Gehard Demetz at Jack Shainman Gallery

A devotional sculpture of Mary melds with the body of an anonymous girl in this provocative sculpture by northern Italian artist Gehard Demetz. Though each figure looks fragmented, the merger seems neither violent nor ecstatic (along the lines of Bernini’s Saint Teresa.) Instead, the girl is absorbed by the inner life shared with the saint. (At Jack Shainman Gallery through June 3rd).

Gehard Demetz, Miraculous Breath, lindenwood, 52 ½ x 12 1/8 x 14 inches, 2016.