The psychological depth of Jim Shaw’s pop culture dreamscapes
HYPERALLERGIC
By Melissa Stern
MASSACHUSETTS---There’s a big, funny, emotional, and political exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). The exhibition, entitled Entertaining Doubts, presents a massive retrospective of the Los Angeles-based artist Jim Shaw. The work is at once universal in its popular imagery and intensely personal in its self-expression. It would be a bore and frankly remove all the magic from the art to try to decipher everything in this dizzying mix. I find a deep sense of anxiety in the art, amidst its equally apparent humor. [link]
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art: "Jim Shaw: Entertaining Doubts" (Ends January 2016), 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA;(413) 662-2111; MassMoCA.org
By Melissa Stern
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| Jim Shaw, “The Burning Bush” (2013) (detail), acrylic on muslin backdrop with two acrylic, muslin and plywood cut-outs |
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art: "Jim Shaw: Entertaining Doubts" (Ends January 2016), 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA;(413) 662-2111; MassMoCA.org
