Mythic.

Since opening on the LES, Smith-Stewart has consistently delivered interesting, if not exactly perfect shows. The latest, She Was Born To Be My Unicorn, curated by Amy Kellner, follows that trend with some excellent work from Dana Carlson, Rob Pruitt (!!!!), Assume Vivid Astro Focus, and others. I wish Carlson could do dubs of her paintings. Even though I've finally begun to understand how to enjoy the whole package, I'd still like to see what's underneath too. If she could figure out how to do this she could be the King Tubby of painting. Somebody needs to step up and give her a solo show. I had just been to see AVAF's blowout at John Connelly earlier in the afternoon so it almost gave me whiplash to see their maxi-onslaught contained within a rectangle. Don't get me wrong. What they do inside that rectangle is a LOT of fun. I could live in their work, I swear. And Rob Pruitt. Oh, my. He's another one. No missteps from this guy. I could have stared at his piece for a couple hours, that color is so supple.



I always look forward to seeing what they're doing at Smith-Stewart. My only real complaint is that--just once--I'd like to visit this gallery without hearing conversation that makes me want to put a gun in my mouth. It's a small gallery so there's no escaping the (usually loud and emphatic) yapping. Last time it was some Eurotrashboy going on about his fahhhhhhhbulous boyfriend the brilllllllllliant curator. This time it went like this . . .

Woman: Yeah. Junior Associates.
Man: Yeah. I mean. I do wanna get married.
Woman: Yeah. It's like a dating device.

Then there are a couple pieces of a certain type--best exemplified by Michelle O'Marah's Suzie's Rainbow (Valley Girl Prop)--that I'd really like to stop having to look at. Please. All the wonderful not-showing artists out there and I have to look at this. Just say, "No.", next time. Please and pretty please. Even the unicorns are starting to get embarrassed by this crap.