c a t e g o r y 3 0 5 . c o m s / s a n n e s t s c h i d a
n o v e m b e r s 2 0 0 6
basel hasn't even officially started yet, and already we're bored. bored, bored, bored. basel has become this surreal buffet of art commercialism and pretentious carpetbaggers hoping for a bold-faced mention in some new york rag. '06 will be no different. that said, we're totally going. and we're starting with a local favorite, brook dorsch, whose only claim to pretension is installing air-conditioning in his edge-of-ghetto gallery this year. dorsch gallery wasn't about to get left behind in the bash of basel, so it opened up a week in advance, the lone unveiling in wynwood on nov. 25th. it was a good decision by dorsch, as this well-laid out group show would have been lost in the crowd, as most are during basel.
following in the strategy of a number of galleries that put together group shows in december each year, this is a kind of best hits of artists exhibit.
here are 20 of them.
#1-4: sculptor ralph provisero and sound artist rene barge, their duet of a piece, and the makeshift room in the sprawling warehouse that houses it. "phantom resonance" consists of two large hanging sculptures that look like airplane engines with propellers. you can push them around and spin the "propellers." like other works of provisero, the materials are incredibly heavy and yet there is lightness to them - these literally float in the air, with the help of wire.
from the speakers in the darkened room comes barge's sound, which even on a noisy opening night complemented the physical work perfectly. but maybe complement does barge a disservice -- he doesn't make soundtracks to accompany real visuals. he makes sound art, and this is a collaboration. the three-sided room worked very well as a cocoon for the installation.
a r t p a p e r s s / s k a t h l e e n s h u d s p e t h
j a n u a r y s f e b r u a r y s 2 0 0 6
rene barge was once archly described by a local arts writer as "the bespectacled screamer who can clear a room of the unadventurous in a new york minute." gifts, his recent exhibition at the dorsch gallery [september 10 - october 1, 2005], combined a sound installation, works on paper, and wood sculptures, showcasing barge's interest in aural perceptions of space and the idea of exchange.
long associated with the "noise" scene at churchill's pub through his participation in events such as beautiful noise and the international noise conference, barge's performances have, at times, proven difficult. though many of the works produced before 2003 tended toward confrontational sonic challenges to the audience's ability to be receptive, barge's work has since become more amicable, intimate, and enticing. incorporating incidental and accidental sounds in all his performances, barge now embraces happenstance sounds subtler than his earlier explosions, as he specifically explores sound's subtle reverberations in its environment.
while gifts was not one of barge's inspired public performances, the exhibition combined sound and images based on his aural meditations in the gallery's physical space as well as paper cd jackets and wooden sculptures made to house cdr copies of the sound work. gallery visitors can listen to a version of the sound documentation, mixed specifically for an intimate headphone experience.
ten unique paper cd jackets are displayed in gifts. it is no accident that this number corresponds to the number of walls in the dorsch gallery. many of barge's most contemplative pieces have been performed and exhibited there, and barge can use the space for aural experiments when he likes. barge sets up modules to generate sound, and then moves throughout the gallery to experience it in different locations.
barge created the works on paper and wood cd cases in direct response to his experience and memory of sound in the gallery space. just as generations of visual artist have drawn landscapes based on perception, barge's works on paper are based on his perceptions of a sonic landscape. his delicate drawing - paintings are made with an eye toward material. they also echo the composer's consideration of various instruments' timbre and duration. the sensitivity of barge's response ensures that each image is rich and varied.
his images also function as both score and document, records of the actual auditory experience as imperfectly serendipitous as the cds. though identical in coding, the cds will invariably produce different sonic experiences, if only for their playback space and equipment. the works' intimacy was heightened by listening to the two tracks while looking at the images. their combination gave the previously mute space a sense of sequence, resonance, and difference.
conversant in buddhism, philosophy, and the histories of art and music, barge straddles fine art and punk "noise" aesthetics. this trade mimics his personal relationship with sound. sound's flexibility and its inflection by placement, perception, and mindfulness sustain barge's most essential performative dialogs.
the sound experiment recorded and featured in gifts was never intended to be part of an installation, but was created instead to give to other sound artists. fortunately, brook dorsch convinced barge to show the work; the resulting exhibition was an unexpected and worthwhile gift indeed.
a r t b l o g . n e t s / s f r a n k l i n s e i n s p r u c h
s e p t e m b e r s 2 0 0 5
the line skips like a needle on a seismograph, detecting staccato pulses from deep within the earth. occasionally it reaches an implosive frenzy and turns on itself, as if seeking to release its own mania. lozenges of colors swarm together like honeybees. paper, warm, touchable, white, provides a sprung floor for the dance, its texture joining the hum of activity.
