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Kai Althoff and Carol Bove at the ICA, Albert Alcalay and Open Studios in Newton
BY RANDI HOPKINS
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Village Voice art critic Jerry Saltz described artist Kai Althoff’s end-of-2001 exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery in New York as being "as memorable as it is idiosyncratic." "Even so," Saltz continued, "walking into it is disconcerting. Althoff has no trademark style and takes a lot of visual risks. His work can be ugly to look at. . . . Slowly, however, what starts as a fuzzy jumble turns into a tightly woven, if disturbing, exploration of karma and history." Born in Cologne in 1966, and still based in that brooding nexus of art and history, Althoff makes art that is rooted in the tales of the Brothers Grimm and gay coming-of-age stories. The artist’s innovative work of the past 15 years is the subject of the upcoming "Kai Althoff," which opens at the Institute of Contemporary Art on May 26. Althoff is best known for haunting, often angst-provoking, watercolors, drawings, and collages — some figurative and some abstract — that seem to illustrate complex narratives based in mediæval allegories, religious tales, or more recent war stories. The evocative pictures intertwine brutality, art history, and adolescence in ways that are both lyrical and frightening. He’s also a full-out installation artist, using found objects, texts, video, and music, and he’s conceived this major ICA exhibition as a work of art itself, presented as a series of environments, each with its own wild story to tell. Downstairs at the ICA, in what seems like a promising confluence of ideas, May 26 likewise marks the opening of a new series called "Momentum" that’s dedicated to emerging artists. "Momentum 1/Carol Bove" showcases a Swiss-born, New York–based artist whose work, like Althoff’s, is driven by history — in her case, by her fascination with the 1960s and 1970s. Her interest in the ICA’s mid-1970s renovation led her to delve into the institute’s archives, and what she learned has inspired her to modify the ICA’s current exhibition space in an effort to recapture something of that era. The history of expressionism and abstraction in 20th-century art, as well as the turbulent political history of the times in which they evolved, is not an abstraction to Albert Alcalay, a prolific artist who was born in Paris in 1917, where he later studied Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and Fauvism. He fought with the Resistance in World War II, was captured by the Nazis, and after the war found himself a refugee in Boston, where he has lived ever since, painting and teaching. A selection of his fine work will be on display in "Albert Alcalay: Small Gems — Canvases & Parchments" at Kantar Fine Arts in Newton through May 30. The show is timed to coincide with Newton Open Studios 2004, which takes place on May 15 and 16, featuring work by perennial favorites including the talented folks at the Claflin School Studios in Newtonville. "Kai Althoff" and "Momentum 1/Carol Bove" are at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 955 Boylston Street in Boston, May 26 through September 6; call (617) 266-5152. "Albert Alcalay: Small Gems" is at Kantar Fine Arts, 382 Kenrick Street in Newton, through May 30; call (617) 332-7495. "Newton Open Studios 2004" takes place this Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, from noon to 6 p.m. at locations throughout Newton. For information and maps, visit vwww.newtonopenstudios.com or call the New Art Center in Newton at (617) 964-3424. Claflin School Studios are located at 449 Lowell Avenue in Newtonville; call (617) 964-2845.
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