Pamela Joseph’s censored paintings of iconic artworks, including the rendition of Matisse’s Blue Nude pictured here, look like humorously overzealous attempts to stop objectification of female bodies. In fact, Joseph is recreating the distortions imposed by Iranian censors on art books in Iran. (At Francis M. Naumann Fine Art on 57t Street through May 22nd).
Pamela Joseph, Censored Blue Nude by Matisse, oil on linen, 30 x 48 inches, 2014.
Art and science perform a beautiful dance in Tim Hawkinson’s ‘Gimbled Klein Basket,’ a rotating bamboo lattice depicting a Klein bottle, a single sided object with no boundaries invented by 19th century mathematician Felix Klein. (At Pace Gallery’s 510 West 25th Street location through June 27th).
Tim Hawkinson, Gimbled Klein Basket, bamboo, motor, pulley, drive belt, 9’ 2” x 11’ 8” x 4’ 6,” 2007.
When Japanese pop art icon Yayoi Kusama last showed at David Zwirner Gallery, audiences waited on line for hours to enter a mirrored chamber. Two years later, the octogenarian artist is reviving another crowd pleaser, a version of her 2002 ‘obliteration room,’ in the form of a mini-suburban home that viewers will cover with stickers supplied by the gallery. (In Chelsea through June 13th).
Yayoi Kusama, installation view of ‘The obliteration room,’ furniture, white paint, dot stickers, dimensions variable, 2002 – present.
Saying her art practice is about ‘mistranslating the history of ancient objects,’ Brooklyn-based sculptor Sarah Peters ‘misinterprets’ Akkadian rulers, Greek busts and more with stunning results in several bronze heads at LES gallery Eleven Rivington. (Through May 17th).
Sarah Peters, Portrait of a Bearded Man with Triangular Base, bronze, 17.5 x 7 x 13 inches, 2015.
Both identity and longevity are illusory, Judith Henry’s photos seem to say. Masked and standing in front of paintings that she made in response to others, Henry takes a photo, then uses the painting as a surface for the next work. (At Bravin Lee in Chelsea through May 16th).
Judith Henry, Blue Rectangle, archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Bright White, 19 x 24 inches, 2014.
