Tag: lehmann maupin

Calida Rawles at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

LA painter Calida Rawles’ realist paintings of women and girls submerged in water both clearly define their subjects and at the same time obscure them through shadow and reflection, suggesting a simultaneous state of knowing and unknowing.  Titled ‘A Certain Oblivion,’ Rawles first major solo show at Lehmann Maupin Gallery presents still and clean bodies of water that appear to offer a place of refuge, even therapy to women who float in or glide through the water, faces barely breaking the surface.  Yet several paintings come from source photos taken after dark and were even painted in low light in the studio, complicating and making uncertain the watery realms depicted.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 16th).

Calida Rawles, We Knew It Was Coming, acrylic on canvas, 96 x 120 x 2 inches, 2023.

Robin Rhode at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

A man with skin composed of overlapping shells arranges his hands on a wall in Lehmann Maupin Gallery’s front room as if to peer into the vibrantly colored picture before him – a mural depicting a block of flats.  ‘Die Strandloper – Man’ or ‘The Beachwalker – Man,’ an installation by South African artist Robin Rhode, is titled after a term used to refer to one of South Africa’s oldest people groups, the Khoisan, who have lived along southwest Africa’s coasts and whose lifestyles have been under threat for centuries by European settlement and now climate change.  Resembling the streamlined forms of hotels from the game Monopoly, the structures in their non-natural colors are a sharp contrast to the figures’ close physical relationship with the natural world. (On view in Chelsea through Feb 11th).

Robin Rhode, Die Strandloper – Man (The Beachwalker – Man) and Die Strandloper – Boy (The Beachwalker – Boy), both are glass fiber reinforced plastic and shells, ’22 and Block of Flats (Wall Painting), acrylic paint, dimensions variable, ‘23

Billy Childish at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Though Billy Childish is known for his stunningly prolific production of punk and garage albums, volumes of poetry and thousands of paintings, his latest show of canvases at Lehmann Maupin Gallery exudes tranquility.  Here, a lone shore pine dominates the canvas, reaching out to the blue and white strata of sky with its branches.  In other paintings, solitary figures navigate canoes or swim in frigid-looking waters, suggesting a journey that must be undertaken alone.  (On view in Chelsea through Jan 7th).

Billy Childish, tree – seattle, oil and charcoal on linen, 96 x 72 x 2 inches, 2022.

Do Ho Suh at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Historic monuments are a hot topic today, but Do Ho Suh’s engagement with public sculpture goes back decades, questioning what and who we memorialize.  Over twenty years ago, he crafted a large pedestal, empty on top but supported by scores of tiny sculptures of people holding up the base, suggesting that it takes the efforts of many to elevate select individuals.  Now, the new sculpture ‘Inverted Pedestal,’ the first piece to greet visitors to his exhibition at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, offers a pedestal that appears to have swallowed the figure meant to be honored.  Created from extruded plastic material, the piece’s transparent mesh surface allows visitors to see a figure, not displayed in glory but suspended upside down and hidden.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 29th.)

Do Ho Suh, Inverted Monument, PETg, stainless steel, 98.43 x 79.72 x 79.72 inches, 2022.

Jeffrey Meris in ‘Eyes of the Skin’ at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Growing plants became a refuge of sorts for New York based artist Jeffrey Meris during the early pandemic and the summer of 2020.  While caring for his growing collection of greenery, Meris delighted in how easily spider plants regenerate but at the same time compared the plant’s form to a firework. Making a connection to the unrest in 2020, Meris constructed armatures like this one in Lehmann Maupin’s summer group show ‘Eyes of the Skin,’ curated by Teresita Fernandez.  Referencing an explosion with the shape of the aluminum frame and bullets in the form of the plants’ ceramic pots, Meris’ message is nevertheless one of self-care and healing through nature.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 12th).

Jeffrey Meris, Catch a Stick of Fire, aluminum, hardware, lightbulbs, sockets, ceramics, spider-leaf plants, water, light, oxygen, dimensions variable, 2021.