Olga de Amaral at Lisson Gallery

‘For me, gold is the sun,’ explains octogenarian Columbian artist Olga de Amaral as she describes the importance and stunning impact of the material in her textiles.  Hanging assemblages of gold-covered linen positioned near the door of Chelsea’s Lisson Gallery catch the natural light and resemble ancient carved stones; further in the gallery, this piece adds palladium, another metal that reflects light and adds to the luxurious quality of this labor-intensive artwork.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 18th.  Masks and proof of vaccination required.)

Olga de Amaral, Memorias 6, linen, gesso, acrylic, gold leaf and palladium, 78 5/8 x 74 ¾ inches, 2014.

 

Hugh Hayden at Lisson Gallery

The delicacy of hand-crafted materials crashes together with the fast-paced, action-packed nature of basketball in new sculpture by Hugh Hayden at Chelsea’s Lisson Gallery.  Fee-fi-fo-fum (pictured here) and other basketball hoops and backboards fashioned from thorny vines, rattan or synthetic hair are titled after fairy tales, alluding to the tantalizing dream of success via sports.  (On view through August 13th).

Hugh Hayden, Fee-fi-fo-fum, smilax rotundifolia (common greenbier), 118 x 108 x 28 ½ inches, 2021.

Tony Cragg in ‘Spectrum’ at Lisson Gallery

Conflict is at the heart of Tony Cragg’s 1983 sculpture ‘Spectrum,’ from which Lisson Gallery’s new summer show takes its title.  Beautiful in its variety of color and inspired by the natural phenomenon of the color spectrum, it was assembled from sea plastic found on the shore, a decidedly ugly and unnatural phenomenon.  Part of a series, this iteration spreads objects out on the floor like a carefully presented anthropological display that implicates throw-away culture.  (On view in Chelsea Mon-Thurs, 11am – 4pm through August 27th. Masks and social distancing are required and visitor numbers are limited to 10 at a time.)

Tony Cragg, Spectrum, plastic, 255 7/9 x 137 ¾ inches, 1983

Ai Wei Wei’s ‘Heaven and Earth’ at lissongallery.com

Arrested and held by the police for 81 days in Beijing in 2011, politically outspoken artist Ai Wei Wei was eventually accused of tax evasion, charges which he fought in court.  Lisson Gallery is currently showcasing one of the several artistic responses Ai Wei Wei has made since, a nearly 7-hour long Henan Opera that recreates the court proceedings in language, “…couched in complex, obfuscating legalese and riven with dead ends.” (Lisson Gallery).  Pictured here is an image from New York Art Tours’ archive of Ai Wei Wei’s first artwork in response to his detention, an installation recreating scenes from his prison life that was on view at the Brooklyn Museum in 2014. (‘Heaven and Earth’ is on view at lissongallery.com through June 15th).

S.A.C.R.E.D., six dioramas in oxidized metal, wood, fiberglass, polystyrene and sticky tape, 2013.

Anish Kapoor at Lisson Gallery

After confronting viewers with visceral, blood-red sculpture in his last New York show, Anish Kapoor is back with a two-venue exhibition bound to seduce his audience.  Front and center in Lisson Gallery’s 24th Street space is Tsunami, a towering stainless steel sculpture that lures visitors in to marvel at the spatial distortions created by the curved metal.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 20th).

Anish Kapoor, Tsunami, stainless steel, 143 5/8 x 161 3/8 x 133 ¾ inches, 2018.