Dan's Papers, October 22, 2010

Art Commentary by Marion W. Weiss

“Women” at Silas Marder (excerpt)

“The Silas Marder Gallery has to be the largest art venue in the Hamptons, considering that its structure is basically a barn. It’s also one of the most inventive. The outdoor film screenings over the past three summers is one example. The small format exhibit last month is another.

In commemoration of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Moth, the gallery has again come up with an imaginative and worthy show, this time by women artists. The work is varied, coming from both foreign and East End/New York sources. Moreover, all the pieces are especially creative in their use of materials and textures. Simply put, it’s as if the barn door was left open, and a breath of fresh air blew in.

The gallery setting adds to the arresting presentation. Wood beams and high ceilings complement the works, which are sparsely arranged and not overwhelming. One exception is Connie Fox’s “Not the Man, Not the Tornado,” done in 1985. The abstract forms, fragmented as they are, recall a “stream of consciousness”- segments of images from the past bombarding the canvas.”

Also included in the show: Kiki Smith, Pat Steir, Aurora Robson, Sally Egbert, Corinne Von Lebusa, and Heather Goodchild,