Tag: distortion

Jingze Du in ‘Density Betrays Us’ at The Hole

Jingze Du’s distorted figures recall staticky interference on an old black and white tv monitor, prompting viewers to consider what mediates the images we consume.  Though painting in oil on canvas, Du’s animals, famous actors and sports stars reference digital manipulation. Du cites Kayne West’s vocal distortions and the shifting skull in Hans Holbein’s famous 16th century painting ‘The Ambassadors’ as further sources of inspiration.  In this painting at The Hole’s new Tribeca location, Du does strange and captivating things with Brad Pitt’s classic squint.  (On view through Aug 8th).

Jingze Du, Brad, oil on canvas, 23.5 x 20 inches, 2021.

Robert Lazzarini at De Buck Gallery

Robert Lazzarini’s waving fences and distorted phone booths have satisfied his audiences’ craving for trompe l’oeil effect created with impressive craftsmanship. After a four year hiatus, Lazzarini is back with a gallery full of paintings and this sculpture, a Hollywood Regency style decorative dogwood branch supersized and distorted to suggest luxurious decor gone wild. (On view at De Buck Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 26th).

Robert Lazzarini, dogwood branch (iii), (Creepy Crawl), polymer, goldtone, paint, 108 x 144 x 54 inches, 2017.

Richard Dupont at Tracy Williams Ltd.

New York artist Richard Dupont inaugurates Tracy Williams Ltd‘s new Lower East Side location with sculptures and drawings of distorted bodies that recall both digital effects and fun-house mirrors. (Through July 29th).

Richard Dupont, Lauren, Marylene 1, bronze (polished), 30 x 17.5 x 8 inches, 2014-15.

Madame Cezanne at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slipping into a red dress has adventurous connotations completely suppressed by Cezanne’s portrait series of his wife, Hortense Fiquet, who sat for hours on end as her husband’s patient model. Cezanne’s famous line, ‘Only I understand how to paint a red,’ is put to the test in works that also create psychological intensity by disregarding traditional perspective. (‘Madame Cezanne’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through March 15th).

Paul Cezanne, Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair, oil on canvas, ca 1888-90.

Sara Greenberger Rafferty at Rachel Uffner Gallery

Known for distorting photographic images with liquids, Sara Greenberger Rafferty pushes the idea further in her latest solo show at Rachel Uffner Gallery by layering prints, acrylic and Plexi in images that juxtapose youth and decay. Here, a blurry image of a young woman (hung as if lurking or hiding in the stairwell) recedes behind a skeletal figure. (On the Lower East Side through Dec 21st.)

Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Untitled, acrylic polymer and inkjet print on acetate on Plexiglas and hardware, irregular size: 164.5 x 60.3 x 1.3cm, 2014.