Tag: galleries

Mark Handforth at Luhring Augustine Gallery

Known for adopting materials that resemble urban infrastructure (streetlamps, signage) and manipulating them with apparently Herculean effort into whimsical sculpture, Mark Handforth scales down the size but delivers on delight in a show of new work at Luhring Augustine Gallery in Tribeca.  Tall burnt matchstick sculptures and deliciously candy-colored aluminum columns accompany ‘Harlequin Star,’ a sculpture that appears to be a guardrail casually folded into a star shape with a neon accent.  Handforth has commented on the recurring stars in his work, identifying the shape as something “so recognizable that [it] cease[s] to exist.”  Though its ubiquity may make it mundane, Handforth harnesses unexpected materials and light to make this star a standout.  (On view through July 28th).

Mark Handforth, Harlequin Star, aluminum, prismatic foils and LED light, 80 x 68 x 28 inches, 2023.

RaMell Ross in ‘William Christenberry & RaMell Ross: Desire Paths’ at Pace Gallery

After moving to Hale County, Alabama several years ago, writer, filmmaker, photographer and professor RaMell Ross has become known for creating contemplative portraits of the area’s Black residents in film and photography.  A selection of these images are a highlight of Pace Gallery’s dual show (curated by Ross) of Ross’s own work alongside artwork by the late photographer William Christenberry.  In this show, Ross’ focus is on place as much as people; inspired by Christenberry’s use of red-toned Alabama earth, Ross employs the material in flag boxes and picture frames and photographs dirt manipulated by man and machine.  Titled ‘Typeface,’ this piece suggests that earth can be used as a language or means of communication as it is developed to tell a new story.  (On view in Chelsea through Feb 25th).

RaMell Ross, Typeface, pigment print mounted to Dibond, 59 x 73 ¾, 2021.

Firelei Baez at James Cohan Gallery

Flowers, hair and a voluminous white dress obscure the features of the figure reclining across this densely patterned painting by Firelei Baez at James Cohan Gallery.  The title refers to Olamina, the highly empathic fictional character imagined by sci-fi novelist Octavia Butler, but here, the figure seems unburdened by her gift or our gaze.  Printed below the paint, on the canvas itself are numbers, a grid and a timeline that suggest the maps and documents that Baez frequently adopts and obscures as she brilliantly and flamboyantly asserts her own imagery over outmoded Euro-centric presentations of information.  (On view in Tribeca through Dec 21st).

Firelei Baez, Olamina (How do we learn to love each other while we are embattled), oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas), 86 3/8 x 114 ½, 1 ½ inches, 2022.

Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens at Jane Lombard Gallery

From toddler fight clubs to flat earth theories, colorful sculptures by Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens at Jane Lombard Gallery symbolize rumors and conspiracies of the 21st century with seriousness tempered by humor.  The purple head in the foreground of this installation view represents the notion that climate activist Greta Thunberg is actually an actor in thrall to nefarious powers.  Other pieces suggest that the US government can control the weather or that patterns of holes in ripped jeans have been used to communicate secret messages. Lighthearted in appearance but representing harmful misunderstandings, the installation emphasizes the absurdity and ubiquity of widespread falsehoods.  (On view in Tribeca through Dec 17th).

Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens, installation view of ‘Alternative Facts of the 21st Century,’ at Jane Lombard Gallery, Nov 2022.

Lindsey Lou Howard at Launch F18

Amusingly excessive, Lindsay Lou Howard’s new ceramics at Launch F18 speak to overconsumption with a sense of humor and a lot of imagination. Here, ‘Plant Based’ offers nutrition to the worms still wriggling in the dirt (?) or fake meat (?) of this giant, 2-foot-tall sandwich.  Other pieces in the show, including a lamp made of thick spaghetti in red sauce (interspersed with chocolate, veggies and a can of Sprite) and a sandwich holding a giant ‘Faberge’ egg between pieces of white bread, ask if we really ‘want it all.’ (On view in Tribeca through Oct 15th).

Lindsey Lou Howard, Plant Based, stoneware, glaze, 30 x 15 x 15 inches, 2022.