Powerful Curatorial Debut for Peter Makebish at Anonymous Gallery

NEW YORK, NY.- In a powerful curatorial debut, Peter Makebish brings his exhibition titled ‘In Dialogue’ to Anonymous Gallery. The show pairs four generations of painters whose studio practices share bold continuity and intrinsic similarities: Ross Bleckner with Matt Jones; Kenny Scharf with Kadar Brock; Donald Baechler with Bill Saylor; Ouattara Watts with Dustin Yellin; John Newsom with Brendan Cass; and Sante D’Orazio with Hermann Nitsch.

Sante D'Orazio, "Matthew Barney-Priest", 2008, c-print (edition), 82 1/2" x 66"

In this ambitious exhibition, the romantic notions of idealism are expressed through a multi-generational mix of artistic genres and mediums: painting, drawing, photography and film. The show draws inspiration from the world of music and DJ culture in particular, where different genres of songs are mixed together to produce compelling new sounds; the resulting new music track is thus transformed, and “exhibited” in a new way. Similarly, “In Dialogue” connects the artists’ works in a way that highlights the contrasts between each work. The paired artist’s work is then meant to be viewed as a whole. Says Makebish, a DJ and longtime denizen of the art, film, and music industries:

“I’ve always had an interest in crossing boundaries between disciplines– music, art, photography, film. In the show, as with my remixes, I’ve created a context that enhances the meaning of each work individually and gives each piece an even more powerful meaning when seen side by side. An exchange occurs – whether it be between two songs or two works of art, allowing for a multi-layered experience that stays with the viewer long after they have left the gallery.”

The work of photographer Sante D’Orazio serves as one of the central inspirations for “In Dialogue”. In addition to contributing his large-format photographs of painters Matthew Barney and Damien Hirst, D’Orazio contributes the sole installation featured in the show. Viewers will enter a small, custom-built interior space that houses his abstract work titled “Scratch This.”

The purpose-built, intimate room will showcase a deconstructed pornographic film from the 1970s, which has been transformed into a dynamic, painstakingly manipulated installation. Says the artist,

“The porn is an excuse to scratch out peoples faces and privates as a found guide to place marks on the surface of each image. As the film moves, these marks move and dance around the screen and create a moving abstraction, a moving painting if you will. The movement or abstraction is the subject, and the porn serves as the backdrop. By scratching out my figures I am eliminating identities and the individuals’ existence as in “scratch him out”, a term used to ‘kill or cause the death of’. Symbolically a ‘momento mori’ and/or, the ancient theme of ‘Sex and Death’.”

Throughout the entire exhibition, Makebish’s careful presentation allows the composition of each piece to become intensified, thus creating a conversation about the whole. Through the use of materials, surface structure, thematic iconographies, varied aspects of movement, and narrative pictorial and synthetic qualities, the large-scale works echo the enhanced spiritual qualities related to the history of post-New York School painting.

Peter Makebish’s artistic career began in 1994 assisting photographers Mario Testino and Kelly Klein. Soon after, he began shooting band footage for Universal Records and Nylon magazine; this led to an interest in transitioning from photography to film. From 1997 to the present, he has produced several music documentaries and remixes in collaboration with notable music world innovators such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Michael Stipe, Marilyn Manson, Neal Strauss and Ian Astbury of The Cult. “In Dialogue” marks Makebish’s curatorial debut and is inspired by Makebish’s lifelong interest in exploring the common creative vein that runs through art and music.