Tag: luxury

Roxa Smith at C24 Gallery

Pattern and color are the last words in Roxa Smith’s lively paintings of imaginary interiors at C24 Gallery in Chelsea.  Smith, who grew up in Venezuela and moved to New York in the 90s, explains that as a child, family trips exposed her to colonial towns and indigenous and folk art that have influenced her current aesthetic.  Already drawn to interiors, she became devoted to the subject after visiting an exhibition of Matisse’s painting at the National Gallery in Washington DC.  Uplifting, lively and engaging, Smith’s paintings offer a moment of pure pleasure.  (On view in Chelsea through March 11th.)

Roxa Smith, Gated Sanctuary, oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches, 2016.

Jonathan Monaghan at Bitforms

Washington DC-based artist Jonathan Monaghan’s ‘Pavilion’ births giant contemporary Faberge eggs with surfaces composed of luxury goods and upholstery, demonstrating how money begets money. (At Bitforms on the LES through May 3rd).

Jonathan Monaghan, The Pavilion, animated HD film, 3 min, seamless loop, 2014.

Michael Raedecker at Andrea Rosen Gallery

Dutch artist Michael Raedecker’s latest solo show summons opulence and decay in equal measure with his signature, embroidered paintings depicting chandeliers, suburban homes and palm trees.  All are painted in silver and blue colors that walk the line between elegant and dreary.  (At Chelsea’s Andrea Rosen Gallery through Oct 5th).  

Michael Raedecker, Blink, acrylic and thread on canvas, 2012.

Francis Cape at Murray Guy Gallery

Can a room full of benches inspire community-minded thinking? Francis Cape’s hand-crafted replicas of furniture from Shaker and other 19th century separatist communities, presented en masse at Chelsea’s Murray Guy Gallery, are objects whose value is rooted in their usefulness to many people – opposite of art as luxury commodity.  (Through Aug 9th).  

Francis Cape, installation view of Utopian Benches at Murray Guy Gallery, July 2013.