The title of Mona Hatoum’s ‘Stool III’ ignores the drama happening on top of the furniture as a blood-red glass form looks ready to shift weight and crash to the floor. Referred to in other of Hatoum’s artwork as cells and looking like internal organs, the precipitously arranged red shape implies an impending crisis. (At Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin through July 24th).
Mona Hatoum, Stool III, painted metal and glass, 30 ½ x 16 x 14 ½ in, 2014.
Traditional women’s work becomes political in an international way in Mona Hatoum’s latest solo show at Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin Gallery. Featuring panels woven by Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, the installation symbolizes cultural practices interrupted by war. (Through October 18th).
Mona Hatoum with Inaash, Twelve Windows, 12 pieces of Palestinian embroidery on fabric, wooden clothes pegs, steel cable, each 39 3/8 x 29 3/8 inches, 2012-13.
London-based Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum is known for sculptures that question the sanctity and safety of home; here, it’s the visitor who must beware of a prickly welcome. (Spotted in Alexander and Bonin Gallery’s third floor viewing space, Chelsea).
Mona Hatoum, Doormat, stainless steel and nickel-plated pins, glue and canvas, 1 x 28 x 16 inches, 1996.
Over a period of two years, Palestinian artist Emily Jacir visited Jerusalem’s Jewish National and University Library, surreptitiously phototographing books that once belonged to Palestinians, now labeled as ‘Abandoned Property.’ Lining the walls of Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin Gallery, her photos highlight notations, insertions and other personal touches. (Through April 5th).
Emily Jacir, ex libris, installation, public project and book, 2010-12.
John Ahearn’s plaster sculptures have memorably captured moments of New York street life for decades. Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin Gallery is showing Ahearn’s portrait sculptures from the 1980s, made in his South Bronx studio. Here, a couple share a tight embrace that suggests struggle as much as devotion. (Through Feb 22nd).
Luis and Virginia Arroyo, acrylic on plaster, 19 ¾ x 25 ¾ x 10 3/4, 1980.
