andy malone/jeanne bieri at detroit contemporary
Andy Malone: Analysis Paralysis
“Occasionally, I have to contend with Analysis Paralysis, which is the inability to solve a problem due to overthinking. Sometimes it is caused by an abundance of choices with no clear direction, sometimes it is rooted in the anxiety that making the “wrong” decision is worse than inaction. The work in this show addresses this mentality and explores ways to escape the cycle of uncertainty. Unless otherwise noted, viewer is invited to physically interact with the work.”—Andy Malone
Spending some of my youth in New York where the fam made regular pilgrimages to the city’s lofty museums, Don’t Touch the Art has been drilled into my head. I sensed delicious disobedience prior to pushing Targets’ button then delighted at the rapid, snapping motion of the decorated cards. The gravity of the imagery curtailed my momentary rebellion.
The adjacent gallery delivers childhood wonder through inventive games in motion. Generating spirited competition, Quarturn challenges players to place their colored beads on whirling spindles until a matching row of four is accomplished. Foiling a competitor’s path to victory is encouraged.
This strategy game requires focused contemplation like the Zen Garden it resembles.
Jeanne Bieri: Hide and Seek
“I was in an antiwar show three years ago and to prepare I did considerable research on war in general, in particular about WWII. My Dad was a pilot and brought back Army Blankets, those scratchy things we took to the beach, Y Camp, and used in the barn. They never wore out and were the last things any of us kids chose when we went camping on family vacations. During my anti-war research, I began mending and piecing these blankets, an act of making them whole. A blanket is the border between wakefulness and sleep, a border between warmth and cold, sometimes between surviving and death.”—Jeanne Bieri
Bieri’s complementary palette in soft, supple fabric greets visitors in the door. Intricately sewn trails caress and ensnare gently floating leaves and stars. Squares of repurposed cloth anchor an underlying freeform patchwork. This is not your grandmother’s quilt yet perhaps more comforting as it invites investigation as much as it warms.
Bieri’s paintings are taken from random photos of complete strangers. She creates a charming familiarity through the subjects’ descriptive postures presented on a small, precious scale. The absence of color along with areas of subtle abstraction illustrate the duality between memory and reality.
Malone’s exhibition inspires curiosity and unbridled joy through extraordinary mechanical ingenuity. Bieri’s precision is deftly employed in both abstraction and realism. Masterful craftsmanship allows the viewer to center on the complex intimacy with our closest relationships as well as humanity itself.
On view through July 30th at detroit contemporary 487 W. Alexandrine, Detroit
*images are mine
**when sizes aren’t readily available an approximation will be indicated with ‘c.’
direct quote from the artist
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SHOWS OPEN THIS WEEKEND
Brain Candy Monday the 17th only