Category: Don’t Miss

Philip Guston at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the late 60s, abstract artist Philip Guston stopped painting, then restarted his practice by building a new, figurative artistic vocabulary.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly installed mezzanine gallery features solitary painted objects – a lightbulb, a shoe – on small canvases that demonstrate how the artist weighed up the meaning and import of everyday objects that he would later repeat. This untitled painting shows a partial view of the artist himself, apparently painted over and covering another image. Wide-eyed and looking straight at the viewer, Guston is only partially visible, but his wary stare speaks volumes about his desire to communicate.  (On view on the Upper East Side in the Met’s ‘Philip Guston: The Panel Paintings, 1968-72 which includes work from Musa Guston Mayer’s promised gift.)

Philip Guston, Untitled, acrylic on panel, 1968.

Barbara Takenaga at DC Moore Gallery

Abstract painter Barbara Takenaga stakes out new territory in recent works at DC Moore Gallery in Chelsea, introducing compositions dominated by curvy organic shapes (recalling bodies by Gladys Nilsson) and bordered by bright red contour lines.  The 12 foot long ‘Two for Bontecou’ features a fragmented circular object with a void at center a la sculptor Lee Bontecou, and appears to combine deliberately rendered forms with Takenaga’s signature change-driven mark-making.  Here, in ‘Red Turnout,’ a multi-colored form snakes up from below while a signature explosion of white marks covers the canvas, contributing to this painting’s dynamic impact.  (On view through April 27th in Chelsea).

Barbara Takenaga, Red Turnout, acrylic on linen, 70 x 60 inches, 2024.

Cal Lane at C24 Gallery

Cal Lane’s steel sculptures of lacy underwear – incongruous in their industrial material vs subject matter – are real attention grabbers but take a back seat to altered found materials in the artist’s mini-retrospective at C24 Gallery in Chelsea.  Though they appear light and whimsical, these shovels from 2016 recall steel sculptural panels commissioned by the MTA for Knickerbocker Ave station which were inspired by the area’s architecture.  The wheelbarrow is one of the show’s best pieces for pushing the material, achieving a surprising delicacy via intricate patterning.  (On view through May 10th).

Cal Lane, Untitled (Wheel Barrow), plasma cut wheel barrow, 55.5 x 25.5 x 6 inches, 2007 and 3 x Untitled (Shovel), plasma cut steel and wood, 2016.

Sarah Crowner at Luhring Augustine Gallery

Barbara Hepworth’s pierced organic abstractions, Henry Moore’s curvilinear reclining figures and the undulating forms of Chinese scholar stones come to mind when viewing Sarah Crowner’s attractive new bronze sculptures at Luhring Augustine Gallery’s Tribeca space.  Reflecting Crowner’s vibrant paintings, which have fittingly vivid titles like ‘Red Oranges Over Orange with Curve,’ or ‘Violets Over Reds,’ the sculptures are enhanced by and enhance their environment.  (On view through May 4th).

Sarah Crowner, installation view of ‘Hot Light, Hard Light,’ at Luhring Augustine Gallery, Tribeca, March 2024.

Ian Mwesiga at FLAG Art Foundation

Forest mist and a pool’s smooth surface mirror each other in color and tranquility in Ian Mwesiga’s intriguing painting ‘Man and His Shadow’ at the FLAG Art Foundation, but the scene isn’t as peaceful as it first appears.  The work is a standout in the Kampala-based artist’s first New York solo show and one of several that feature pools of water as troubled places.  In one painting, a woman glides underwater while a friend acts as lookout under a ‘no swimming’ sign; in another piece, a corporate logo dominates the scene.  Here, the water looks least inviting for a dip, as fallen leaves indicate a change of season that might bring a chill to the air.  Standing between two cracked columns that suggest ruins and leaning on a more solid-looking, modern wall, a young man in swim trunks peels off a sock.  Apparently the sole agent who can decide how this scenario moves forward, viewers look to him, anticipating what will happen next.  (On view in Chelsea through May 4th).

Ian Mwesiga, Man and His Shadow, oil on canvas, 70 7/8 x 59 inches, 2023.