Dakis Joannou is the Greek equivalent of Saatchi. This adventurous contemporary collector has amassed a distinguished and influential repertoire of iconic works ranging from Jeff Koons, Urs Fisher, Kiki Smith, Maurizio Cattelan to Kara Walker and many others. Joannou is someone who not only thinks outside the box, he’s created another geometric form: The Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art in Athens.
The New Museum in Manhattan has invited Jeff Koons to curate the show “Skin Fruit” which debuted March 3 and runs through June 6. The theme is the human form. From the vantage point of the works shown, we are provoked to ask what exactly its function is. A low life vehicle or divine body?A dead piece of flesh devoid of meaning or an invisible anchor to a higher more evolved dimension. These invariably eternal questions are resolved somewhat in the 100 or so works by 50 renowned artists.
Chris Ofili better known for Madonna with elephant dung which shattered the ideological rigidity of some U.S. church officials with his 1999 show ”Sensation” held at the Brooklyn Museum is on view here with several important works. He brings forth a luminosity with his Blue Damascus and Thirty Pieces of Silver; aluminum on paper, ink, charcoal and oil. Kiki Smith’s human sized beeswaxed figures in Mother/Child strik a self-indulgent chord with the mother sucking her own breast while the man/child gives himself lip service auto-erotically.
I was struck by the resin and fiberglass figures of Tim & Sue Noble & Webster entitled, “Masters of the Universe”. 2 Planet of the Ape like figures covered in human hair (probably imported from India) come alive as time stands still. They walk the path of fools. Other notable artists included Mark Grotjahn, Haris Epaminonda, Seth Price and Terence Koh.
Starting with Skin Fruit, the New Museum launches The Imaginary Museum - a new series that periodically showcases contemporary art from around the world allowing the general public to travel without leaving the city. Visit http://www.newmuseum.org/
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