Joan Brown
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Installation view of “Celestial Songs,” curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2024.
Celestial Songs
Curated by Adrianne Rubenstein
June 20th - July 26th, 2024
Opening: June 20th, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Venus Over Manhattan
55 Great Jones Street
New York, NY 10012
(New York, NY) – Venus Over Manhattan is pleased to present Celestial Songs, a group exhibition curated by artist Adrianne Rubenstein. Organized in conversation with a simultaneous exhibition of work by Maija Peeples-Bright and Roy De Forest, Celestial Songs comprises both historical and contemporary works by artists whose visual and thematic interests recall aspects of the Funk Art movement of the 1960s. The show comprises 25 different artists, and includes drawings, collage, paintings, fiber works, sculptures, and various other mixed media. Celestial Songs will be on view at 55 Great Jones street from June 20 to July 26, 2024.
Celestial Songs traces a vibrant journey through the enduring legacy of California funk. It details an expansive and autobiographical history rooted in the Bay Area in the 70s, whose influence reverberates back and forth across the country to this day. Funk art was defined as a reaction against the nonobjectivity of abstract expressionism, and instead prioritized free-spirited and humorous creativity. It championed all types of media, with a strong presence of ceramic and mixed-media work. Many artists associated with this style in the 70s participated in exhibitions at Adeliza McHugh’s Candy Store Gallery, a site of convergence and exchange for the movement. The Candy Store gallery became a home for free-wheeling aesthetics and jubilant irreverance, and created space for like-minded community. The impact and precendent of the Candy Store Gallery rings through the work in Rubenstein’s curation.
Emma Soucek, who is based in Berkeley, CA, creates abstract paintings using colorful paper pulp; her work puts a new spin on the immediate geometry within Roy and Maija’s works. Nik Gelormino has sculpted two very satisfying heart shaped stools out of Redwood from the California forests. Carlos Villa (1936 - 2013), a beloved professor whom Rubenstein studied with at the Art Institute from 2009–2011, is represented with a characteristic mixed-media painting that features a small fragment of bone.
Erika Ranee, a New York based abstract painter uses spills and collage to create tangled mazes reminiscent of natural patterns. Meg Lipke’s shapes and symbols fade in and out of pastel color fields; and Alice Mackler (1931–2024), included with two ceramic sculptures from 2013, brings raw figuration. In a continuum of time, these artists working in different eras can all be said to have influenced one another. The narrative drawn from among their works is both original and deeply integral to the indescribable mysticism of making art.
Featured artists include: Betty Bailey, Taussen Brewer, Joan Brown, Maija Peeples-Bright, Roy De Forest, Faith, Melvino Garretti, Nik Gelormino, Pam Glick, Gretta Johnson, Grant Levy-Lucero, Meg Lipke, Alice Mackler, Dan Mandelbaum, Walter Price, Erika Ranee, Margo Newmark Rosenbaum, Adrianne Rubenstein, Peter Saul, Sally Saul, Daisy Sheff, Emma Soucek, Marisa Takal, Carlos Villa, and Rachel Eulena Williams.
For additional information, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermanhattan.com
Betty Bailey, "Dogs, Politics, and Art," 1998. Colored pencil on paper; 16 x 20 in (40.6 x 50.8 cm).
Taussen Brewer, "Dichasial Cyme," 2024. Glazed ceramic, in multiple parts; Overall: 28 x 19 x 19 in (71.1 x 48.3 x 48.3 cm).
Joan Brown, "Model in Busy Studio," 1971. Acrylic, graphite, ink on paper; 20 x 38 in (50.8 x 96.5 cm).
Joan Brown, "Single Figure #1," 1974. Acrylic, ink, graphite on paper; Work: 36 x 24 in (91.4 x 61 cm) Framed: 44 7/8 x 32 7/16 in (114 x 82.4 cm).
Roy De Forest, "Untitled," 2000. Mixed media on paper with artist designed frame; 32 x 33 1/4 x 3 in (81.3 x 84.5 x 7.6 cm).
Faith, "Time Machine," 2023-2024. Quilted hand-dyed raw canvas, cotton batting, acrylic, fabric print, inkjet prints on canvas, rhinestones, silk flowers; 32 x 31 in (81.3 x 78.7 cm).
Faith, "Invisible Ink," 2024. Quilted inkjet print on silk, batting, canvas, digital embroidery, rhinestones, vinyl, photo reflective vinyl, metal ring, beading wire, glue, tape, plastic beads, glass beads, silicone beads, ceramic beads, bells, several grams of pure metal clay microwaved, dried flowers; 41 1/4 x 50 1/2 in (104.8 x 128.3 cm).
Melvino Garretti, "Visionary Mixed Reality," 2023. Low-fire ceramic with glazes; 29 1/2 x 14 x 14 in (74.9 x 35.6 x 35.6 cm).
Nik Gelormino, "Love Stool (no. 01)," 2024. Carved redwood; 24 x 24 x 17 in (61 x 61 x 43.2 cm).
Nik Gelormino, "Love Stool (no. 02)," 2024. Carved redwood; 24 x 24 x 17 in (61 x 61 x 43.2 cm).
