Tag: group exhibition

Francoise Grossen and Tau Lewis in ‘Making Their Mark’ at the Shah Garg Foundation

Swiss fiber artist Francoise Grossen moved her textiles moved off the loom in the ‘60s, creating bold and colorful sculpture that existed in three dimensions.  This large piece from 1977 is a highlight of the Shah Garg Foundation’s first public exhibition of its museum-quality collection featuring over eighty artists.  Abstract and constructed from manila rope, this sculpture was nevertheless inspired by functional objects including rope bridges, ship lines and the ancient Incan recording device, the quipu.  On the wall beyond Grossen’s piece, a more contemporary textile-based work by Tau Lewis uses recycled fabric to form a head inspired by Yoruban mask drama.  (On view through March 23rd in Chelsea, at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in Sept ‘24 and Kemper Art Museum, St Louis in Sept ’25).

Francoise Grossen, Contact III, manila rope (abaca), 1977. Tau Lewis, Saint Mozelle in the Aphid Orgy, steel, enamel paint, acrylic paint, acrylic finisher, repurposed leather, repurposed suede, organic cotton twill, and coated nylon thread, 2023.

‘Friends and Lovers’ at the FLAG Art Foundation

Visitors to Chelsea’s FLAG Art Foundation encounter a wall of beautiful and colorful portraits by Billy Sullivan made over forty-five years at the entrance to FLAG’s hugely enjoyable group show ‘Friends and Lovers.’  Featuring work by over fifty artists and partly inspired by Alice Neel’s expressive portraits (the show includes her 1952 painting of her son, Hartley), the show is a hotbed of better and lesser-known talent and includes work by artists who have lately shown standout work in New York.  Among many highlights are Jerrell Gibbs’ portrait of a dapper young man in a lively interior sitting before an image of Picasso’s iconic dove and Ruby Sky Stiler’s inclusive grouping of male, female and child models that exist in both 2-D and 3-D.  (On view through Jan 20th).

Ruby Sky Stiler, Rose Bathers, Baltic plywood, paint and hardware, 78 x 95 x 3 inches, 2021.
Jerrell Gibbs, Fly Black Boy, FLY, oil, oil stick on canvas, 72 x 60 ¼ inches, 2020.
Billy Sullivan, Various works, pastel, oil and watercolor on pastel and canvas, various dimensions, 1974 – 2019.

Erwin Wurm at Tang Contemporary Art

Beijing gallery Tang Contemporary Art recently reopened (after closing in January to prevent the spread of COVID-19) with a showcase of work by artists represented by Konig Galerie in Berlin.  The exhibition includes Austrian artist Erwin Wurm’s deliberately absurd ‘abstract sculpture’ (formed from variously sized cast bronze frankfurters) which brings to mind recent work at New York’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery which involved food treated as an object rather than something to eat.  Made entirely of concrete, this sculpture is a permanent version of Wurm’s One Minute Sculptures, in which participants interact with everyday objects. (Photo from New York Art Tours’ archive, Jan ’20).

Erwin Wurm, One Minute forever (hands/fruits), concrete, 15.35 x 7.87 x 5.91 inches, 2019.

Gillian Wearing in ‘Public, Private, Secret’ at the International Center of Photography

Gillian Wearing’s now classic video of herself dancing uninhibitedly in a London shopping arcade in 1994 – causing discomfort with the idea of turning public into private space – is precedent setting in the International Center of Photography’s group show ‘Public, Private, Secret,’ which considers how identity is created both openly and in secret. (Through Jan 8, 2017).

Gillian Wearing, Dancing in Peckham, video, 25 min, 1994.
Gillian Wearing, Dancing in Peckham, video, 25 min, 1994.

Ellen Altfest in ‘The Female Gaze’ at Cheim & Read Gallery

Known for hyper-detailed renderings of the male body (among other natural subjects), Ellen Altfest’s ‘Leg’ ponders the facts on a section of a man’s leg. Veins, hair, and tiny blemishes are the ostensible subjects of the painting, but the limb gives off a vital glow, contrasting its grey surroundings and suggesting that even a fractional view of her subject bears close scrutiny. (At Cheim & Read Gallery in ‘The Female Gaze, Part Two: Women Look at Men’ through Sept 2nd).

Ellen Altfest, Leg, oil on linen, 8 x 11 x 1 ½ inches, 2010.
Ellen Altfest, Leg, oil on linen, 8 x 11 x 1 ½ inches, 2010.