{"id":3221,"date":"2014-07-22T22:17:41","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T22:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raulmourao.com\/blog\/?p=3221"},"modified":"2014-07-23T15:36:26","modified_gmt":"2014-07-23T15:36:26","slug":"artists-as-curators-and-leaders-mana-contemporary-upends-the-art-world-status-quo-by-casey-lesser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archive.raulmourao.com\/blog\/?p=3221","title":{"rendered":"Artists as Curators and Leaders: Mana Contemporary Upends the Art World Status Quo – by Casey Lesser"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"mana_contemporary_art_sy\"<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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ARTSY EDITORIAL<\/a><\/div>\n
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When his Gowanus, Brooklyn studio was consumed by Hurricane Sandy, artist\u00a0Ray Smith<\/a>\u00a0got a call from friend and fellow artist\u00a0Eugene Lemay<\/a>\u2014who is also president and founder of the two million-square-foot artists\u2019 haven that is\u00a0Mana Contemporary<\/a>. The pair had met at the opening of the Jersey City complex in 2011 and a year and a half later Lemay and his team rescued some 80 artworks from Smith\u2019s waterlogged studio, and transported them to Mana where they dried out, underwent restoration, and ultimately formed the artist\u2019s solo exhibition there in March 2013. As was the case with Smith, and many other artists affected by Sandy, Mana keeps artists at the fore.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A cluster of 1920s-era factories and warehouses, Mana Contemporary has become an inclusive campus of exhibition spaces, artist studios, storage facilities, a print shop, a foundry, and anything else an artist could wish for, while serving simultaneously as an art destination just outside of New York City. \u201cWe are creating a community that bridges the gap between artist and audience by displaying the process behind the work,\u201d Lemay recently told Artsy. \u201cCollectors, dealers, curators, and general visitors are able to connect more deeply with the art, and artists are inspired to collaborate and exchange ideas. We are also changing the art world status quo by giving the artists leadership roles.\u201d Another artist,\u00a0Yigal Ozeri<\/a>, is the cofounder of Mana.<\/p>\n

This message (or rather, mission) is a realized and resounding force, particularly now, with the first \u201cMana Exposition<\/a>,\u201d curated by none other than Mr. Smith. As curator of this inaugural edition of what is planned to be a series of shows\u2014each one seeking to present art in a relaxed setting and directly engage the artists represented\u2014Smith turned to his friends (fellow artists) to take the spotlight under his reign. Titled \u201cALL THE BEST ARTISTS ARE MY FRIENDS (Part I),\u201d the exhibition is an extensive survey that incorporates sculpture, photography, painting, and everything in between, from artists that range from young and emerging talents to household names, including many who have studios at Mana.<\/p>\n

With exhibition design by architect\u00a0Richard Meier<\/a>, the show finds its footing in a new 50,000 square-foot space, where the traditional white cube and its bounds have been swapped out for natural light, a glass windowpane exterior, and an open layout, guided by freestanding walls. The exhibition\u2019s physical reach is refreshing\u2014something one could not find within New York\u2019s city limits. From Rhys Gaetano\u2019s giant foam and plexiglass disco ball, to Rita Ackermann\u2019s fantastic diptych of cool blue forms that toe the line between figuration and abstraction, the show is a delightful, inclusive melange of color, material, and artistic prowess.<\/p>\n

In one space a low pedestal is covered with small\u00a0Ai Weiwei<\/a>vessels, while nearby an expansive canvas by Sante D\u2019Orazio dominates the far wall\u2014a dynamic optical composition made from film stills from vintage pornographic movies. On the other side of a bisecting wall, an\u00a0Alex Katz<\/a>\u00a0flower painting overlooks\u00a0Aleksandar Duravcevic<\/a>\u2019s perfectly shaped, crushed-glass star that sits on the floor, and further down the gallery Ozeri\u2019s photorealistic silkscreens face a steel kinetic sculpture by\u00a0Raul Mour\u00e3o<\/a>\u00a0(captured here<\/a>). Smith included a work of his own\u2014an oil-on-wood painting of a boxer that is all arms and legs\u2014and works by Lemay, including a dark, enveloping meditation on nature that begins as a digital print and spills onto the floor into a pile of black granite. Another highlight is\u00a0Z Behl<\/a>\u2019s monumental, harlequinesque\u00a0Pied Piper<\/i>, which when seen from behind reveals a secret funhouse behind plexiglass, where the artist has staged live performances of children playing the flute.<\/p>\n

Mana Contemporary holds promise of becoming the next major art destination easily accessed from New York, and it sets itself apart through this dedication to the artist. In the coming years the complex will expand and develop infrastructure to accommodate a large audience. Ray Smith may have said it best, \u201cAt a time when so much emphasis is placed on the monetary value of artists\u2019 work, Mana focuses on the real value, which is the artists themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Casey Lesser<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMana Exposition\u201d is on view at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, through Aug. 1st, 2014<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n