Elise Ferguson / You Me / 2008 / pigmented plaster, aluminum, silver leaf / 18 x 24 inches / envoy gallery

Arnold Kemp / Climate / 2008 / watercolor, acrylic paint, flashe, mixed media on linen / 14 x 18 inches / envoy gallery

Aude du Pasquier Grall / Le Cycle Masculin N°7 / 2005-2008 / video installation; ed. 5 / envoy gallery

I happened upon this show in the Lower East Side a few weeks back, shortly after it opened. Small textured paintings in the front room sparkled and glittered. I slipped behind the curtain into a video exhibit projected on two walls. I’m usually not a big fan of video exhibitions, usually because it’s impossible to watch because people are afraid to walk fully into the room, clogging up the entrance, and I usually walk in at some point in the loop with no idea where it is coming from where it is going and for how long. I loose patience quickly. Anyway, this was fun because it wasn’t crowded, I could sit on the floor, and besides, the artist was there sitting in a chair, with her elbows on her knees, filming us watching the video, setting up this weird pomo redundancy observer/observed dynamic. I only wish I had done my little doggy yelp!

Envoy Gallery, 131 Chrystie St., through 7 June 2008