[New York Peasant by Wilfrid: October 6, 2008]
Off to the Haunch of Venison, which sounds like an old tavern, but is actually a swish and airy art gallery newly opened in a Sixth Avenue office building. I need hardly say that Abstract Expressionism is its opening theme.
Summer 2008 has testified to an unquenchable enthusiasm among New York gallery-goers - and, perhaps more to the point, collectors and dealers - for the work of that tight-knit group of innovators who left a trail of whiskey and paint through downtown Manhattan in the decade after the last world war.
Rheinhardt and Rothko in focus at MOMA, Gottlieb at PaceWildenstein, the Greenberg v. Rosenberg fest at the Jewish Museum, and now this unexpectedly extensive show of AbEx works curated by David Anfam at the Haunch - "A World Elsewhere". I bet I've missed some small Pollock/Krasner shows too.
Anfam has written standard texts on this subject, as well as writing or contributing to monographs on a number of the major figures, including Still and De Kooning. As for the Haunch, its name derives from Haunch of Venison Yard, its original location in London's Mayfair - and the street name probably does derive from the name of an old inn).
Owned by Christie's (which is interesting in itself), the Haunch now has galleries in Berlin and Zurich, and opened at 1230 Avenue of the Americas (20th floor) last month. And a splendid, high-ceilinged, duplex space it is.
This show is confined to the first floor, which only goes to show how much space the Haunch has here; it's a big show, and the gallery has met the challenge of giving some very large works space to breathe. The achievement doesn't reflect well on the Jewish Museum's strangulation of some Barnett Newmans, tucked into a tight corner at their recent show, or the generally cramped feel of that exhibition.
Two important works by Clyfford Still (no, they don't have titles), are central to the show and can be viewed from the necessary distance. Rothko always suffers from being shown alongside a ragbag of other artists. Here, he shares a side gallery with a couple of late Gottliebs, which shimmer in serene harmony.
There's an opportunity to compare busy, painterly early DeKooning's with the strangely vacant swirls of a 1980s triptych. Several David Smith sculptures are included, and look out for an unusually delicate small work, Tower Eight, in one of the corridors where the smaller paintings hang. There are some small Pollocks too, countered by a large, dramatic red-and-cream explosion of a painting by Lee Krasner. I'd also note Motherwell's dark, brooding Spanish elegy, and representative works by Rheinhardt. Newman and Kline.
If you thought the Jewish Museum show was enough abstract expressionism for one summer, you'll be surprised by the way in which this debut show at the Haunch extends and maintains your interest. My only complaint; even hardcover, $75 is over-priced for a commercial gallery catalog.
Through November 12; web-site here.
