Light up wall decorations, picture frames and clocks are the hosts for Chadwick Rantanen’s unusual art project, which takes the form of adaptors that allow one battery to be used in place of another. With adaptors in the form of bees sticking out the back of this clock, the device is forced to keep its kitschy face to the wall. Resistance to tackiness and artistic innovation become the subject matter. (At Essex Street through May 16th).
Christian Marclay’s 24-hour video of collaged clock-related film clips from 2010 was so engaging that his subsequent photo projects and onomatopoeia paintings have sometimes seemed bland by comparison. The standout piece in his latest solo show at Chelsea’s Paula Cooper Gallery corrects that trend, however, by animating words from cartoons in an eye-popping immersive installation that, though soundless, communicates loudly. (Through Oct 17th).
Installation view of Christian Marclay’s ‘Surround Sounds,’ at Paula Cooper Gallery, September 2015.
Glitzy sequins compete with more down-to-earth hand woven hemp fabric in a sculpture by San Francisco artist Josh Faught titled ‘Greg’ after a past romantic attachment. The clock suggests that time ran out on this relationship while a spilled drink and two tins of cookies (all food made of plastic) implies the unexpected upset of something delicious. (At Lisa Cooley Gallery on the Lower East Side through Dec 21st).
Josh Faught, Greg, hand woven and crocheted hemp (hand dyed in colors to match the 2013/2014 color forecast, Indigo, gold spray paint, sequin trim, silk, wool, giant clothes pin, spill (resin) with Cathy mug, chocolate chip cookies (plastic), and tin of butter cookies (plastic and metal) on Cedar support, 76 x 74 x 12 inches, 2014.
