it now feels like it’s trying to be something else, usually Cecilia Vicuña. The idea that textile isn’t somehow important to every culture is weirdly totemic, especially in a curatorial context so focused on contextualisation. I am sick of non-Western (South American and East Asian in particular) art being presented as some delicate, imagined and exotic formality rather than a well established and legitimate movement that has had extremely significant ramifications on the general develop of contemporary art as it stands today.1 Siributr’s work is too heavy and structural to speak directly to the impressive canon of contemporary textile work without the whole thing screaming of Levi-Straussism. When I say his work is too gravitational I don’t mean it figuratively — the materials work against the message and it’s unpleasant to look at, his additions often drag awkwardly and rely too heavily (literally) on their own support, which sort of negates the whole point of fiber-based art. Go light or go home (or lean more into the language of vexillology, as he did for the Manchester show).
Ruby Neri, Chorus — MASSIMODECARLO
★★☆☆☆
I’ve had a soft spot for Massimo since the poodle piece at Frieze New York but sadly they failed to translate their usual wit over into their latest show. Sculpture is always welcome in the London scene but when it’s just a collection of badly-crafted Nicki de Saint Phalle rip-offs, the charm gets lost pretty quickly. It’s a very nicely curated show that makes great use of a very beautiful space, but Neri’s works simply aren’t good enough in and of themselves to carry anything beyond a brief umbrella pleasure. This is meant to be a show that embodies a “psychological garden where figures and nature entwine, embodying the complexity of human moods, relationships, and everyday life” but all I see is a lot of very static and cartoonish works. There’s a broader discussion to be had about the failures of modern artists to embrace all the pleasures that this kind of stuff can/should bring, but there’s a double frustration in seeing some very good technical talent being wasted on such a dull subject matter.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A slow but predictable start to what is shaping up to be a slow but predictable year. For 2025, I’m putting an embargo on the following verbs: challenge, question, defy, invite, and reconsider. If you are a press officer or gallery owner and use any of these words in an email or press release I will personally demand a 1000 word essay explaining how your artist does whatever term you’ve chosen. Unsatisfactory responses owe me a bottle of whatever Chardonnay you’ve ordered for your next PV.2
Anni Albers, Fred Sandback, Judith Scott, etc.
This obviously does not apply to me, avatar of artistic literary rectitude, who will be interviewing the excellent Makiko Harris, Ana Luiza Rodrigues, and Meryl Donoghue at the London Art Fair during the Encounters panel — which will invite us to simultaneously challenge, question and reconsider how materials, culture, and personal histories intersect within contemporary art. Hope to see many of you there.