The Freight + Volume Gallery in Chelsea is currently featuring an exhibition titled Mie: A Portrait of 35 Artists curated by Nick Lawrence and Mie Iwatsuki. As the title suggests, the show is comprised of a series of portraits, by 35 rising contemporary artists, of Mie Iwatsuki who is regarded as a muse and model in contemporary art. The participating artists work in mediums such as painting, drawing, video, sculpture, and performance art.
With these works, each artist offers his or her insight on the idea of portraiture. For example, Rudy Scheperd’s watercolor contribution, Mie age 4, depicts a young child with a short black haircut, one eye crossed, and wrapped in a dark brown sweater. Also of note is Ryan Schneider’s oil on linen painting Mie in a Dress featuring the model wearing a lavish dress with bright red and green zig-zag patterns.
Other highlights include a life-size paper mache sculpture of a Native American with light blue skin and a butterfly figure atop its head, a white feathered hat, a colorful, feathery outfit, pajama pants, and holding a black and blue flower. Barnaby Whitfield’s Mie Mie Mie featuring a ballerina with the head of a cheetah, a bird draped over its shoulder, and two small cheetahs beside the ballerina.
Model and curator, Mie Iwatsuki worked closely with the artists in the creation of each piece. She made herself available to the artists for as long as necessary and interpreted the personal stories and processes behind the works in order to share their experience and intentions as much as possible.
The show includes a catalog with essays written by Ms. Iwatsuki, John Yau, Peter Frank, Anthony Haden-Guest and fellow curator and artist Nick Lawrence. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition and catalogue sales will benefit the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. At The Freight + Volume Gallery (530 W. 24th St.) through February 25th. The gallery is open from Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.
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