Late painter Moira Dryer’s career is in a revival as 11R gallery explores how the artist worked within the framework of minimalism to both create an emotional impact via color and convey personality via references to representation (a fingerprint, in this case). (On the Lower East Side through Feb 7th).
Moira Dryer, Untitled, casein on wood, 48 x 63 inches, 1987.
In 11R’s serendipitous pairing of ceramics by Jennie Jieun Lee and multiple exposure photograms by Mariah Robertson, each artist creates visual interest by defying convention. Robertson punctuates gorgeously-hued abstractions by cutting her photo paper into a rough, tapering point. Lee crafts vessels from glaze-splashed curls of clay. (At 11R on the Lower East Side through Feb 7th.)
Installation of ceramic by Jennie Jieun Lee and Mariah Robertson, 11R, January 2016.
Jeronimo Elespe, Fine, oil on aluminum, 14.96 x 9.84 inches, 2015.
In the spirit of Sherry Levine’s iconic rephotographing of Walker Evans 1930s photos, Lisa Ruyter’s latest paintings reproduce photos from the Farm Security Administration’s archive of images shot during the Great Depression. In Ruyter’s words the images are, ‘a record of what was already being lost to Americans even as it was being constructed, an American dream of self-determination, independence and freedom.’ (At Eleven Rivington through July 3rd).
Lisa Ruyter, Russell Lee: Mother and child of agricultural day laborers family encamped near Spiro. Sequoyah County Oklahoma, acrylic on canvas, 78.74 x 39.37 inches, 2014.
It’s not unusual to see second hand clothing as an art material in New York galleries, but no one quite turns it into the unique sculptural and painting surface that LA-based Japanese artist Aiko Hachisuka does. Here, in her installation on the Lower East Side at Eleven Rivington, columns covered in printed fabrics make dramatics statements from close and far. (Through May 17th).
Aiko Hachisuka, installation view at Eleven Rivington, April 2015.
Saying her art practice is about ‘mistranslating the history of ancient objects,’ Brooklyn-based sculptor Sarah Peters ‘misinterprets’ Akkadian rulers, Greek busts and more with stunning results in several bronze heads at LES gallery Eleven Rivington. (Through May 17th).
Sarah Peters, Portrait of a Bearded Man with Triangular Base, bronze, 17.5 x 7 x 13 inches, 2015.
A selection of 365 dust jackets mounted to linen supports by Brooklyn-based Brazilian artist Valeska Soares at Eleven Rivington muses on the passing of time. Not only do the titles refer to temporality, but dated fonts and designs act as a measure of change over a few decades. (On the Lower East Side through Nov 23rd).
Valeska Soares, installation view of ‘Any Moment Now,’ at Eleven Rivington, 195 Chrystie Street, November 2014.
In a futuristic city inhabited by robots, stories of two dogs and a married couple loosely intertwine as one character tries to disentangle real from false memories. As could be expected, the protagonist never separates one from the other, but the process of watching is mesmerizing. (At Eleven Rivington’s 195 Chrystie Street location through October 5th).
Adam Shecter, installation view of ‘New Year’ at Eleven Rivington Gallery, September 2014.
Though gestural strokes dominate new ‘paintings’ by Barcelona-based artist Meyer Vaisman, all have been created with inkjet on industrial plywood with stretcher bars made to look like the back of a canvas. Though the work is abstract, the imagery is based on Vaisman’s signature. (At Eleven Rivington on the Lower East Side through July 3rd).
Meyer Vaisman, Artist’s Signature: llehctiM naoJ, 5773, AFGA UVI ink on popular plywood, 2014.
Painter Jackie Saccoccio blurs the lines between abstraction and representation in huge new paintings that respond to well-known art historical portraits with complete abstraction. In the foreground, the sumptuous colors and extravagant patterns in Saccoccio’s piece parallel the decoration and costume of a well-to-do young woman in Domenico Ghirlandaio’s 1488 portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni. (At Eleven Rivington through May 18th).
Jackie Saccoccio, Profile (GT Concave), oil and mica on linen, 106 x 79 inches, 2014.
As part of a residency at Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum, New York artist Mika Tajima created textiles with a fascinating back story. Taking recordings from factories using Jacquard looms (a precursor to digital) and from server co-location sites (representing new technologies), she translated the sound waves into patterns woven on fabric which was then mounted on acoustic panels to create an object that simultaneously is cutting edge and historical. (At Eleven Rivington on the Lower East Side through April 13th).
Mika Tajima, Negative Entropy (Caledonia Dye Works, quad), cotton, wood, acoustic baffling felt; made in collaboration with the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, 78 x 54 inches, 2014.
In Eleven Rivington’s brightly lit Lower East Side space, Brooklyn painter TM Davy presents a series of small, candle lit paintings. Studies from life made in and around his home, their intimate nature belies their bright, public display. (Through Jan 5th. Check website for holiday season opening hours.)
TM Davy, from the series ‘Candela,’ oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches
A New York Observer critic recently likened Caetano de Almeida’s vividly colored geometric abstractions to an open window, adding that viewing them was ‘like flying.’ Come check out their physical effect on the Oct 12th open group tour. (At Eleven Rivington Gallery on the Lower East Side through October 13th).
Caetano de Almeida, Agudos, acrylic on canvas, 2013.
Taking Picasso’s 1937 anti-war masterpiece Guernica as inspiration, New York based French artist Anne-Lise Coste sets out in her recent freehand spray-paint paintings to question how to make an anti-war painting today. (At Eleven Rivington through August 9th).
Madrid-based painter Jeronimo Elespe’s tiny oil on aluminum paintings seem to be dematerializing before our eyes, as in this hazy view of a working artist titled ‘The Short Painter.’ Elespe works at night, capturing shimmering light and ghostly blue lines that speak of mysterious possibilities. (At Eleven Rivington’s 195 Chrystie location on the Lower East Side through June 14th).
Jeronimo Elespe, The Short Painter, oil on aluminum, 2011-13.
When Aiko Hachisuka doesn’t want a piece of clothing any more, she doesn’t just bag it for the thrift shop. The LA-based artist’s bulging cloth sculptures are made from clothing she’s folded, screenprinted, stuffed and stitched together in large, exuberant forms. (At Eleven Rivington on the Lower East Side through June 14th)
Aiko Hachisuka, Pro Weight, silkscreen on clothing and foam, 2011.
Could the androgynous couple in Volker Hueller’s ‘Welcome Home’ be mom and dad, greeting us at the door? With their spade-like heads and giraffe necks, the duo make for an exotic welcome team while their yellow background signals that something electric could happen. (At Eleven Rivington’s 195 Chrystie location through April 27th).
Volker Hueller, ‘Welcome Home,’ oil on canvas, 2012.
Kevin Zucker’s new paintings of resort hotels in the rain might make us feel bad for the terrible weather on his travels…if he’d actually travelled. Drawn together from various digital photos, imaginary scenes like ‘Rain (Paradise Cove Towers)’ resonate with recent work by other artists who have created ‘street photography’ from Google Street View. However, as paintings, they seem to have more gravitas, regardless of how his dot technique emphasizes digital origins. (At Eleven Rivington on the Lower East Side through Dec 22nd).
