Willie Stewart at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Warhol’s poppies, Roy Lichtenstein’s 1964 painting ‘Gullscape’ and a urinal recalling Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ all make an appearance in Willie Stewart’s new 3-D, wall-mounted sculpture now on view at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, signaling the artist’s intent to make something new from modern art samplings. Set upon a support that resembles a shelf or mantelpiece, Stewart’s Springer Spaniel represents the idea of the loyal family pet; paired with Warhol’s poppies, flowers associated with remembrance, the piece turns nostalgic and wistful.  (On view through Nov 25th).

Willie Stewart, Dog (Springer Spaniel), colored pencil with ink, gouache, and graphite on cotton board, polychrome wood and acrylic on canvas over artist-made panels, 60 h x 69 w x 5.5 d inches, 2023.

Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu at Sapar Contemporary

Standing in a circle of flames or wearing a crown of skulls, Buddhist protector deities can manifest in terrifying ways.  Mongolian artist Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu’s guardians, now on view in her solo show at Sapar Contemporary in Tribeca, are more obviously benevolent. Wearing Converse with her armor, this enlightened female figure holds a lotus as a symbol of her state of awareness while gazing forward with confidence.  Perched on an outcrop of land instead of the typical lotus and supported below by the flower of the edelweiss plant, a hardy species found from the Himalayas to Mongolia, Dagvasambuu’s figure engages tradition from a contemporary perspective with humor and respect.  (On view through Oct 10th).

Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu, Security 1, acrylic on canvas, 2023.

Jacob Hashimoto at Miles McEnery Gallery

At first glance, the entrance to Jacob Hashimoto’s installation at Miles McEnery Gallery appears to be blocked by a super abundance of paper and bamboo disks, his signature material.  No one pauses for a moment though, before climbing the gallery stairs and whipping out a phone to photograph the strings of shapes that form a cloud overhead.  Called ‘kites’ by the artist, the forms are heavier than the airborne toys but resemble them in their paper on frame structure, sense of lightness and potential for movement.  Austere in black and white tones that echo the gallery architecture, the installation is restrained yet exuberant, balanced yet dynamic.  (On view through Oct 21st).

Jacob Hashimoto, installation view of ‘The Disappointment Engine,’ at Miles McEnery Gallery, Sept 2023.

Jeffrey Gibson at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

From its vibrant, patterned wall mural to the abundance of vivid paintings in saturated color, Jeffrey Gibson’s solo show at Sikkema, Jenkins & Co is one of the most eye-catching exhibitions in Chelsea. Titled ‘Superbloom,’ in reference to an especially bountiful appearance of wildflowers, the show features work in Gibson’s signature formats, including beaded punching bags, which invite admiration not violence, and patterned paintings recalling Native American design and bearing phrases taken from pop songs or various texts.  In this piece on painted elk hide titled and including the text SPIRIT AND MATTER, viewers encounter a central circular form recalling both a meditative diagram and a target.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 21st).

Jeffrey Gibson, SPIRIT AND MATTER, acrylic paint on elk hide inset in custom wood frame, 2023.

Seth Price at Petzel Gallery

Seth Price starts many pieces in his show of new work at Petzel Gallery by working with an AI to generate an image, which he prints onto a surface and embellishes with paint, applied by brush or his own body.  He photographs what he’s created, then uses software to add virtual objects to the digital image.  Finally, he prints these later additions back onto the original painting in a back and forth digital/analogue process that foregrounds the collaboration between artist and machine.  The depth in many images is created by metallic, cylindrical shapes that disrupt easy reading of a flat, painted surface and create visual interest in this arrestingly unusual body of work. (On view in Chelsea through June 3rd).

Seth Price, Weeptober, acrylic paint, generatively produced image reverse-transferred into acrylic polymer, and UV-print on aluminum composite, 96 x 76 1/8 x 1 inches, 2022-23.