all words: Rachel Eisley
all photos: Max Cook, Rachel Eisley and Katherine Gaines

Conner Contemporary Art opened to a full house of enthusiastic art aficionados dressed to impress on Friday, January 16th. The 7,000 square foot gallery complex complete with an enclosed outdoor exhibition space featured three solo exhibitions by artists Jeremy Kost, Taylor Baldwin and Matthew Sutton.

Probably the most photogenic of all, Kost’s “Anyone other than me” installation features hundreds of Polaroid photos documenting the New York social scene of glam sub-cultures: club-kids, celebrities, transsexuals, and beautiful young men. The Polaroid collections are inherently honest – offering the viewer what few other photographic processes can – an instantly captured singular non-manipulated or duplicated moment. Adding a living dimension to the exhibition were several NYC club personalities featured in his work who graced the gallery with technicolor flair and larger-than-life style. The opening was followed by an invite-only performance at the Capitol Skyline hotel’s video lounge .

Taylor Baldwin describes his exhibition “Living Fossil” as oscillating between raw material and known form, familiarity and disorientation. The familiar forms in the exhibit include chainsaws and skulls created from found and salvaged materials. Baldwin’s titles, such as “I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts,” a sculpture topped with a translucent chainsaw, recall pop culture references in tandem with complex yet disassociated imagery. Baldwin’s sculptures were installed low to the ground providing an aerial view to gallery patrons.

Matthew Sutton’s presents a collection of sounds in “Sounds a Grown Man Shouldn’t Make,” which he describes as sounds that are met with disapproval from friends, family and coworkers”. Gallery patrons placed headphones over their own ears to hear Sutton’s sound collections which played through small MP3 players.

Shows are open until March 6th. For further information go to: http://www.connercontemporary.com/

photos by Max Cook:

and finally some photos by Rachel Eisley:

Want more art updates? sign up for our “Year in Art 2010″ newsletter