Dan's Papers - July 13, 2007 - Art Commentary with Marion Wolberg Weiss

Summer brings many things to the Hamptons. In the case of art, the season seems to showcase longtime established artists who are (or were) both local residents and internationally known.

It's appropriate that Shelter Island, a somewhat isolated but quaint island, is the home of John Chamberlain. Characteristic of where he lives, Chamberlain also keeps to himself. And more than one critic has called his art "quaint," although "quirky" is more like it. In fact, all the artists featured during the following weeks could be considered "Off - beat," including Dan Flavin, Alfonso Ossorio and Tino Nivola.

Chamberlain's current exhibit at The Dan Flavin Art Institute (DIA Center) is oddly paired with Flavin's installation of fluorescent lights on the second floor. Each series has defining, contradictory materials (glass vs. foam) and styles (geometric shapes vs. distorted rounded forms). The results are arresting and diverse: Flavin's sleek, high-tech configurations vs. Chamberlain's "thrown-together" pieces resembling at times, a human heart.

These works, done between 1969-70, show Chamberlain's penchant for texture and connection between parts that is so much a part of his signature "smashed" cars. More to the point, such early works also demonstrate Chamberlain's way of perceiving reality: the parts are greater than the whole. The word "deconstruction" comes to mind as well when considering both his works and his worldview. Flavin's installation upstairs is placed in a series of bare rooms, yet the interior's coziness and the natural light coming through the windows belie the stark horizontal and vertical features of Flavin's pieces. The result is astonishing, as the pastel-colored fluorescent lights assume a comforting persona not often associated with industrial materials.

Flavin's installation at Guild Hall evokes another impression that is not as intimate and warm. It's probably due to the fact that Guild Hall's exhibit space is larger and, therefore, more isolating. The colors are also not as responsive to their environment, the hues not as subtle or inviting like the pinks, blues and yellows found at the DIA Center.

Simply put, Flavin's installation at the DIA Center calls attention to the work in an environment; the pieces at Guild Hall focus on the aesthetics of the individual pieces.

One particular similarity between Flavin's two exhibits is the positioning of the works in the corners of the rooms. This in itself is not an insightful observation, but it recalls for this critic the way much of conceptual art is placed in corners (as seen at the recent conceptual photography show at New York's Zwirner Gallery and Wirth Gallery).

The show at The Dan Flavin Art Institute will be on view throughout the summer. The installation at Guild Hall will be available until July 29.