Opening reception Saturday March 23rd 4-6pm
Open daily thereafter, Monday through Saturday 12:00 noon to 5:30pm. Closed Sundays. Through May 4th.

vue de près / close up

intimate views in two cities

Damien Cabanes, Jesse Fischler, Serge Kliaving, Renaud Monfourny Tony Oursler, James Romberger, Marguarite Van Cook, David West, Joelle Jolivet

curated by David Pushkin

At CUCHIFRITOS art gallery/project space.

vue de près / close up statement:

vue de près / close up is a group exhibition of artists from New York and Paris. The urban residential life in both cities presents us with familiar views and activities of a cultural existence that is somehow precious yet fleeting. The artists in this show share an outlook that celebrates the intimate character of city life.

The Essex Street Market, opened in 1939 to create an indoor space for public vendors, presents a context for this exhibition. Cuchifritos, an intimate gallery space within the market, provides the current market goers with an opportunity to view art in a public context.

Both New York and Paris remain home to domestic cultures that are self-aware and sharply identifiable. These artists present works that reflect this self-awareness and sense of place. The New York artists presented in this show all live within ten blocks or so of the Essex Street Market. Through a close up view each work of art marks the presence of the artist in the city.

Joelle Jolivet lives in d'Ivry and is showing relief paintings of industrial landscapes. David West lives in New York and is presenting small drawings of Paris street scenes. Marguarite Van Cook lives in New York and is presenting watercolors of kids in Tompkins Square Park. James Romberger lives in New York and is presenting a pastel drawing of a familiar doorway. Tony Oursler lives in New York and is presenting a surveillance video of the Lower East Side. Renaud Monfourny lives in Paris and is presenting photographs of New Yorkers. Serge Kliaving lives in Paris and is presenting imaginative urban scenes. Jesse Fischler lives in New York and is presenting a painted group portrait of people dining in New York. Damien Cabanes lives in Paris and is presenting a large gouache of children in his studio.

vue de près / close up runs from March 23 through May 4, 2002. Open Monday-Saturday 12-5:30. The Essex Street Market, 120 Essex Street (corner Delancey). For more information on the project : 212.274.1689

-David Pushkin 2002.