Tag: marianne boesky gallery

Sanford Biggers at Marianne Boesky Gallery

‘Meet me on the Equinox,’ the title of Sanford Biggers’ show at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea deliberately evokes a point of convergence between different places or ideas, appropriate for new work that combines objects from a mix of cultures.  Pieces like this marble, wood and textile sculpture titled The Repatriate, continue Biggers’ interest in combining artifacts with different backgrounds, in this case a mask that is itself a collage of various African masks, a wooden platform inspired by bases of roadside shrines in Asia and beyond, and quilts that recall stories of textiles used to send messages on the Underground Railroad.  As its title suggests, Biggers explains that he was thinking of objects with identities that have been altered by context; as ownership changes, identity continues to evolve.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 14th).

Sanford Biggers, The Repatriate, green marble and antique quilts on custom cedar plinth, 73 x 24 x 24 inches overall, unique within a series, 2023.

Celeste Rapone at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Celeste Rapone’s dynamic paintings at Marianne Boesky Gallery create interest through the distortions of their mostly female central figures.  Viewers must first make sense of twisting limbs, then take in story-suggesting details which here include cough drop wrappers, a weed and a parking ticket at the bottom on the canvas.  Dressed in a pink track suit, the woman here appears to be an over-enthusiastic volunteer, digging a cavernous hole for a tiny oak sapling, all while somehow simultaneously standing in the hole and balancing on tippy-toe on a skinny wrought iron fence.  Interested in how women can ‘occupy impossible positions’ both literally and metaphorically, Rapone manifests complicated mental states in physical form.  (On view through June 11th).

Celeste Rapone, Muscle for Hire, oil on canvas, 67 x 67 inches, 2022.

Eleanor Swordy in ‘In Situ’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Inspired by a late 19th century story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in which the narrator’s confinement drives her into another reality, Marianne Boesky Gallery’s group show ‘In Situ’ zeroes in on lone individuals in personally meaningful moments.  Here, Eleanor Swordy’s curvy character unzips an alarming torrent from an alternative universe (or maybe just a tent flap) from within the cocoon of a sleeping bag.  (On view in Chelsea through Feb 6th).

Eleanor Swordy, Hard Rain, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 inches, 2020.

Thiago Rocha Pitta at Marianne Boesky Gallery

A tent of wet cement appears to either disgorge or swallow a lush spill of mosses in Brazilian artist Thiago Rocha Pitta’s ‘The First Green,’ an installation at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea. Though the scene appears to be a static standoff between the survival of man or nature, Rocha Pitta avoids thinking in binaries. On the wall, frescos resemble ancient microorganisms performing photosynthesis, producing oxygen, and continuing a process that has gone on for billions of years. (On view through April 29th).

Thiago Rocha Pitta, installation view of ‘The First Green’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery, April, 2017.

Matthias Bitzer at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Berlin-based artist Matthias Bitzer’s paintings, mixed media works and sculptures at Marianne Boesky Gallery are uniquely difficult to categorize. Constructed from concrete, wood, glass and more (and those are just the 2-D, wall mounted works), elegantly minimalist artworks take the eye on an adventure of materials. (In Chelsea through Dec 17th).

Matthias Bitzer, installation view of ‘A Different Sort of Gravity,’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery through Dec 17th.
Matthias Bitzer, installation view of ‘A Different Sort of Gravity,’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery through Dec 17th.