Albright-Knox Art Gallery Visit

During my visit to the Alright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, I was impacted by many artworks, felt a connection with many, and found quite a few pieces that I wanted to know more about.

 

A.   The artworks that made the biggest impact on me were:

 

Angela Bulloch (Canadian, 1966)

Chain A 5:1:56:7, 2001

waxed birchwood, printed aluminum panel, white glass, diffusion foil, glass, cables, RGB lighting systems, five DMX Boxes, one Black Box

overall: 19 5/8 x 118 1/8 x 19 5/8 inches (49.8475 x 300.0375 x 49.8475 cm)

I was very impacted by this work of art, because I was not impressed! I was unable to see the complexity behind this work. When imagining art that would be on display in an Art Gallery, this was not what I had in mind. Art can be very simple, or very intricate and complex, but I felt that it was something that I could have constructed myself at home.

John Pfahl (American, 1939)

View from the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit (#4), 1993-2003

 chromogenic color print, 1/6

 

I was very impacted by this artwork for two reasons. First off, I have someone in my life who needs a bone marrow transplant, and this represents the sacrafice that a donor has to go through. It is a long, hard, and often miserable process. I have a friend who donated their marrow, and many days were spent looking out the window, but not getting up due to the need for rest and recovery because of how taxing it can be on the body. This picture to me described sacrafice.





2. The artworks I feel a connection with both are acrylic on canvas, and I felt a connection because I just painted with acrylic paints last week:

Peter Sedgley (British, 1930)

Polarity, 1966

 acrylic on canvas

support: 72 x 72" (182.88 x 182.88 cm.)

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1968

I was in awe with this picture when I saw it. I kept walking back, then walking up closely, because I could not believe that this was done with acrylic paint. After using acrylic paint last week, I was able to see how it can be difficult to just make a circle! This artist made multiple circles. It looks aribrushed, and the details down to the dark background are very solid colors.

Julio Le Parc (Argentine, 1928)

Serie 14 No. 2, 1970

 acrylic on canvas

overall: 68 1/8 x 68 1/8 x 1 7/8 inches (173.04 x 173.04 x 4.76 cm)

In contrast with Peter Sedgleys "Polarity" I was not as impressed with this painting. In the pink, you are able to see the stroke lines. In a way, I am able to connect more with this artist, because I know that it is difficult to get uniform strokes all throughout a painting. Every other ring and color looks perfect, but immidiately I noticed that the pinks had stroke lines. I know that no one is perfect, but it is something that I would correct before putting the work on display.





3. The artworks that I would like to know more about are:

Karl Gerstner (Swiss, 1930)

Lens Picture No. 15, 1964

 Plexiglas lens mounted on painted Formica

overall: 28 3/8 x 28 13/16 x 7 1/4" (72.07 x 73.18 x 18.41 cm.)

 

This artwork changed as you moved, and had reflective qualities. I was confused as to how the artist put this work together, and made it look so flawless. I would love to understand how something like this is made, because I find these constructive styles very intriguing.

Jean-Pierre Yvaral (French, 1934–2002)

Acceleration #15, Series B, 1962

 vinyl cords and painted wood

overall: 24 1/4 x 23 1/2 x 3 1/4" (61.59 x 59.69 x 8.25 cm.)

Along with the previous picture, I was very amazed as saw this picture "in action." As the viewer moves, so do the lines on the picture. The picture was done in layers, and lines on the glass contributed to this artwork. When looking up close, it was very interesting to see the way that the piece of art was actually just a series of line, and through a certain construction the movement took place. I would love to learn more about how something like this is created. It seemed relatively simple once I saw it constructed!