Marlon Mullen at JTT Gallery

Marlon Mullen‘s paintings, now on view at JTT Gallery, take imagery from art magazine covers and other art-related publications and filter it, altering graphic elements and text to transform the original image into something highly personal.  An artist with autism spectrum disorder who does not communicate verbally, the import of Mullen’s carefully rendered text is amplified.  Mullen’s project is also poignant for its focus on images – magazine covers – that have a great deal of cultural importance when fresh but are quickly replaced by new images/covers.  With his bold and imaginative interpretations, Mullen extends the life of these moments in art history while forcing recognition of their fleeting relevance.  (On view in Tribeca through Feb 11th).

Marlon Mullen, untitled, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 40 inches, 2022.

Pat Oleszko and Anthea Hamilton in ‘Living Things’ at JTT Gallery

Whether it’s the wheezing, inflatable breast sculpture by Pat Oleszko or Anthea Hamilton’s sea-life encrusted boot near the entrance, the group exhibition ‘Living Things’ at JTT Gallery immediately feels set apart.  Though the artists hail from different generations and employ various media, performance and transformation is key.  Here, Pat Oleszko’s huge hammer costume appears in an accompanying film, ‘Tool Box,’ while Anthea Hamilton’s Papilio whip butterfly dominates the back wall with leather whips for antenna.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Nov 28th.  Masks and social distancing are required.)

Back wall: Anthea Hamilton, Papilio whip butterfly, printed fabric, Devore velvet, Ikat cotton, upholstery foam, leather whips, metal cable ties, 2018. Foreground: Pat Oleszko, Mike Hammer (from the Tool Jest), foam, fabric, paint, wire, 1984.

Issy Wood at JTT Gallery

Stars swirl around a young woman in this painting by Issy Wood as if the Paramount logo or the European Union flag’s emblems had risen to encircle her.  Though she appears to be calmly shielding herself, the painting’s title ‘Study for me getting nostalgic’ suggests that the doughy, green stars are moving away from the London-based artist in an image that depicts a mental navigation of Brexit. (On view at JTT Gallery on the Lower East Side through Feb 9th).

Issy Wood, Study for me getting nostalgic, oil on linen, 60 x 81 inches, 2019.

Marlon Mullen at JTT Gallery

Art magazine covers inspired Marlon Mullen’s latest body of work, a series of paintings on view at JTT Gallery that revamp the eye-catching images on the country’s best-known art publications.  From his studio at the NIAD Center for Art & Disabilities, Mullen here refines a unique vision that injects vivid color, graphic boldness, and some whimsy into a reworking of a 2014 ArtNews cover featuring Yemeni photographer Boushra Almutawakel’s image of a woman wearing a U.S. flag as headscarf. (On view on the Lower East Side through Feb 17th).

Marlon Mullen, untitled, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2017.

Jamian Juliano-Villani at JTT Gallery

Jamian Juliano-Villani enchants critics with her latest show of realist paintings featuring “plenty funny” (Art Forum) yet “haunting (Art in America) collaged-together imagery. The “closely watched rising star’s” (Artnet) “impressive…gonzo paintings” (The New Yorker) include this blue-furred model strutting the runway with Key Food bags – a setup that offers entre into a strange alternative universe. (On view at JTT Gallery on the Lower East Side through Feb 24th).

Jamian Juliano-Villani, Three Penny Opera, acrylic on canvas, 74 x 50 inches, 2018.