Inspired by the tradition of Americans finding escape in wilderness living, northern Minnesota-based artist Aaron Spangler’s latest work suggests totems for the modern frontiersman. ‘Idol’ is based on the form of a boli, or sacred object, and Spangler’s abstract designs suggest a secret language between human and the divine. (At Horton Gallery on the Lower East Side through Oct 20th).
Aaron Spangler, Idol, carved and painted basswood with a touch of graphite, 2013.
Art applauds nature in Berlin-based American sculptor David Adamo’s hand-made, ceramic termite mounds. Called “exceptionally appealing as objects” by the New York Times, the mini-mounds are smaller than they’d appear in nature but invite wonder at insect engineering. (At Untitled Gallery on the Lower East Side through Oct 20th).
David Adamo, installation view of ‘David Adamo’ at Untitled Gallery, Oct 2013. Foreground: Untitled (Cathedral A), Zellan, 2013.
Brooklyn-based Korean sculptor Heejung Cho makes architecture into art with her series of city buildings constructed of wood at Chelsea’s Gallery Ho. The perspective suggests a city that goes on forever, but the absence of people or other evidence of life give it an eerie emptiness. (At Gallery Ho through Oct 19th).
Heejung Cho, Two Point Perspective, plywood, wood and stain, 2013.
Black and white photos of art historical objects, delicately crafted works on paper, minimal sculptures with metallic accents and ubiquitous mirrors lend Berlin-based artist Claudia Wieser’s first solo show at Chelsea’s Marianne Boesky Gallery a feeling of belonging to both a centuries old craft tradition and an elegant modernism. (At Chelsea’s Marianne Boesky Gallery through Oct 19th).
Claudia Wieser, installation view of ‘The Mirror,’ a solo exhibition with sculpture made in acrylic and/or ink on wood sculptures placed on digital prints in the foreground, all work 2013.
Six tons of dirt from the Yukon and a giant papier-mache bear – part of a solo show by Polish-American artist Joanna Malinowska – launch Canada Gallery’s much-awaited new LES space. Known to source objects from around the world (e.g. a liter of water from the Bering Straight and a sweater from Bolivian president Evo Morales in a previous piece), Malinowska gathers far flung references – intriguing if obscure – to the North American land. (At Canada through Oct 20th).
Joanna Malinowska and Michael Crockford, Falsely Humble (background), wood, papier-mache, 2013. Joanna Malinowska, 6 Tons of Yukon Dirt (foreground), soil from Yukon Territory, miner’s pan & bucket, 2013.
