Thursday, March 19, 2009

Canada Surprises at NeoHooDoo


So I did drop by NeoHooDoo at the Miami Art Museum yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to have a few "O Canada" moments. Rebecca Belmore and especially Brian Jungen have some works featured very prominently in the show, which seems to riff on a new take on spiritual traditions in art. Belmore's striking "Fringe", exhibited in Montreal and Vancouver recently, made the cut and is striking. Jungen's beer cooler and golf-bag totems also make the grade.

The show overall includes many artists from Cuba and the states, and is organized by the Menil Collection in Houston with PS1 in New York. (BTW the works from Radcliffe Bailey Storm and Jose Bedia were awesome.) It's really great to see strong Canadian artists recognized in this way. I wondered if Jen Budney at the Mendel Art Gallery might have had anything to do with it--she worked with show curator Franklin Sirmans back in the day at Flash Art, and has an essay in the catalogue.

Image of Rebecca Belmore's Fringe from canadianart.ca; image of Brian Jungen's work from Catriona Jeffries website

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