only as bright as you wanted me to be

Alex. 21. Buffalo (mostly). Aspiring Art Historian. Frequent concert goer. Perpetually over-caffeinated.

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2018 has kind of felt like the longest year ever, so I almost forgot that the best exhibition I saw all year was way back in January. I finally got to spend an extended amount of time with the work of Anthony McCall, an artist whose work has been close to my heart for several years now. The thing that continues to surprise me about his work is how well it photographs — nothing but an iPhone camera and no filter, and you get a good idea of his “solid light works” which exist in the space between sculpture and film. #AnthonyMcCall #contemporaryart #projectedimageart #newmediaart #avantgardefilm (at Pioneer Works) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsBgeuLlLao/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=td0na8qvdprx

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A few more days still to catch the wonderfully irreverent Sarah Lucas show at the New Museum. I would never choose yellow as a wall color for an exhibition, but somehow it works! Start at the second floor and go up because the third floor is the best of the three. #SarahLucas #newmuseum #newmuseumofcontemporaryart #contemporaryart #contemporarysculpture #youngbritishartists https://www.instagram.com/p/Br-x-sElGCE/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3flzt3kzvzxl

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End of year catch up on exhibitions I didn’t post about yet: David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake At Night at the Whitney. People were raving about this show and it didn’t do a lot for me, but these works were some of my favorites in it. #DavidWojnarowicz #contemporarypainting #contemporaryart #whitney #whitneymuseum #whitneymuseumofamericanart (at Whitney Museum of American Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/Br81VGXFrHx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=85m7dbk5i69v

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I was going to do a countdown of museums that I visited for the first time this year, and then I thought about doing a countdown of the best shows I saw this year, but both of those ideas required planning that I didn’t do, so instead I’m going to pay shows that I saw this year that I haven’t posted about already. First, Adrian Piper at MoMA, just about the most un-MoMA show I’ve ever seen at MoMA. Here, an early work from when she was making modular and minimalist paintings. #adrianpiper #moma #museumofmodernart #contemporaryart https://www.instagram.com/p/Br57RX4lPGH/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18j7xys9vlo0v

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Who would guess that you can currently see not one, but two plasticy sculptures of bathtubs in museums in DC?!? Rachel Whiteread at the NGA / Claes Oldenburg at the Hirshhorn #RachelWhiteread #ClaesOldenburg #contemporaryart #postwarart #postwarsculpture #hirshhorn #hirshhornmuseum #nga #ngadc #nationalgalleryofart #myngadc https://www.instagram.com/p/Br3XIEilgu3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gahvfx8plz9k

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(Not quite) Christmas lights but at least red and green because I couldn’t just post the Philippe Parreno tree again, right? #KeithSonnier #minimalism #postminimalism #contemporaryart #fluorescentlightart https://www.instagram.com/p/Br0XLFVlyl_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wfo24m52z0mw

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Someday I’m going to make a coffee table book of weirdly hung exhibitions, and the John Waters show that’s currently up at the Baltimore Museum Of Art will certainly make it in there. Have you seen any interesting weirdly hung shows recently? #JohnWaters #contemporaryart #baltimoremuseumofart #bma #exhibitionshot #installationshot https://www.instagram.com/p/Brx7_CVlyST/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7xd0nahncxwq

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2018, a summary. jk I’m doing alright even though this year has had its challenges. Go see the very weird and awesome John Waters exhibition (more images to come soon) at the Baltimore Museum Of Art before it closes in early January. #JohnWaters #BaltimoreMuseumOfArt #BMA #contemporaryart (at The Baltimore Museum of Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bru-qoyl-9i/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19jyutap79z6d

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Thinking about the context in which we encounter art, because when am I not? Mark Bradford’s “Tomorrow Is Another Day” at the Baltimore Museum Of Art, which I first saw last summer in the American pavilion at the Venice Biennale. In some ways better as pavilion than an exhibition in and of itself, it was somehow also more meaningful to see this work in an American city, and at a museum with such a clear vision of the possibilities of contemporary art. Wall texts so on point, giving useful context for the works and their titles, while still leaving interpretive room for the viewer (also: note that these are now in MoMA’s and Glenstone’s collections!) #MarkBradford #BaltimoreMuseumOfArt #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #abstractart #abstractpainting (at The Baltimore Museum of Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/Brs7_AlFSxB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=c6mdlu57z3tw

