Robyn O’Neil at Susan Inglett Gallery

‘American Animals,’ an uncannily orderly yet apocalyptic vision of the heads of white men subsumed by waves of water or hair, dominates Robyn O’Neil’s current solo show at Susan Inglett Gallery.  Known for drawings that feature multitudes of middle-aged men wreaking various kinds of havoc, O’Neil suggests with this enormous drawing that the men are receiving their comeuppance, perhaps from a feminine force engulfing them with hair or from nature, overcoming them with waves of water.  Who are the men?  Why is their response to calamity so strangely passive?  O’Neil keeps us guessing with provocative questions. (On view in Chelsea through June 4th).

Robyn O’Neil, American Animals, graphite on canvas, 103 x 140 inches, 2020 – 2022.

Raymond Saunders at Andrew Kreps Gallery

The hopscotch grid stands out in this painting by Raymond Saunders, now on view in the renowned Bay Area artist’s first New York solo show in 20 years at Andrew Kreps Gallery in Tribeca.  Evoking a childhood game drawn out on blacktop as well as marks on a chalkboard, references to growth, learning and play are reinforced by the work’s title, ‘Celeste Age 5 Invited Me To Tea.’  Two children’s drawings of a wayward cat and a reference to Carnegie Mellon alongside a watermelon (the artist attended Carnegie Institute of Technology) link to Saunders’ recurring themes relating to education and race.  (On view through Feb 12th).

Raymond Saunders, Celeste Age 5 Invited Me To Tea, mixed media on canvas, 104 x 83 1/8 inches, 1986.

Brianna Rose Brooks in ‘Drawing 2020’ at Gladstone Gallery

‘Don’t think too much about it,’ advises the title of this colored pencil drawing by young Yale MFA candidate Brianna Rose Brooks, but the awkward closeness and intimate immediacy of woman and butterfly is arresting.  Brooks’ two portraits are standouts in Gladstone Gallery’s blockbuster ‘Drawing 2020’ exhibition, which includes recent work by over 100 artists.   (On view in Chelsea.  Masks and social distancing are required and appointments are recommended.)

Brianna Rose Brooks, Don’t think about it too much, colored pencil on paper, 11 ½ x 8 inches, 2020.

Guo Fengyi at Gladstone Gallery

Inspired by visions that came to her during her qigong practice, late Chinese artist Guo Fengyi created towering scrolls now on view in Gladstone Gallery’s 21st Street location.  The Drawing Center’s concurrent show of Guo Fengyi’s work has not reopened, but visitors can take in Gladstone Gallery’s handsome presentation in Chelsea.  Described by a 4 Columns critic as ‘like anthropomorphic burls in trunks of enchanted trees,’ each drawing depicts a mythical or spiritual character (from Santa Claus to Yamantaka) that emerges from or merges into dense swirls of drawn line.   (On view through Fall ’20.  Masks and social distancing are required.  Appointments are encouraged.)

Guo Fengyi, (detail of) Tang Dynasty Princess Wencheng, colored ink on rice paper, 157 ¾ x 27 ½ inches, 2004.

Loie Hollowell at pacegallery.com

Loie Hollowell’s abstracted portraits made during and after her first pregnancy inspired the curving organic forms showcased in her Fall ’19 show at Pace Gallery and pictured here.  Recent drawings now on view in an on-line show at pacegallery.com “…convey the uneven roundness of my body,” explains the artist.  Created around the time of her recent second pregnancy during quarantine this spring, the new work follows the changes of her morphing body and the bond between infant and mother.  (On view through July 14th).

Loie Hollowell, Postpartum Plumb Line, oil paint, acrylic medium, sawdust and high density foam on linen mounted on panel, 72 x 54 x 3.5 inches, 2019.