Ailene Fields’ Plea for Sanity and the Pure of Heart
Victor Forbes, Ailene Fields at CFM Gallery
Baba Yaga Eats Andy Warhol
Baba Yaga Eats:
Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Yves Klein, Robert Gober, Maurizio Cattelan, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Claes Oldenberg, Rothko, Wolfgang Laib, Edvard Munch, James Turrell, Richard Serra, Fernando Botero, Christo, John Chamberlain, Andres Serrano with Baba Yaga and Baba Yaga’s Day Off.
An Homage to Mediocrity and Hype
Please contact us for a private personal viewing of
Ailene Fields “A Plea for Sanity”
in Chelsea, New York City. These bronze sculptures, four years in the making, are a commentary about the art world.
Leo Feroleto
Director CFM Gallery Chelsea/Six Summit Gallery/Fields Studios 917-573-0029 director@sixsummitgallery.com Page 56 • SunStorm/Fine Art • Summer 2016
I am a storyteller... in my childhood, one of the stories I was most taken with — and afraid of — was that of Baba Yaga, a witch and nature spirit of the forest of Eastern Europe, the place of my ancestors. I have always thought of myself as a child of the forest. Baba lived in this forest that I loved. As a child, I wanted to be worthy of the magical gifts she gave to heroes and the pure of‐heart. I did not want to be foolish nor unworthy, and eaten by this force of nature. As a sculptor, having attempted to capture the essence of many other tales, I always wanted to pay homage to Baba’s earth-mother wisdom. Finally, after many years, I sculpted her house to represent her power. Shortly thereafter, while sitting with Neil Zukerman (whose CFM Gallery has represented my work for many years) discussing the state of the art world in general I said, “Baba should eat everyone!” and so began this series of works that I hope examines and illuminates what I believe is terribly wrong with the business of art. Leo Feroleto will represent the collection. My hope is that after Baba’s finished eating, there will be more room in the forest for those who are pure of heart. This 19 sculpture series is meant to take the ‘art worldlings’ to task for their irresponsible behavior. It is to visualize the stupidity and lack of responsibility in the current art world that is foisting mediocre ‘shtick’ upon the public and calling it art - the hype being more important than the work being lauded. — Ailene Fields
The Definition of Art, or What is Art? A Diatribe By Neil Zukerman
Let’s begin with an unassailable definition. Art is Communication. The artist wishes to communicate something to the viewer and the viewer wants to understand what that message is. It is this writer's opinion that this definition strips the question, “What is Art?” to its essence. For obvious reasons the academics like to put everything into categories. It is easier to study assigned groupings then to recognize and address differences. Fortunately, however, artists come in all shapes and sizes as well as engender art in all shapes and sizes. They, by definition, can't be categorized. Many years ago, in my youth, a new denizen of "New York City" (!), I paid my hard-earned $2.50 and entered, for the only time in my life, the vaunted Whitney Museum. The first thing that greeted me was a 12' x 12' room, painted all white; walls, floor and ceiling. In the far corner I spied 6 bricks in a row. Curiosity being my driving force, I went over and looked at the tag. “6 Bricks in a Row.”!!! I turned around, walked out and have never again given them any of my money - or respect. The point of the story is that I do not accept, and will not accept, that six bricks in a row is anything more (or less) than 6 bricks in a row. I don't care what the critics, gallery owners or museum directors decree. When assaulted by a self-important 'expert' with the supercilious, continued on page 58