Walking into the Chelsea Art Museum's Modern Modern opening reception last night, one may have had trouble deciding if they were walking into a gallery in Berlin, Paris or indeed, Chelsea New York. Curated by Pati Hertling, this exhibition put forth “contemporary works of another time”. The artwork displayed “Modernist aesthetics without the idealogy that supported modernist works of art”.
In curating this exhibition, Pati was questioning what comes after the contemporary art movement and looked at the unconscious relationship these artists had with each other. Works by Elizabeth Peyton, Amelie von Wulffen, Cecily Brown, Jonas Lipps among others (most of which living and working in Berlin) show an “emotional approach to the language of modernism” while at the same time having “no universal way to describe them.”
I carefully quote the statements posted on the exhibition walls because I personally know how difficult it was for Pati to translate these ideas into words. Agrani Consulting had been called in by CAM to help promote the exhibition in its early stages.
But in the end, the type of opening reception Pati had in mind was precisely this one: a solid group of artists and art enthusiasts, a closely knit group of people is all that mattered. No need for wild postings, banner ads or multiple emails reminding people to come. Those who were in the know knew. So there was no need for my marketing services, nonetheless, I was curious to see how it all panned out. You see, there are brands in the marketplace that are similar to Modern Modern and Pati Hertling. Brands that are confident enough in their position to know that those in the know will know, so all that is needed to focus on is getting what they do right. It can be nerve-wracking for traditionalists, but I am finding that more brands in the art, luxury and fashion category are placing all their bets on their niche and it’s working for them.
Modern Modern, Chelsea Art Museum April 17-June 13, 2009
In curating this exhibition, Pati was questioning what comes after the contemporary art movement and looked at the unconscious relationship these artists had with each other. Works by Elizabeth Peyton, Amelie von Wulffen, Cecily Brown, Jonas Lipps among others (most of which living and working in Berlin) show an “emotional approach to the language of modernism” while at the same time having “no universal way to describe them.”
I carefully quote the statements posted on the exhibition walls because I personally know how difficult it was for Pati to translate these ideas into words. Agrani Consulting had been called in by CAM to help promote the exhibition in its early stages.
But in the end, the type of opening reception Pati had in mind was precisely this one: a solid group of artists and art enthusiasts, a closely knit group of people is all that mattered. No need for wild postings, banner ads or multiple emails reminding people to come. Those who were in the know knew. So there was no need for my marketing services, nonetheless, I was curious to see how it all panned out. You see, there are brands in the marketplace that are similar to Modern Modern and Pati Hertling. Brands that are confident enough in their position to know that those in the know will know, so all that is needed to focus on is getting what they do right. It can be nerve-wracking for traditionalists, but I am finding that more brands in the art, luxury and fashion category are placing all their bets on their niche and it’s working for them.
Modern Modern, Chelsea Art Museum April 17-June 13, 2009
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