The Brady Bunch vs. Barney at Massimo Audiello

 

No, Bjork hasn't met an untimely death while vacationing in the Bahamas, but Brooklyn artist Alison Brady up-ends the world of Matthew Barney as we know it with a delicious and devious delight. Here, the graceful swan as metaphor takes on new meaning, instead rather as an ostrich with its head buried in the sand. The photographer possesses a terrific sense of humor in her new show, "An Uncertain Nature" at Massimo Audiello. Perhaps I'm seeing a reference that may not necessarily be there if you dig deeper under the surface, but I cannot look at these photos and not burst out laughing. They're creepy, brilliant, tongue-in-cheek portraits which make it appear as if Mr. Barney's human meat grinder has merged with Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait. Here is some fantastical staged surrealism done in the present, but adeptly conjuring up the past. The show runs through leap year, February 29th. Get thee to Audiello stat.