Scope New York 2006
Paradoxical Landscapes

Artists:
Jeffrey Beebe   Angelo Musco
Nuno Cera        Kathleen Vance
Michael Counts Kenichi Yokono

Agró/Glickman STEP (1) once again presents a curated group-show for the 2006 ScopeNew York art fair.  The six artists included in the exhibition, entitled Paradoxical Landscapes, are all dealing with the concept of the “natural setting” in unexpected and often ironical ways.  They use the device of the landscape whether in drawing, sculpture or photography, to tell stories and fables of invented characters that populate their unique universes.

In his drawings, American Jeffrey Beebe creates a world in which “the realm of thought and irrational imagination is where we make sense of our lives.”  During the past 5 years the artist has “consumed all manner of mythology, fable and fairy tale. [He is] intrigued by how these works--which purportedly arise from the mists of pre-history--manage to capture the purest essences of the human experience--loss, love, obsession, hate, and others--at such an early time in our existence.”

American Michael Counts’ sceneries in miniature examine the stories implied by location, object and time. Having spent most of his professional life making theatrical installations, his smaller works build on the perfomative nature of his live works within the context of sculpture and fetish.   Using objects that have no apparent value, per se, Counts’ work explores the idea of meaning, history, storytelling and character.

Portuguese artist Nuno Cera will show a delicate drawing made with red Chinese ink on paper representing a celestial lansdcape. The artist, who works also with video and photography, “creates a view system that is the result of: emotions, landscapes, visual and time experiences, visions of places…”

Italian Angelo Musco is the least literal of the group.  In the three tryptiques he presents he uses details of the human body to create the abstraction of a natural landscape.

American Kathleen Vance’s work deals with issues involving the varied forms in nature that are indicative of growth.  She will show a trunk, previousely presented at her MFA thesis show, in which she re-creates a miniature scenery of wild woods crossed by a river.

Japanese Kenichi Yokono’s woodcuts of animals – with mixed and matched bodies and heads -- seen frolicking across a wall, convey a “pop-y” and absurd vision of a surreal countryside.

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