Renée Green: Excerpts at Bortolami Gallery

There is an instant wow factor when you walk into Renée Green’s exhibit at the Bortolami Gallery in New York. In fact I’d be amazed if the riot of colour and large banners hanging from the ceiling fail to make everyone smile.

Space Poem #7 (Color Without Objects: Intra-Active May-Words) consists of 28 brightly coloured banners that are hanging just above our heads, lightly swaying in the air. The words on the banners are taken from poems by May Swenson, which now take on a different meaning when combined with Green’s colours.

Space Poem #2 (Laura’s Words), 2011/2020

Around the walls of the gallery is a second work by Green: Space Poem #2 (Laura’s Words) which includes the words of poet Laura Riding Jackson, rather than free-flowing banners, these words have been framed, still in bold colours, but I started to wonder if I was experiencing these words different as they were confined behind glass.

Color/No Color, 1990

In the smaller gallery next door is Color/No Color an older piece from Green that asks us to look at how natural colour is. I loved how the riot of colour from her Space Poem’s is just as powerful and full of meaning as that with no colour.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA in 1959, Renée Green is an artist, filmmaker and writer, who has had solo exhibits around the world. Excerpts is a great exhibit that is worth checkin out if you’re in New York.

Renée Green: Excerpts is on view until 31st October at Bortolami Gallery, 39 Walker Street, New York, New York, 10013.