Tag: city

Kiki Kogelnik at Mitchell-Innes & Nash

As Pop art burst onto the US art scene in the early 60s, Austrian artist Kiki Kogelnik moved to New York and forged her own related path, imagining humans as robots, bombs as sculpture and later, models as aliens.  In this painting from 1979, Kogelnik morphed the fashion-forward woman of the day into a creature with glowing eyes and stylish garments, hair and skin in reptilian green tones.  Set against floating triangles, the women are as abstract as their backgrounds and ready to defy convention.  (On view at Mitchell-Innes & Nash in Chelsea through June 29th).

Kiki Kogelnik, City, oil and acrylic on canvas, 98 5/8 x 63 1/8 inches, 1979.

Thomas Holton in ‘Interior Lives’ at the Museum of the City of New York

Despite the pressures of a busy life, whether she was at home, at work or at her mother’s house, Shirley Lam always put a meal on the table for her family.  Thomas Holton’s documentary photos of the Lam family’s life in their 350 sq ft apartment on Ludlow Street is one of three remarkable photo series now on view at the Museum of the City of New York that elaborate on capability and sacrifice in New York’s Chinese communities.  (on view through March 24th).

Thomas Holton, Dinner for Seven, 2011, installation view of ‘Interior Lives’ at the Museum of the City of New York, January 2019.

Ji Zhou at Klein Sun Gallery

In his photo collages of cityscapes, shot at different times of day from the same vantage point, Bejing-based artist Ji Zhou creates a harmonious view from fragments. (At Klein Sun Gallery in Chelsea through August 3rd).

Ji Zhou, (detail of) Building 2, archival pigment print, 47 ¼ x 92 1/8 inches, 2017.

Benjamin Degen at Susan Inglett Gallery

‘Every time I look out a window, a new floor is built onto a new tower,’ writes New York painter Benjamin Degen as he explains about how his recent work considers communities of individuals and friends against the backdrop of a rapidly changing city. One of these characters in ‘Fast Swimmer’ is literally wrapped up by her environment, which abounds in patterns. (At Susan Inglett Gallery through Dec 5th).

Benjamin Degen, Fast Swimmer, oil on linen over panel, 72 x 48 inches, 2015.

Michael Heizer at Gagosian Gallery

Believe it or not, Michael Heizer’s ‘Potato Chip’ sculpture is not the heaviest sculpture in Chelsea right now (Richard Serra’s ‘Equal’ at David Zwirner Gallery has it beat), though at 18 tons, it may be the most incongruously titled. Still, it makes a hefty impact as visitors take the measure of the artwork with their own bodies. (At Gagosian Gallery’s 24th Street space through July 2nd).

Michael Heizer, Potato Chip, 18-ton granite rock in steel frame, 172 x 106 ¾ x 92 inches, 2015.