‘Follow me you coward,’ reads an arresting command on the wall of Nora Turato’s current show at 52 Walker, along with the cliched, ‘a lifetime of action and adventure with no clock to punch,’ and tantalizing ‘all is forgiven.’ The show’s title, ‘Govern Me Harder,’ a puzzlingly submissive, perhaps masochistic demand was inspired by a sticker she saw in an Amsterdam dog park; other expressions were gathered from news, ads, online sources and, says the artist, her own thoughts. In this enamel on steel panel, the last word of the sentence, ‘I sold it for million bells,’ derails expectations of a million dollar sale, leaving us in a thought-provoking lurch. (On view in Tribeca through July 1st.)
Nora Turato, i sold it for million bells, vitreous enamel on steel in four (4) parts, overall: 94 ½ x 75 5/8 inches, 2022.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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