Eric N. Mack at Paula Cooper Gallery

Eric N. Mack calls himself a painter whose medium is fabric – new work at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea is mostly hung on stretchers that support not canvas but collaged fabric fragments.  Like painting, Mack’s work foregrounds color and pattern, but the artist doesn’t add these elements to the canvas, rather he encounters them as found materials.  Instead of creating transparency and texture from paint, these are qualities of the surface itself.  Sourced from divergent origins – Mack might use fabric from couture clothing or neighborhood markets – the artist collapses quality distinctions in his dynamic abstractions.  (On view through Dec 22nd in Chelsea).

Eric N. Mack, Strewn Sitbon, fabric on aluminum stretcher, overall: 41 x 34 ½ x 6 inches, 2023.

Bisa Butler at Deitch Projects

A fabulously patterned rendition of Harriet Tubman’s portrait at the entrance to Bisa Butler’s show at Deitch Projects announces Butler’s supremely enjoyable textile practice and celebration of the achievements of Black Americans.  Basing her artworks on photographs by creatives including Gordon Parks and Jamel Shabazz, Butler lovingly embellishes her subjects using an array of rich materials, including cotton, silk, wool, velvet, and lace.  This portrait of Ahmir Questlove Thompson (original photo by Daniel Dorsa) incorporates glass beads, adding dimension and reflecting light to suggest the musical artist’s visionary quality.  (On view through June 30th).

Bisa Butler, The Passion of Questlove, from a photograph of Ahmir Questlove Thompson by Daniel Dorsa, cotton, silk, wool, velvet, lace, jet glass beads and vinyl quilted and appliqued, 36 x 23 inches, 2023.
Bisa Butler, (detail) The Passion of Questlove, from a photograph of Ahmir Questlove Thompson by Daniel Dorsa, cotton, silk, wool, velvet, lace, jet glass beads and vinyl quilted and appliqued, 36 x 23 inches, 2023.

Ramekon O’Arwisters in ‘Pollen on a West Wind’ at Jason Jacques Gallery

The organizing principle for Jason Jacques Gallery’s group show of innovative ceramic sculpture is not a theme but a place – all participating artists connect in some way to the Center for Contemporary Ceramics at California State University at Long Beach.  Ramekon O’Arwisters’ relationship to CSULB is less conventional and his work alluring for his creative appropriation of failed ceramic forms abandoned there into fabulously colorful and dynamic sculptures.  Inspired by an encounter with broken ceramics during a residency at the San Francisco dump, O’Arwisters added the material to his textile practice, creating exuberant yet compact compositions that energize the show.  (On view in Chelsea through March 25th).

Ramekon O’Arwisters, Cheesecake #9, fabric, ceramics from CSULB ceramic program, beads, pins, 20h x 11w x 11d, 2019.

Angelo Filomeno at Chart Gallery

Angelo Filomeno’s latest works, now on view at Chart Gallery in his first New York solo show in seven years, lure visitors closer via bold color contrasts and a literal glow from his materials.  Appearing to be ‘painted with a sewing machine,’ as the New York Times once put it, the embroidered works on silk shantung resemble painting in presentation and scale but are marked by a richness of color and abundance of light afforded by their material.  Filomeno’s work never strays far from the theme of mortality; here, an iceberg illuminated by lightning brings our changing environment into focus.  (On view through June 18th).

Angelo Filomeno, Storm, embroidery on silk shantung stretched over cotton, 68 x 52 inches, 2022.

Margarita Cabrera in ‘say the dream was real and the wall imaginary’ at Jane Lombard Gallery

The artists in ‘say the dream was real and the wall imaginary,’ Jane Lombard Gallery’s excellent group exhibition organized by curator and critic Joseph R. Wolin, deftly negotiate cultural boundaries in contexts that vary from imaginary cities to remote villages.  Margarita Cabrera’s cacti are a standout; known for her ongoing collaborations with immigrants in the Southwestern U.S., Cabrera creates plants crafted from border patrol uniforms and invites Mexican migrants to embroider them with emblems that communicate personal histories.  Featuring designs including an American flag, stick figure portraits of family members, a church building and more, the sculptures communicate shared values and dreams.  (On view through April 23rd in Tribeca).

Margarita Cabrera and collaborators, Space in Between – Nopal #5, border patrol uniform fabric, copper wire, thread and terra cotta pot, 50 x 51 x 49 inches, 2016.