Tag: body

Clementine Keith-Roach at PPOW Gallery

Clementine Keith-Roach’s sculptures at PPOW Gallery combine found vessels with casts of her own body to explore her experience of motherhood.  During her first pregnancy, the artist felt as if she was a ‘labouring vessel’ and made the connection literal by joining carefully painted limbs to used and worn ceramics.  Paired with her husband Christopher Page’s paintings depicting mirrors with no reflection and cloud-filled windows, the exhibition explores interiority in both the physical and psychological realms.  (On view through July 1st in Tribeca).

Clementine Keith-Roach, Lost Object, terracotta vessel, jesmonite, paint, 22 ½ x 21 ¼ x 17 ¾ inches, 2022.

Suellen Rocca at Matthew Marks Gallery

Suellen Rocca, a founding member of the short-lived but hugely influential group of Chicago artists known as ‘Hairy Who,’ adopted imagery from magazine ads, Sears Roebucks catalogues and other American pop culture sources, but her late-career work took on more personal meanings.  Several pieces in Matthew Marks Gallery’s exhibition of the late artist’s work in Chelsea include imagery relating to fish, which came to Rocca in a dream.  Fish seem to nurse like babies, breasts morph into fish and, in this painting, fish adorn the body of a deity-like multi-armed figure, picturing female power in terms of feeding, nurture and life.  (On view through Jan 29th.  Masks, social distancing and proof of vaccination required.)

Suellen Rocca, Departure, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, 2012.

Malia Jensen at Cristin Tierney Gallery

Malia Jensen explores the idea of getting closer to nature in a literal way by placing sculpture resembling body parts into remote Oregon landscapes.  In 2019, the artist carved a hand, foot, head, breast and a stack of donuts (representing the stomach) from livestock salt licks and positioned them and several motion-triggered cameras in places where they’d be altered over time by animals and weather.  A year later, she collected the sculptures and cast them in glass, creating artworks now on view at Cristin Tierney Gallery that demonstrate ‘beauty in our vulnerability.’ (On view on the Lower East Side through April 3rd. Masks and social distancing are required.)

Malia Jensen, Foot, kiln-cast glass, etching ink, white oak, reclaimed fir, 8 x 13 ½ x 11 ½ inches, 2020.

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.

Simone Leigh at Luhring Augustine Gallery

Simone Leigh continues to merge bodies and architecture in provocative ways in her debut at Luhring Augustine in Chelsea.  Highlights include the raffia-skirted figure on the left, a maternal character elevated by her tall, tent-like garment and commanding respect with her hands-on-hips pose.  Natural materials contrast the delicate porcelain flowers clustered in a wreath around her face, suggesting a woman equally at ease with the ready-made and refined.  (On view through Oct 20th).

Simone Leigh, installation view at Luhring Augustine Gallery, Sept 2018.