sight, sound, and feeling interact in subtle ways, and rene barge works in that area of subtlety that requires the viewer/listener to pay a lot of attention to those interactions. rene barge: gifts runs through october 1 at dorsch gallery.
t h e n e x t f e w h o u r s . c o m s / s k a t h l e e n s h u d s p e t h
s e p t e m b e r s 2 0 0 5
i’d like to offer to you what i think is a precious gem from among the baubles of the evening. the work of rene barge (at the dorsch gallery).
rene has a series of small works on paper, which are exhibited with a sound piece. i ’m more familiar with rene’s sound works than his visual art, and i ’m often a hard sell for sound work for no good reason other than context (too loud, too chaotic, too whatever–but i ’m always aware that it’s my problem, not the work’s per se). in rene’s show, i approached the sound last (it was a headphone/cd player installation). rene also fashioned cd cases out of wood; the sound piece came from his aural experiments, and the combination comprised gifts which he offered to friends, hence the show’s title (gifts).
without yet having listened to the headphones, but knowing that sound is integral to the work, the drawings (paintings, whichever you like) seduced me. they seemed at once to me like landscapes and scores; i could interpret them both ways. as landscapes, they reminded me of early renaissance drawings and prints (ref. storm over a landscape, landscape near pisa, arno valley, by leonardo da vinci and a group of trees, landscape with an alpine pool, by albrecht durer), as well as other historical landscapes (ref. oak tree and beech, by samuel parker) – the small marks, somewhat curly and filigreed or knotted, combined with distinct massings of color.
as musical notation, i could see in them marks that suggested long or clustered undertones, sudden outbursts, small tinnations, and so forth.
listening to the sound while looking at the works did not diminish either capacity, but instead managed to activate the previously neutral space of the gallery. i felt that i was in a very contemplative space, where all of the elements functioned harmoniously. the auditory aspect of the whole added a sense of sequence to the visual, and had i had enough time and a comfy chair, i would have listened to the whole thing, but alas, i had neither.
M A M s / s l i g h t s a n d s a t m o s p h e r e s / s c h e r y l s h a r t u p
a p r i l s 2 0 0 4
rene barge's video, reverberating, across all the years, asks the question, "when are we fully who we are," and answers it by showing barge at work. what he creates is a drawing and a video documentation of the process in real time. it is his way of participating in the flow of artistic human endeavor.
the way barge carefully places his dyed strings in horizontal lines - and then removes them - leaves an impression on the paper that brings to mind weaving, writing, or tribal painting. for example, the work resembles painted bark cloth of the mbuti in northeast congo. the setting is the out-of-doors, and the silvery daylight creates a luminous atmosphere, making it difficult to distinguish details and color but adding an evocative mystery. however, you can see that the lines are supple and fluid and have a sense of asymmetric rhythms. furthermore, what first appears to be a systematic set of actions by barge soon shows itself to be an intuitive response to what is happening on the paper.
the artist's gestures suggest a kind of healing, like a laying of the hands. at the end of the video, after barge has left the scene, the sheet of paper moves unexpectedly, as if possessed by a spirit. the displacement neatly symbolizes the artist's retreat from the physical world in order to create the work.
a r t b l o g . n e t s / s f r a n k l i n s e i n s p r u c h
m a r c h s 2 0 0 4
after an evening of looking at so-so, not great, not terrible, and pretty good art last saturday, i arrived at dorsch gallery to rene barge's latest piece (drops). the concept was simple: a metal bathtub, propped up on guitar slides, with a contact microphone attached to it, water dripping into it, and a spotlight shining down on it.
i felt as though my attention had been wiped clean with an alcohol swab.
the sound was cavernous but spare and comforting. the tub glowed like the moon. the pleasure was so simple as to preclude analysis, and the evening was redeemed.
rene has an intense focus that makes work like the above seem like a natural expression. he strives for the essence, which sounds goofy to say, but it informs a lot of how he does things and what he is willing to occupy his mind and life with.
