M. K. Guth’s Terrain Change at Portland’s Elizabeth Leach Gallery is a survey of aesthetic ideas realized more fully by others.
Pillars dressed in sweaters and jackets evoke Knitta. Guth’s umbrellas made of clothing are the best thing about the show, although overly dependent on early work by Cris Bruch. About her chandeliers, little can be said. I’ve seen their better.
Guth:
I wouldn’t review this show were it not for the sorry fact that Guth was the only Northwest artist included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial, where she had a room which she called “a unique opportunity to this particular place.” (Guth’s Whitney video interview here.)
Her Whitney debut was a shabby (and didactic) version of Ann Hamilton in the 1980s, but I repeat myself, and I’m not the only one.
Guth’s version of relational aesthetics comes down to patting the audience on the head and giving it a simple-minded chore, like Yoko Ono at her worst. While I realize Northwest curators and critics (as a group) could easily have a view of NW art not shared in New York, picking Guth was a slam on far more interesting artists who engage the Whitney’s abject, multimedia installation theme, if it qualified as a theme.
Guth at Elizabeth Leach through Sept. 26.
Hello Regina, for some truly memorable chandeliers check out Lee Bul’s work.
I think your argument is specious, and comes off as sour grapes. Sure there’s some Hamilton, but I’d say it’s more reference than rip-off and dozens of artists have worked with chandeliers, (and you pick the one about race relations?). I think Guth’s project in both the Whitney and here is more about an environment than a group of objects, and you cut it up and criticize the pieces. The Whitney Biennial isn’t a golden prize to be won, it’s an imperfect survey. One that’s firmly rooted in the New York artworld, and thus doesn’t include many west coasters. If it really means that much to them (and I suspect it doesn’t), the artists you speak of should move to NY.
Is it her fault she got into the Whitless? She’s not a good artist. Last year at the B, she had lots of company. Let it go.
what a mean spirited article.
this is why Seattle will never be New York. Because amateurs run their mouths and back bite, and can only offer a shallow investigation of visual art. one that’s based on clearly issues of personality and regional entitlement. you should be happy the Whitney even does studio visits in the NW