Pam Glick, "Shag Bark Hickory," 2024. Oil, acrylic and pencil on canvas; 72 x 72 in (182.9 x 182.9 cm).
Gretta Johnson, "1," 2024. Oil on canvas; 50 x 30 in (127 x 76.2 cm).
Gretta Johnson, "Self Help," 2024. Oil on linen; 30 x 24 in (76.2 x 61 cm).
Grant Levy-Lucero, "Mister Natural," 2024. Ceramic; 18 x 8 x 10 in (45.7 x 20.3 x 25.4 cm).
Meg Lipke, "Shifter," 2021. Acrylic on canvas with polyester fill; 23 x 34 x 4 in (58.4 x 86.4 x 10.2 cm).
Meg Lipke, "Signs in her Skies," 2024. Acrylic and oil on canvas over custom stretcher; 72 x 84 in (182.9 x 213.4 cm).
Meg Lipke, "Secret Under the Field," 2024. Acrylic and oil on canvas; 27 x 29 in (68.6 x 73.7 cm).
Alice Mackler, "Untitled," 2013. Glazed ceramic; 12 3/4 x 6 x 4 in (32.4 x 15.2 x 10.2 cm).
Alice Mackler, "Untitled," 2013. Glazed ceramic; 9 x 4 x 5 in (22.9 x 10.2 x 12.7 cm).
Dan Mandelbaum, "Untitled (Dog Head Thing)," 2020. Glazed ceramic; 18 x 20 x 14 in (45.7 x 50.8 x 35.6 cm).
Dan Mandelbaum, "Untitled (Germs)," 2020. Glazed ceramic; 20 x 20 x 14 in (50.8 x 50.8 x 35.6 cm).
Dan Mandelbaum, "Pink Alligator," 2022. Glazed ceramic; 17 x 15 x 57 in (43.2 x 38.1 x 144.8 cm).
Dan Mandelbaum, "Snake," 2022. Glazed ceramic; 18 x 21 x 20 in (45.7 x 53.3 x 50.8 cm).
Dan Mandelbaum, "Tiles #35 (Dark Cave)," 2023. Ceramic tile, wood panel; 32 x 30 in (81.3 x 76.2 cm).
Walter Price, "Color Line," 2016. Acrylic on canvas; Work: 8 1/16 x 6 3/4 in (20.5 x 17.1 cm) Framed: 9 3/8 x 8 in (23.8 x 20.3 cm).
Maija Peeples-Bright, "Starducks," 1980. Oil and acrylic on canvas with wood frame; 30 5/8 x 40 5/8 in (77.8 x 103.2 cm).
Daisy Sheff, "Ingredients (Come in, Come in)," 2020. Oil and clay on burlap; 20 1/4 x 18 in (51.4 x 45.7 cm).
Emma Soucek, "Beach 62," 2023-2024. Paper pulp, acrylic paint, mica powder, gouache, matte medium, inkjet print on tissue paper on canvas; 52 x 48 in (132.1 x 121.9 cm).
Erika Ranee, "Fake Smile," 2024. Acrylic, shellac, spray paint and paper collage on canvas; 84 x 72 in (213.4 x 182.9 cm).
Erika Ranee, "Wild Heart," 2024. Acrylic, shellac, spray paint and collage on canvas; 48 x 48 in (121.9 x 121.9 cm).
Margo Newmark Rosenbaum, "Cats Galore," n.d. Acrylic on canvas; 25 x 19 in (63.5 x 48.3 cm).
Margo Newmark Rosenbaum, "The Fall of Eden," 2016. Acrylic on canvas; 37 x 31 1/2 in (94 x 80 cm).
Margo Newmark Rosenbaum, "Conversation," 2023. Acrylic on canvas; 24 x 20 in (61 x 50.8 cm).
Margo Newmark Rosenbaum, "Spring Time," 2024. Acrylic on canvas; 25 x 19 in (63.5 x 48.3 cm).
Adrianne Rubenstein, "Strawberries Paradisio," 2024. Oil on canvas; 48 x 36 in (121.9 x 91.4 cm).
Peter Saul, "Peer," 1963. Mixed media on paper; 25 1/2 x 24 1/2 in (64.8 x 62.2 cm).
Sally Saul, "Untitled," 2020. Clay and glaze; 13 x 9 x 7 in (33 x 22.9 x 17.8 cm).
Sally Saul, "Big Tree," 2022. Clay and glaze; 13 x 7 1/4 x 7 in (33 x 18.5 x 18 cm).
Marisa Takal, "Faith!, Etc. Etc.," 2023. Oil on canvas; 96 x 15 in (243.8 x 38.1 cm).
Carlos Villa, "Group Grope Dream #1," 1982-86. Acrylic, bone, and fabric on canvas stretched over wood; 17 1/4 x 13 3/4 in (43.8 x 34.9 cm). Courtesy the Carlos Villa Art Estate and Silverlens, Manila/New York
Rachel Eulena Williams, "Running," 2023. Acrylic on wood stretcher, wood panel, canvas, and rope; 48 x 48 in (121.9 x 121.9 cm).
