Tag: galerie

Cosima von Bonin in ‘The Secret History of Everything’ at Galerie Perrotin

“First of all, I never explain my work,” Cosima von Bonin declared at the beginning of a 2018 interview with Brooklyn Rail, establishing that there are no pat explanations for pieces like this octopus currently on view at Galerie Perrotin.  Patchwork fabrics and stuffing give the animal an approachable and familiar feel, like a kid’s toy, while the blue glow of neon tubes below may represent mysterious ocean depths. Beached on this platform, however, with patches of white suggesting splashed water, the animal doesn’t appear to be on safe ground, creating an attractive but uncertain scenario.  (On view in the group exhibition ‘The Secret History of Everything’ on the Lower East Side through Aug 14th . Masks and social distancing are required.  Appointments can be made via the gallery’s app.)

Cosima von Bonin, Total Produce (Morality), 2010, Octopus: Various fabrics, polyfill, Base: Various fabrics, foam materials, rubber, wood, neon tubes, Octopus: 86.6 x 86.6 x 23.6 inches

Bharti Kher at Perrotin Gallery

New Delhi-based British artist Bharti Kher breaks and recombines clay figures she’s collected over the years, inventing hybrids that combine supposed opposites – male and female or divine figures from different faiths.  Her show at Perrotin Gallery on the Lower East Side is no longer open to the public, but Kher shared her process in an insightful video shot during a residency in the UK.  This piece, Ardhanarishvara, represents a manifestation of the Hindu divinities Shiva and Parvati.  Roughly joined from mass produced figurines, they’re far from divine perfection.  Instead, they represent the artist’s ability to remake the known world, in this case with mysterious materials packed into conjoined bodies.

Bharti Kher, (foreground) Ardhanarishvara, cement, clay, wax, bronze, 54 1/8” x 9 5/8”, unique, 2016.

Chen Fei at Galerie Perrotin

Beijing-based artist Chen Fei channels Dutch still life in his painting of tempting foodstuffs but substitutes dumplings for bread and banana leaf wraps for grapes.  He cites Renaissance historian Vasari to question whether still life can be as engaging as portraiture, forcing the issue by presenting figurative painting in the downstairs gallery and still life upstairs.  While the large-scale nude characters downstairs steal the show with their unconventional personalities, the still lifes still wow with their sheer abundance.  (On view at Perrotin on the Lower East Side through Dec 21st).

Chen Fei, detail from Painting of Harmony, acrylic, gold and silver foil on linen mounted on board, 39 3/8 x 78 ¾ inches.

JR at Galerie Perrotin

After famously taking his mobile photo studio to Times Square for his ‘Inside Out’ portrait project in 2013, French street artist JR hit New York’s streets again in Spring ’18 to make detailed photo collages championing the everyday New Yorker, now on view at Galerie Perrotin.   Titled ‘Chronicles of New York City,’ the project follows ‘Chronicles’ in Paris and San Francisco and is also currently featured in Brooklyn Museum’s Great Hall.  JR invited over a thousand New Yorkers to step into his truck turned studio to ‘present themselves as they’d like to be seen and remembered.’  The resulting collages bring the city’s citizens together in harmony and common purpose. (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 26th.)

JR, detail from ‘The Chronicles of New York City, Lightbox, USA, print on duratrans, led backlight, steel frame, 2018.

Mel Ziegler at Galerie Perrotin

Fifteen years of collected memorabilia from Mt Rushmore yielded the material for artist Mel Ziegler’s one thousand digitally printed portraits of the monument’s four presidents, currently filling the ground floor of Galerie Perrotin on the Lower East Side.  Though repetition and systemization are key, the degradation of each image – suggesting they were lifted from cheaply made or tiny reproductions – leaves the most lasting impression.  Despite the scale of the effort in the original Rushmore or Ziegler’s redo, there’s no guarantee that a burnished image will be handed down to posterity.  (On view through Aug 16th).

Mel Ziegler, detail installation view of ‘1000 Portraits,’ inkjet on canvas, dimensions variable, each canvas 8 x 10 inches, 2018.