The fierce ambition that has marked the first three and a half years of Stefan Kalmár’s tenure as director (and curator) of Artists Space shows no sign of abating. The current exhibition, “Frozen Lakes,” which he has co-curated with the alternative space’s curator, Richard Birkett, takes as its jumping-off point the famous “Pictures” exhibition that critic Douglas Crimp curated at the gallery in 1977. “Pictures” was one of the organization’s foundational moments and a pivotal moment in recent art history. The new show feels similarly riveting.
<...> a 2012 sculpture by Shadi Habib Allah comments subtly on the relationship between real and virtual. The shell of a red hot rod has been fitted around a high-definition video camera. A film in front of it shows two men constructing the piece in an auto-body shop as they discuss politics, money and all-you-can-eat buffet options. It feels uncanny to stand next to the sleek finished product as you watch it being built.
