Someone has to cure artist Malado Baldwin of her addiction to one-day pop-up exhibitions: her work deserves to be seen by bigger, better audiences that can study her paintings in daylight and reward themselves with the return visits her enticing, complex forms demand. Baldwin, born in Africa and named after one of that continent’s goddesses by her Peace Corps parents, channels cooler, more northerly, indeed Nordic forces in her lustrous landscapes: Louisa Matthiasdottir, late Edvard Munch and Per Kirkeby all come to mind. On Sunday, June 12, New Yorkers can sample her work at a hummus tasting party (talk about alternative venues!) at Nolita’s Open House Gallery, 201 Mulberry, from 11am to 7.30pm.
Postscript: The author checked out the show (and the hummus) and must report that although the show was but for a day, the conditions could not have been more perfect, and the hummus was no distraction from enjoyment of the paintings, which were hung high on glorious top lit white walls. Baldwin was able, also, to show large works dating back to her student days, and to see works – made in a tight Greenpoint studio – at decent distances for the first time, justifying for artist and viewer alike the one day experience. That’s the short and the long of it.