Tag: david zwirner

Toba Khedoori at David Zwirner Gallery

At one end of David Zwirner Gallery’s vast white cube space hangs a detailed painting of tangled, leafless branches by Toba Khedoori; across the room is the artist’s painting of a grid of variously hued blue rectangles.  In the juxtaposition of natural forms vs those that echo the built environment, Khedoori presents dichotomies of art practice: expressive freedom or impersonal rigidity.  While most imagery in Khedoor’s show is centered at the middle of large sheets of wax-coated paper, one painting of tall grasses offers linear forms arranged to depict wildness, bridging the dynamic and measured in one small canvas.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 21st).

Toba Khedoori, Untitled, oil and graphite on canvas, 27 ½ x 24 ½ inches, 2023.

Wolfgang Tillmann at David Zwirner Gallery

‘Fold Me,’ German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans first solo show at David Zwirner Gallery in New York since his blockbuster MoMA retrospective last year, embraces the concept of the fold – the antithesis of linearity.  In the curves of a river shot from overhead or the crumpled forms of a dropped item of clothing, the artist subtly positions the viewer to question defined boundaries and the distinctions between inside and out.  In this piece, ‘Lennartz Factory Washroom,’ Tillmans pictures orderly rows of sinks in the washroom of a tool manufacturer in his hometown of Remsheid.  With this subject matter, Tillmans himself cycles back to a place he once lived in, disrupting the idea of an artist leaving never to return.  Though the room’s design is an exercise in repetition – like factory labor itself – with recurring sets of sinks, arrangement of windows, rows of pipes and lighting fixtures on the ceiling and a grid of floor tiles, the picture comes alive with towels that break the uniformity.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 14th).

Wolfgang Tillmans, Lennartz Factory Washroom, inkjet print on paper mounted on Dibond aluminum in artist’s frame, 2023.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby at David Zwirner Gallery

In an oasis of plants and a richly colored and patterned domestic environment, LA-based artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby poses with her baby on lap, looking out to meet the viewer’s eye in a standout piece in her current solo show at David Zwirner Gallery.  As a self-portrait as artist and mother, Akunyili Crosby projects poise and confidence amid a superabundance of imagery from Nigerian media sources, a signature element in her work. Using transfers on paper (in addition to acrylic, colored pencil and collage) Akunyili Crosby assembles photos from the worlds of Nigerian music, fashion, sports, culture and more into collages.  Taking the form of plants, architecture and more, the artist fashions influence into images that speak to her identity as both a Nigerian and an American.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 28th).

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Still You Bloom in This Land of No Gardens, acrylic, colored pencil, collage, and transfers on paper, 2021.

Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner Gallery

Giant steel flowers, undulating yellow and black polka dot pumpkins and a selection of over thirty vibrantly patterned paintings by Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner Gallery deliver the delight and pleasure expected of the iconic Japanese artist’s work.  The daughter of plant nursery owners, nature has always played a role in Kusama’s over 60-year career; via flowers and plants, Kusama’s latest New York show presents a message of love for life, even as select painting titles allude to dark times and the difficulties of family life.  Three steel sculptures titled ‘I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers’ is a natural background for selfies, enlisting gallery-goers in spreading Kusama’s upbeat message.  (On view in Chelsea through July 21st).

Yayoi Kusama, I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers (foreground), stainless steel and urethane paint, 98 x 111 x 106 inches, 2023.

Gerhard Richter at David Zwirner Gallery

Though they were finished over five years ago, 91 year old German artist Gerhard Richter’s ‘final paintings’ from 2016-17 at David Zwirner Gallery feel current; together with smaller-scale work on paper, the paintings have been a ‘must-see’ since opening in mid-March.  Richter’s muscular painting process involved scraping layers of paint from the surface of his paintings with a large self-designed squeegee.  Never sure of what his technique would yield, Richter surrendered at least part of a painting’s outcome to chance; the resulting images embody movement, resisting the static quality of a finished piece. (On view in Chelsea through April 29th).

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting), oil on canvas, 78 ¾ x 98 3/8 inches, 2016.