Coming off its recent Picasso exhibit, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is gearing up to premiere four brand new solo exhibits, each being the artist’s first in an American museum.  The four new exhibits and artists will be: Tamar Guimarães and Kasper Akhøj: Studies for A Minor History of Trembling Matter; Jacob Kassay: OTNY; Eric Mack: Vogue Fabrics; and photographs by Willa Nasatir.

Tamar Guimarães and Kasper Akhøj hail from Brazil and Denmark, respectively.  Their Studies for a Minor History of Trembling Matter will be presented as a film that focuses on studies done in a small town in Brazil where half the inhabitants believe themselves to be mediums and psychic conduits.  The film aims to challenge conventional approaches to narrative.  This exhibit will also be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art later this year.

Jacob Kassay actually comes from America, but has never had a solo exhibit in a museum here. His OTNY will be a series of sculptures based on our perceptual habits and how we take for granted such things that guide and navigate our lives as we live them.  The installation will include a subtle replacement of an Albright-Knox handrail and several replications of household objects, such as kitchen shelves and garages.

Eric Mack is also another America yet to have a solo exhibit premiere in a museum in his home country.  His installation, Vogue Fabrics, will be a multi-media piece that will include sculptures, paintings, fabrics, and other functional materials.  The installation seeks to point out and expand upon our notions of beauty by displaying these materials that have function in our ordinary lives, but not in the world of art.  The title comes from the prestigious clothing company and fashion magazine, but also will be an homage to the nightclub in London that bears the same name.

Willa Nasatir’s (also American born) photographs that will be on display will showcase the artist’s knack for photographing and rephotographing.  She plans to take photos and add to them, such as adding construction material to an already-taken photograph of a construction site.  Her photographs are plays on conventional narrative and memory, some stemming from her love of various artworks and film moments from her past.

Although the content of each exhibit will be different, each exhibit seems to challenge conventions of ordinary life and make us come to an understanding of things we take for granted, such as narrative.

Although this seems like reaching towards the other end of the exhibition spectrum, considering the recent run of the Picasso exhibit, the Albright-Knox does have a recent track record of hosting American-premiering solo exhibits.  In April 2016, they hosted painter Torey Thornton’s first American museum solo installations and shortly after that premiered the drawings of University of Buffalo professor Joan Linder in July.

The premiere of the exhibits will be held this Friday, February 17 at an Albright-Knox members-only event.  This event will be held from 5-7 pm and will also feature talks by the artists themselves.

There will then be a free public event right after from 7-9 pm.  At 7:15 pm, there will be a panel held with Albright-Knox’s Senior Curator, Cathleen Chaffee, as well as the artists.

The exhibits will be open to the public from February 18- June 18, 2017.  The prices to see the exhibits (excluding the gallery’s Frist Fridays, which allows free access to the gallery the first Friday of each month) are $12 for adults; $8 for senior citizens and college students; and $6 for ages 6-18.  Members and children under 5 are free.

The Albright-Knox is located at 1285 Elmwood Ave and is open from 10 am- 5 pm every day (holiday hours subject to change).

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