New to the Neighborhood

I was happy to learn last week that Kiang Gallery had moved from their somewhat strange and inconvenient location in Buckhead/Midtown to the very awesome space behind their old neighbor Sandler Hudson Gallery on the west side of Midtown. It's exciting to see these galleries moving closer together, especially with the Contemporary near by, and the best coffee shop in the city, Octane, next door, it's turning into a really nice art community.

Zhang Dali, "AK-47 (B-7)"

To kick off their new location Kiang Gallery has a group show called "International Programming and Contemporary Art From China and the US." It's a very slick show and as serious as the title would imply. All of the artists in the show compliment one another very well and the work is very tight and intelligent.

Amy Landsberg's sculptures, such as the one below called "Katrina Burl (Typical Wall Mold Photograph)" are scans of photographs taken of the mold growing at the water line in houses during the floods resulting from hurricane Katrina. The scans are sandwiched between plexi and light is used to project these patterns across the gallery walls and floor.

Ian Teh, "Powerplant Tainted 03B"

Fang Er, "Zoo Insect 08"

Danielle Roney, "Billion Faces Series" video.

Xing Danwen, "Urban Fiction Series" digital renderings (detail below)

While almost every piece in the show was incredibly strong, the highlight of the show for me was the video "Topsy, Turvy" by Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry.

And I do not say this lightly because as a general rule I find most video art really disappointing. But this video kept me mesmerized for who knows how long and could be the first video I have ever wanted to take home so I could watch it for hours, trying to unravel its secret. It takes you into a strange place, and even better, it does so simply and poetically. I won't describe anymore but instead go see it! Posthaste! This show is on its way out Oct 13th, 2007.