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Reminiscing about warm and long summer days on the shortest day of the year, when it happens to be 65 degrees out. Grateful for all the art adventures that 2018 brought me, especially that I got to finally visit the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. On view here is a lovely work by Francois Morellet (an artist largely new to me this year). #FrancoisMorellet #minimalism #postminimalism #contemporaryart #conceptualart (at Fondation Louis Vuitton) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrqjOBxltCV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nutjt6byv0sv

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Painting that’s painting but also something else, part 3 of 3: the process behind these works by Pieter Schoolwerth is incredible. He starts by gathering a group of people together, and photographs their shadows. He takes a photo of the shadow, and then builds a multi-dimensional foamcore model. He photographs the model, and then overlays digital imagery onto the photo. Finally, he paints thick brushstrokes in parts of the digital printout. I’d seen a couple at art fairs here and there before, but there’s a nice group of them on view at Miguel Abreu Gallery’s group show “Bubble Revision” that’s up for a few more days! #pieterschoolwerth #contemporarypainting #contemporaryart #miguelabreugallery https://www.instagram.com/p/Brnout2l0hK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11tvahs7al42v

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Painting that’s painting but also something else, part 2 of 3: new works by Seth Price (whose recent show at PS1 I did not love) at Petzel, combining photography, silkscreening, and painting onto canvases producing beautifully ambiguous and sensual compositions (thanks Luca from @lisson_gallery for the tip about this one!) #SethPrice #petzelgallery #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #abstractpainting #abstractart https://www.instagram.com/p/BrktquvlFpy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h6e6h7u5z3vf

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Painting that’s painting and something else, part 1 of 3: Richard Prince at Gagosian. A very Gagosian artist accompanied by a decidedly un-Gagosian press release (seriously, look it up) making work that I might have been more into if it was literally anybody other than Richard Prince, but which could possibly be interesting on its own, as long as we don’t get too caught up in the ahistorical use of primitivism. Made through digital combinations of drawings that Prince made in the 1970s and 80s, plus layering of paint on top of them, this series continues Prince’s exploration of appropriation and originality. (I don’t know why I didn’t take better pictures or any detail shots, sorry). #RichardPrince #Gagosian #GagosianGallery #RichardPrince #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting https://www.instagram.com/p/BriN0WmlWgJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kh19xwg8l1ba

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Golden hour glow flooding onto Richard Dibenkorn, totally changing the composition, with Carl Andre (that is not a bench) in the foreground #RichardDiebenkorn #CarlAndre #modernart #contemporaryart #minimalism #abstractexpressionism #abstractart #abstractpainting #nationalgalleryofart #ngadc #myngadc (at National Gallery of Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrgboXClbtn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=j0dnzesctexd

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Turns out that when you put two esoteric artists together, they’re not any more comprehensible...(I’ve tried to read Liam Gillick’s “Industry and Intelligence” several times and it’s put me to sleep on multiple international flights and trains) #LiamGillick #AdamPendleton #evapresenhubergallery #contemporaryart #conceptualart https://www.instagram.com/p/BrdCRbyla8p/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1r4yx8neejo8f

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Art reflecting art (and self): Louise Bourgeois “Spirals” show of work from the full range of her career, at Cheim and Read (sadly their last public show) #LouiseBourgeois #cheimandread #contemporaryart #modernart #postwarart https://www.instagram.com/p/BrapgLTFoz8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zk0e5284dsjp

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My favorite moment in Lévy Gorvy’s lovely Calder / Kelly show, where a white Calder mobile and the shadows that it casts become nearly indistinguishable. #AlexanderCalder #EllsworthKelly #Calder #Kelly #Levygorvy #modernart #contemporaryart @levygorvy (at Lévy Gorvy) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrX3ARflAl2/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ut2bo2xc4seo