Artists:
Jennifer Bornstein, Judith Bernstein, Frances Stark
Venue: Gavin Brown, New York
(Date: March 1 – April 19, 2014)
Full gallery of video, images, press release and link available after the jump.
Video:
Frances Stark, Bobby Jesus’s Alma Mater b/w Reading the Book of Davis and/or Paying Attention Is Free, 2013. Inkjet print on paper and multichannel projection with sound, vinyl text and posters. TRT: 7:20 min.
Images:
Video courtesy of Frances Stark and Gavin Brown, New York. Photos courtesy of Gavin Brown, New York.
Press Release:
Jennifer Bornstein printed the gallery space. This doesn’t mean metaphorically but literally and physically. Monotype prints were pulled from the floor, window, ceiling beams, heating vents, and cracks under the walls. To do this, the architectural elements in the room (doors, beams, etc.) were rolled with oil-based printing inks and images pulled from their surfaces. The footprint of the 30′ x 40′ gallery floor was jack-hammered with a line running north to south, then inked up like a printing plate and printed using oil-based ink.
Judith Bernstein’s Birth of the Universe is a new and visionary body of work by this New York– based artist. Her provocative art embodies the psychological amalgamation of sex, violence, and feminism in different orders and priorities. In this current series, fluorescent and rich oil paint exemplifies the chaos, violence, and nuclear explosion that was The Big Bang. She probes the origin of space, time, and infinity, using the rage of the active cunt as the primal source in the expanding universe. These paintings delve into issues regarding relationships and gender with a literal dialogue between the active cunt and the phallus. Bernstein’s universe presents intricate connections between individuals, objects, galaxies, and electromagnetic energy. Interactive forces are responsible for all phenomena and the powerful dynamic reflects back to human interaction.
Bernstein attended the Yale School of Art as a graduate student in the 60s, during a time when Yale had an all-male undergraduate program. The gender inequality was extreme. This fact and many others led to her obsession with feminism and political injustices. During this time, Bernstein became fascinated with explicit bathroom drawings. She explains that graffiti is deeper than one can imagine, because when one’s releasing on the toilet, they’re also releasing from their subconscious. In her Fuck Vietnam series (1966-68), she used raw humor and aggression to confront war with graphic, in-your-face words and imagery. “No visual is as crude as war.” In 1970, Bernstein made the leap to drawing hardware screws that morphed into humongous charcoal phallic presences. They are power images that continue to characterize war and feminism. Bernstein’s art is a self-portrait of her ideas and provides a window into her subconscious. Her voice continues to scream.
Frances Stark’s newest video installation, Bobby Jesus’s Alma Mater b/w Reading the Book of David and/or Paying Attention Is Free, debuted at the 2013 Carnegie International and is inspired in part by Bobby, a self-described resident of “planet ’hood” who has become the artist’s “student, model, apprentice, and guide.” Legendary west coast gangster rapper DJ Quik (née David Blake) also plays a role. Lyrics written by Stark are set to Quik’s music and projected onto a wall mural with over 80 images.
