Tag: lips

Gina Beavers in ‘Painting/Sculpture’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Gina Beavers’ acrylic and foam constructions feel delightfully excessive, their high relief suggesting an eagerness to be noticed.  Inspired by glossy social media images of food, makeup and more, the work both revels in and critiques consumption, a point Beavers emphasizes by packing five paintings onto one cube, currently on view at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea.  Here, thick brushes and lush lips conflate on-line makeup tutorials with the painter’s art, humorously questioning art’s role in selling product.  (On view in ‘Painting/Sculpture’ through August 9th).

Gina Beavers, Lips with Painter’s Lips, acrylic and foam on canvas on panel with wood frame, framed: 31 x 31 x 8 inches, 2019

Tom Wesselman at Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery in Chelsea aims to prove that iconic Pop artist Tom Wesselman was not only a pioneer of pop culture imagery, but a technical innovator, from collaging billboard cutouts onto canvas to molding plastic paintings. Here, Smoker reminds us that Wesselman also used shaped canvases to isolate forms that here, make supposedly seductive lips look troubling. (In Chelsea through May 28th).

Tom Wesselmann, Smoker #14, oil on canvas, 101 x 114 inches, 1974.
Tom Wesselmann, Smoker #14, oil on canvas, 101 x 114 inches, 1974.

Alina Szapocznikow in ‘The Obscure Object of Desire’ at Luxembourg & Dayan

Late Polish artist Alina Szapocznikow’s cast of her own lips as a lamp act as erotic beacon yet resemble a golf club, suggesting a mix of attraction and violence that makes this piece standout in Luxembourg & Dayan’s excellent group exhibition ‘The Obscure Object of Desire.’ (Through October 4th).

Alina Szapocznikow, Lampe-bouche, colored polyester resin, electrical wiring, and metal, 17 ¾ x 6 x 4 inches, 1966.

Brian Calvin at Anton Kern Gallery

Looking like someone’s giant selfie gone wrong, this painting by LA artist Brian Calvin depicts a carefully dressed figure in the blush of youth, whose crooked teeth take center stage to suggest a momentary lapse in managed self-presentation. (At Anton Kern Gallery through Oct 4th).

Brian Calvin, Ha, acrylic and flashe on canvas, 72 x 48 inches, 2014.