Rita Ackermann Has a Fire in Her

"If my work can relate more to poetry, then I am getting closer," says Rita Ackermann, discussing "Fire by Days," her most recent series of paintings and works on paper. The loose, understated abstractions are often rendered exclusively in indigo and red oil and enamel—newer works also include a nude tone—and touched by bursts of spray paint. The title of the series derives from "Vacancy in Glass" by poet Roger Gilbert-Lecomte, whom Ackermann discovered through the writings of Antonin Artaud. The poem's final lines, "In a swift white line/On a black space/A brushstroke/Signifying absence," imply the flight of a bird as a symbol of loss, and reflect the artist's new impetus toward unbound, gesture-based abstraction.
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The Lookout: A Weekly Guide to Shows You Won't Want to Miss

With an ever-growing number of galleries scattered around New York, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Where to begin? Here at A.i.A., we are always on the hunt for thought-provoking, clever and memorable shows that stand out in a crowded field. Below is a selection of current shows our team of editors can't stop talking about.

This week we check out D'Amelio's installation of Jedediah Caesar's latest resin panels, which look like they were excavated from a Dr. Seuss-inspired lava field; a three-gallery installation of Gilbert & George's "London Pictures" at Sonnabend and Lehmann Maupin (Chelsea and LES); and, at Guided by Invoices, an astute take on the financial crash by former banker/current artist Carol Szymanski.
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Bacon, Lichtenstein and Warhol Lead at Sotheby's Contemporary Auction

A trio of contemporary masters led Sotheby's contemporary art auction last night in New York. A Roy Lichtenstein canvas of a dozing blond, selling for $44.9 million, set an artist record, as did works by Cy Twombly, Glenn Ligon and Mark Bradford. The sale was a solid performance, totaling $266.6 million, straight down the middle of the house's estimated take, with 80% of the offerings finding buyers. The same sale last year brought $128 million. Christie's Tuesday night sale totaled $388.5 million, setting a record for any contemporary art auction.

"The market is super-strong for top works," New York art advisor Allan Schwartzman told A.i.A. "If they're the highest-quality works of significant date by the most important artists, there doesn't seem to be much of a ceiling on the bidding. It was stunning how, particularly at Christie's, on the top lots—of which there were many—there was deep bidding at the highest price levels."
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The Master Tinkerer: Q + A with Jack Brogan

Despite having spent more than five decades in Los Angeles, Tennessee-born Jack Brogan still clings to his Southern roots, from his soft-spoken drawl to his head-to-toe denim outfits and cowboy boots. Brogan's unassuming manner belies the influential role he's played as a fabricator, collaborator, conservator and right-hand man for an entire generation of California Light & Space artists—Peter Alexander, Larry Bell and DeWain Valentine among them.

Brogan was in town recently to install Robert Irwin's latest show, "Dotting the i's & Crossing the t's," on view through June 23 at Pace's 57th Street gallery. Brogan and Irwin have worked together consistently since the early '60s, most recently on an ongoing series of painted honeycomb aluminum panels for which Brogan created a special paint color that, he says, is "so black it makes other blacks look brown." The second installment of Irwin's show, opening this fall, will feature a pair of nearly transparent acrylic columns that the 82-year-old Brogan also fabricated.
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