Pedro Reyes at Lisson Gallery

Striking in her streamlined beauty, ‘Tlali’ greets visitors to Chelsea’s Lisson Gallery, where Mexico City based artist Pedro Reyes’ latest solo show draws inspiration from pre-Columbian aesthetics.  Translated as ‘earth,’ Tlali has been created in volcanic stone, a material that Reyes links not just to the land but to sustenance (as it is used to create mortar and pestles).  In this photo, behind Tlali, a scribe represents the preservation of knowledge while an abstract tower of reddish tezontle stone was inspired by temple supports resembling Toltec warriors. (On view through June 18th.  Masks and social distancing required.)

Pedro Reyes, Tlali, volcanic stone, 32 ¼ x 26 ¾ x 39 ¼ inches, 2020.

Esteban Cabeza de Baca at Garth Greenan Gallery

Drawing on inspiration from his Spanish, Mexican, Apache and Zuni ancestry and the landscape of the American Southwest, Esteban Cabeza de Baca manifests spiritual and political concepts in paintings and sculpture now on view at Garth Greenan Gallery.  The clay outline of a human form set before a mountainous landscape in this painting ‘Vessels’ also exists as a sculpture in gallery.  Painted or in three dimensions, it signals an in-between state of existence, for Cabeza de Baca, a freedom in pursuing decolonized thought.  (On view through March 13th. Masks and social distancing required).

Esteban Cabeza de Baca, Vessels, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 inches, 2020.

Erik Olson at Bravin Lee

Inspired by views of distant galaxies via NASA’s Hubble Telescope, Canadian painter Erik Olson launched a series of paintings that bring his characteristic bright color and expressive forms to outer space.  Including paintings made with DS black, a light absorbing coating material, Olson’s show at Bravin Lee expresses wonder at and appreciation of our world and beyond.  (On view in Chelsea through March 16th).

Erik Olson, Earth (Night View), oil, acrylic and flashe on canvas, 71 x 82 ¾ inches, 2018-19

Katja Novitskova’s EARTH POTENTIAL at City Hall Park

Amsterdam and Berlin-based artist Katja Novitskova juxtaposes the celestial and terrestrial realms with large aluminum sculptures featuring images of the earth (created with compiling satellite data) paired with shots of worms, lizards, bacteria and more. With their scale altered, the earthly creatures look otherworldly; Novitskova uses this disorientation as a reminder that though easily overlooked, the smallest organisms can make a big impact. (Presented by the Public Art Fund. On view at City Hall Park through Nov 9th).

Installation view of Katja Novitskova’s EARTH POTENTIAL at City Hall Park, Sept 2017.

Terence Koh at Andrew Edlin Gallery

At the top of a stepped pile of dirt, a domed chamber houses bees (contained in the top of the structure by a screen) and offers visitors a place to sit for quiet contemplation. Artist Terence Koh explains that the ‘bee chapel’ came to him in a dream as a way of offering sanctuary to the beleaguered insects. (At Andrew Edlin Gallery on the Lower East Side through July 1st.)

Terence Kohn, installation view of bee chapel, beeswax, earth, wood, stone, bees, 2016.
Terence Kohn, installation view of bee chapel, beeswax, earth, wood, stone, bees, 2016.