Adrian Norvid show pics, sans Adrian-the-Blemished-Onlooker
Adrians and their Blemish(es)
Saturday was a day spent bumping and bumbling around a few galleries, just taking in funny circumstances and enjoying the outdoors. I got a chance to see Adrian Norvid’s show at the Joyce Yahouda with what seemed like a bunch of CEGEP students yelping in the background - fortunately this did nothing to detract from the ambiance.
A further enhancement of my experience taking in Norvid’s intoxicating, uproariously hilarious work came in the form of another Adrian who had come to the gallery by chance. It’s already slightly weird when your name matches the name of the artists’ show that you find yourself in. Kind of an odd coincidence. However, this Adrian happened to have a red blemish on his nose. Sort of exactly in the spot where Adrian Norvid had drawn a blemish on his own nose in one of his works.
You can see here in this photo the intrepid Adrian-audience-member standing next to the ridiculous Blemish-drawing Adrian and how closely related their blemishes in fact are. I have circled the real life Adrian’s mark in Perez Hilton style red.
This would not happen at any other artists’ show. Guaranteed.
Filed under Uncategorized | Tags: Adrian Norvid, the Joyce Yahouda Gallery | Comment (0)Secret Agent Norvid At it Again…
I swear that my love of Adrian Norvid’s work is not only based in an appreciation for humour that resides in the ridiculous (e.g. the “spit it out” & “suck it up” milk container duo as seen above, Art Pop 2009). Although, to be honest, this element of his practice definitely endears me to it eternally, being a resident of Ridiculous myself.
Yet Norvid manages to always go beyond the instant pun or play-on-words with an almost mystical ability to imbue his drawings, sculptures and objects with a deeper sense of loss, of lamentation and of joy. And I am not being trite here, I truly mean that. Picture your uncle, the one you only ever saw during family vacations. The fellow whose face only comes to mind with the help of old photographs. Who always made you feel at home, smuggling warm candies from his pockets into greedy, grubby hands. With that way of shouting ironic phrases at adults that seemed like hilarious jokes for the kids.
At the time, he was just Crazy (re: amazing, awe-inspiring) Uncle Charley. Now, looking back on those moments, you see that he carried with him an incredible sadness and joy for life that likely few felt as deeply.
Adrian Norvid’s work is Crazy Uncle Charley, as art. For me, anyway.
I strongly recommend you go and find out if you feel similar. Norvid’s got a new exhibition up (the opening was early on the night of Nuit Blanche) at the Joyce Yahouda gallery. I always find her programming interesting, and it’s high time you went back to the Belgo sans enough-people-to-create-a-giant-finnish-sauna-in-the-hallway, n’est pas?
His latest show, Wrongo, is a:
burgeoning collection of epic, large format drawings, massed hangings of smaller, poster-like works, rangy paper constructions and laconic found objects…
It runs until the 27th of March. It is ripe with themes of inappropriate behaviour. Take a date and do something nasty in the gallery while it’s up already. You have a month to find someone suitable.
Filed under artists, gallery, local | Tags: 60's swag, 70's instruments, Adrian Norvid, the Joyce Yahouda Gallery | Comment (1)
