Tag: abstract

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.

Whitney Oldenburg at Chart Gallery

A sculpture titled ‘Feeding Frenzy’ – three giant chrysalis forms studded with red paper admission tickets – announces Whitney Oldenburg’s first New York solo at Chart Gallery as an energetic and ambitious debut.  In addition to suggestive titles, unusual materials hint at storylines – Feeding Frenzy mixes in ear plugs, helmets to bring to mind a raucous concert. Composed of molds of ‘Feeding Frenzy’ along with row after row of generic acetaminophen, ‘High Tide,’ pictured here, alludes to medicated states.  Also resembling a shell big enough for Venus to arrive on, the sculpture remakes the natural world through human materials as eclectic as lollipop sticks and tiki wall, one of Oldenburg’s idiosyncratic works that beg a closer look. (Gallery opening hours change during the holidays. Check opening hours before visiting.  On view in Tribeca through Jan 6th).

Whitney Oldenburg, High Tide, molds of Feeding Frenzy, metal, clay, lollipop sticks, tiki wall, generic acetaminophen, leather, linen, resin, 60 x 51 x 28 inches, 2023.
Whitney Oldenburg, (detail) High Tide, molds of Feeding Frenzy, metal, clay, lollipop sticks, tiki wall, generic acetaminophen, leather, linen, resin, 60 x 51 x 28 inches, 2023.

 

Rebecca Morris at Bortolami Gallery

In a recent interview, Rebecca Morris explained that color is the content of her painting.  On view through Saturday at Bortolami Gallery in Tribeca, Morris’ light pink, blue and green abstractions are easy on the eye, even when accented by attention-grabbing metallic colors.  All titled just with the date of their making, it’s up to the viewer to puzzle out how each artistic decision – the checkerboard pattern, the shape of each zone of color and the variety of pink tonal contrasts in Untitled (#04-23), for example – creates meaning and mood.  In this painting, Morris considers cultural values placed on color saying, “Gold makes pink important…Often pink is seen as pretty, and pretty gets devalued.”  In this opulent, complex and intellectually engaging painting, pink steals the show.  (On view through Nov 4th).

Rebecca Morris, Untitled (#12-23), oil and spray paint on canvas, 2023.

Elise Ansel at Miles McEnery Gallery

Calling Old Master paintings her ‘powerful allies’ yet seeking to ‘shine a light on disparities’ in them, Elise Ansel considers the messages conveyed by iconic art historical works by reworking them as abstractions in new work at Miles McEnery Gallery.  A comparison of specific artworks, in this case, Paolo Veronese’s 16th century Allegory of Virtue and Vice and the similarly composed and colored piece by Ansel titled ‘Virture and Vice III,’ reveals how the colors of the original convey meaning; our eye is drawn to the hero at center, Hercules, as he flees the enticements and electric orange tones of the woman at bottom right for the more sober green color of Virtue.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 31st).

Elise Ansel, Virtue and Vice III, oil on linen, 2023.

Carrie Moyer’s ‘Pirate Jenny’ at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is switching up its contemporary galleries regularly these days in an exciting change from past years.  For the last month, this lush, abstract painting by Brooklyn-based painter, writer and activist Carrie Moyer has enticed mezzanine visitors, celebrating Pride Month and offering up pure visual pleasure.  Titled ‘Pirate Jenny,’ the piece refers to a song in Bertoldt Brecht and Kurt Will’s ‘Three Penny Opera’ about a hotel maid who triumphs over her scornful fellow townspeople, sailing away to happiness.

Carrie Moyer, Pirate Jenny, acrylic, glitter, and graphite on canvas, 2012.