Council often uses humor as a political tool to expose systems of power and inequality in a society in which even death carries a high price tag. by Ksenia M. Soboleva “It’s absolutely wild that this is the first time I’ve directly referenced Twitter in my work,” wrote Pamela Council on their Instagram the day before the opening of their survey show, Bury Me Loose, at Denny Dimin Gallery (which has announced its representation of the artist). Over the past decade, Council…Read More
BLACK PHENOMENA: On Afropessimism & Camp by Hafizah Geter “Me, we,” Steph says, quoting Muhammad Ali. She points her finger from me to her, turning the history that daisy-chains us into shorthand. We gaze out from Prospect Park’s highest pinnacle. Like the frogs chameleoning in the pond two hundred feet below us, our sentences leap from one conversation to another—art, ancestors, this Hunger Games called America. Gulps of white clouds hover at our waist level, pressed like pennies between a gentrifying Brooklyn…Read More
Aruna D’Souza Pamela Council: Bury Me Loose, Denny Dimin Gallery, 39 Lispenard Street, New York City, through October 23, 2021 At Denny Dimin Gallery, the multidisciplinary artist Pamela Council told me that the work in their new solo exhibition—the first since signing on with the dealer—was “dark, maybe the darkest I’ve done.” That fact is certainly not obvious at first glance. The sculptures, videos, and assemblages here, made over the last decade, evince an exuberant, fit-it-all-in formal and conceptual energy and contain references…Read More
by Cassie Packard, August 31, 2021 Your list of must-see, fun, insightful, and very New York art events this month, including the Armory, Bushwick Open Studios, and the New York Film Festival. Pamela Council: Bury Me Loose Pamela Council, “Red Drink: A BLAXIDERMY Juneteenth Offering” (photo by Ronald Llewellyn Jones, courtesy Denny Dimin Gallery) When: September 10–October 23 Where: Denny Dimin Gallery (39 Lispenard Street, Tribeca, Manhattan) Pamela Council brings together Black vernacular camp, pop culture, horror, and humor in their visceral, ongoing exploration…Read More
Artist Pamela Council Is Building a Joyous, Camp ‘Fountain for Survivors’ in Times Square The sculpture will feature close to 400,000 acrylic nails. Sarah Cascone, August 18, 2021 Pamela Council with the model for A Fountain for Survivors in Times Square, New York. Photo by Alex Webster courtesy of Times Square Arts. Artist Pamela Council is building their largest ever “Fountains for Black Joy” sculpture in New York City’s Times Square. The monumental structure will measure 18 feet tall and be…Read More
Denny Dimin Gallery Announces Representation Solo exhibition Bury Me Loose opens at Denny Dimin Gallery on September 10, 2021 Time Square Arts Announces Major Public Installation A Fountain for Survivors Denny Dimin Gallery is honored to announce the representation of artist Pamela Council. A solo exhibition by the artist, Bury Me Loose, will be on view at the New York location from September 10 to October 23, 2021. Times Square Arts will present Council’s immersive public art installation, A Fountain…Read More
Editors’ Picks: 9 Events for Your Art Calendar, From a Talk About Chinatown’s Art and Activism to a Show of Surreal Cat Art Plus, stream in to the Migrant Festival, or see a show of “Fairy Organs.” Artnet News, August 17, 2021 Each week, we search for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events, both digitally and in-person in the New York area. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all EST unless otherwise noted.) …Read More
There’s been a resurgence in recent years of artists using materials like textiles and ceramics in siting domestic settings as creative spaces, a nod to the influence of the 1970s Pattern and Decoration (P & D) art movement. WRITTEN BY: EMILY GOSLING 3 AUGUST 2021 New York-based gallery Denny Dimin Gallery attributes much of this resurgence to the movement’s promotion of female artists and its interest; though it also likely chimes with contemporary practitioners thanks to its place on…Read More
In the early nineteen-seventies, a group of American artists who shared an unironic love of craft, vivid color, and kitsch—rebels against the ornamentation-averse restraint of the Minimalists—became known as the Pattern and Decoration movement (a.k.a. P&D). By the mid-eighties, the initial enthusiasm, mostly in Europe, for the group’s paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and textiles had waned. Individual artists succeeded, but P&D was written off as a footnote that was slightly embarrassing. (And also threatening: it’s no coincidence that the group’s focus…Read More
Ruling families of the Renaissance, such as the Medici, exerted their influence through political intrigue, war and art, as can be seen in The Met’s presentation of The Medici: Portraits & Politics 1512-1570. American high culture, a construct of large institutions, mostly white, endowed by the wealth of corporate donors, also mostly white, is undergoing a radical shift, as consumers are beginning to exert their power to press for better representation of the publics that make up that body of consumers. Above:…Read More
by Clarity Haynes I first saw multidisciplinary artist Pamela Council’s work at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 2015. Council’s sculpture “Flo Jo World Record Nails,” constructed of fake nails, formed an arc that evoked the sensation of taking flight, and paid homage to late track and field athlete Florence Griffith Joyner. I’ve since followed their work, which explores Black joy, grieving, grooming, and memorials in extraordinary ways. I was happy to have the opportunity recently to discuss Council’s work…Read More
July 30th, 2019 By Terence Trouillot The second edition of Detroit Art Week (DAW)—organized by its co-founders Aleiya Lindsey and Amani Olu—was a jam-packed, exhausting, and thrilling affair. The event, which took place July 17–21, included 36 exhibition openings, 13 performances, 7 panel discussions, works by 150 artists from Detroit and all over the world, and was host to many, many parties and studio visits. But, apart from the scale and expanded programming, this particular iteration truly hit home (or at least…Read More
This year was a strong one for women in the arts. Lauren Palmer, December 9, 2015 This year was a strong one for female artists, and next year it appears that it might be even better. In 2016, all of the solo shows at SculptureCenter in Queens, New York, will be by women. We’re also looking forward to Catherine Opie’s “Portraits and Landscapes” at Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York in January, and “Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women,…Read More
