 |
| Antony, Untitled |
By Bryant Rousseau
With his piercing falsetto and maudlin sentiment, I find the music of
Antony and his Johnsons largely unbearbale (I know this makes me a bad person). But he's actually pretty damn good as a visual artist, as his second outing at Sikkema Jenkins proves, where he is part of the gallery's "
Works on Paper" exhibition, on view through Oct. 4.
 |
| Antony, Untitled |
His small works on paper have a great sense of
color, texture and composition and are as pleasant to view as his songs are irritating for the ear to endure. Here's hoping he drops his singing gig to concentrate on producing more art--I'd be curious to see what he creates working on a larger scale.
 |
| Marlene McCarthy, exhibition view |
Also in the show are large-scale drawings by
Marlene McCarthy, an artist I first stumbled across probably more than a decade ago and have never forgotten, though her work is not exhibited that frequently. Her early works stuck in my mind because of their erotic power, drawings of youths wearing transparent clothing (and later, and less successfully, drawings of woman-gorilla love). The four works in this show are modest in subject matter--large drawings of a woman's head, seen from the rear or side. They lack a sensual punch, but confirm her status as an exceptional draftsman, with each strand of hair a lovely line.
 |
| An early work by McCarthy |
The other three artists in the show are
Jorge Queiroz,
Marc Handelman and the gallery's superstar,
Kara Walker. For a show on paper, my favorite medium, at one of my favorite galleries, it was overall a disappointing experience, with Handelman and Queiroz failing to impress, and the one work from the majestic Walker unable to save the day.
See Everything, Say Something Rating: 58
