volta face

In an effort to combat the schizophrenia of art fair weekend, Volta NY, the sister fair to the Armory Show, promoted the work of a single artist at each one of its stalls. Two artists and galleries stood out above the rest. London's Bartha Contemporary displayed works by American photographer Clay Ketter, whose large-scale images recall those of master shutterbug Andreas Gursky. Bartha included highlights from Ketter's "Gulf Coast Slabs" series, which memorializes remnants of former homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Taken from a crane elevated directly above the site, Ketter's images closely resemble architectural floor plans. The colorful canvases of Dutch artist Ronald de Bloeme, at the Berlin-based Hamish Morrison Galerie, are comparably eye-catching. Works like "Maskerade" demonstrate de Bloeme's keen knowledge of iconography and the language of symbolism.



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