m i a m i s n e w t i m e s s / s a n n e s t s c h i d a
m a r c h s 2 0 0 4
what becomes an urban experience most? "screeeeech, griiiiick, yuooooom, creeiiook!" noise. in noise lives the symphony of movement, the echo of existence that lets us know what it means to be alive. locally there may be no busier urban noise (okay, sound) artist than rene barge, the bespectacled screamer who can clear a room of the unadventurous in a new york minute. but we suggest sticking around. barge's creations ebb and flow, sometimes with a subtlety that demands close attention. other times they build and burst in earsplitting, orgasmic crescendos. this time the sound and visual installation will grow over 3 evenings, snowballing through 3-hour performances uniformly titled "drops." what will you hear, feel, experience? sound conductor barge - who has mounted visual art shows as well as sound and music performances around miami- gives no clues. and if you knew what to expect, why would you bother going.
m i a m i s n e w t i m e s s / s a l f r e d o s t r i f f
j a n u a r y s 2 0 0 4
the opening of "front and center," an all-performance exhibit at the freshly opened box, was truly an event. a group collaboration showcasing a bunch of performance artist, this was a sort of 1960's happening that mixed the audience's reactions and the performers' deliverance simultaneously. there was no pretense to do anything but that, and man, it was dynamic!
the thunderous musique concrete of rene barge bombarded everyone with a cadence of noise explosions followed by soft hiss echoes. his performance was superb.
a r t s i n s a m e r i c a s / s r o n i s f e i n s t e i n
d e c e m b e r s 2 0 0 3
dorsch presents miami artists both in solo and group shows. in january 2003 paintings by miami resident robert miller were shown in the main space and an installation by rene barge appeared in the project room. the latter, titled "tint and texture," consisted of 11 small, subtle abstract paintings in tones of blue hanging on the walls of a dimly lit room; a meditative electronic hum created a tranquil environment, a happy pairing with miller's abstractions with a buddhist theme.
t h e s u n b u r n . c o m s / s f r a n k l i n s e i n s p r u c h
j a n u a r y s 2 0 0 3
dorsch gallery opened "tint and texture" by rene barge on saturday. minimal blue abstractions in which color had been manipulated by dissolving and wiping were dimly lit in the project room. a meditative electronic hum pervaded the air. the effect was total, absorbing the viewer into an atmosphere in which alternating layers of tension and calm rested together like a stack of books.
in the main space were robert miller's paintings based on the sounds of tibetan bells. it was the same idea, rendered with more paint and bigger canvases, and yet with less force. in art, it's not your idea, it's what you do with it, and here is your proof. barge's smaller works packed a bigger wallop. overheard in the gallery: "david killed GOLIATH."
p r a t t s i n s t i t u t e s / s m a n d y s l i n d a b u r y
f e b r u a r y s 2 0 0 1
rene barge has been an artist in miami for over ten years. in that time, he has created numerous paintings and installations, collaborated in various sound and performance projects and turned out several recordings. barge has been involved in both the audio and the visual simultaneously, but this is the first time that his paintings directly reflect a merging of the two.
his recent paintings are a culmination of the last decade of work, which brings influence from literature and music together onto tiny canvases with a powerful aesthetic. these paintings allude to a physically abstract interpretation of sound; the canvas is a place where sound may become visual. these paintings differ from Barge's earlier paintings most notably in size; traditionally he has worked with larger pieces that were visually overpowering. here he concentrates his thoughts and concepts to produce paintings that are only a fraction of the size of his previous work but many times more powerful. one theme that has carried over into the smaller canvases is the application of a high gloss finished surface. the high gloss surface gives the paintings a harsh aspect, the treatment in effect, tries to negate and trivialize the softness of the lines beneath and remove any tactile evidence of brushwork. in this way the glossy surface could be seen as a distraction to the viewer.
in these paintings, a floating blue pattern is repeated and melted into a white background. the effect is a haze of visual sound waves producing erratic lines to an invisible beat. this calm visual pulse is a dramatic contrast to barge's early sounds, which has been said to assault the senses - both auditory and visual. we see in the paintings a sense of soothing, flowing calm that is not found in his previous creative expressions. from literature, barge finds influence in the story of venus in furs, by leopold von sacher-masoch; the namesake of the term masochism. barge identifies with the overwhelming feelings of obsession, passion and dissatisfaction experienced by the lead character severin towards wanda, the woman he loves. these similar feelings, for barge, translate into his art and the need to create images that satisfy his obsessions.
an obsession that can be identified in these paintings is one of repetition. the pattern created by the pulses is formed over and over. this idea of repetition is even more visible in barge's drawings. repetition is thought to put people at ease or make them uncomfortable. here barge gets a reaction out of each viewer and we are able to see for ourselves what keeps him painting; the comfort of the repetition and the uneasiness he feels when the need to create manifests itself.