Tag: mexico

Tania Perez Cordova at Tina Kim Gallery

Titled ‘Precipitation,’ Tania Perez Cordova’s new body of work at Tina Kim Gallery manifests a rain shower in the gallery, thin gold-plated chains representing drops of water.  Falling from ceiling to floor through holes pierced in the leaves of artificial plants, the chains form straight lines that contrast the elegant curve of stems and leaves, creating a tension akin to a bow or the strings of a harp.  As visitors advance through the gallery, the number of chains increases to suggest a more intense downpour, inviting viewers to follow their instinct in interpreting and appreciating Perez Cordova’s poetic practice.  (On view in Chelsea through March 25th).

Tania Perez Cordova, Philodendron Stenolobum (70% chance of rain), iron, epoxy clay, plastic, acrylic, gold plated brass chain, patterns of leaf damage, ’22.
Tania Perez Cordova, (detail) Philodendron Stenolobum (70% chance of rain), iron, epoxy clay, plastic, acrylic, gold plated brass chain, patterns of leaf damage, ’22.

 

Jannis Kounellis at Gladstone Gallery

Describing himself as a ‘Greek man and an Italian artist,’ the late Jannis Kounellis was a founder of Arte Povera, a movement that emerged from the desire of post-war Italian artists to embrace materials more linked to everyday life than to fine art.  In this piece from 2016, Kounellis sourced outdoor sheds, placing them on beds of coals arranged in a grid around Gladstone Gallery’s spacious 21st Street location.  Iron panels line the walls, holding a rope and bent pieces of metal that resemble an alphabet.  Though not meant to be interpreted literally, Kounellis’ materials are evocative – coal suggesting fire and the wooden sheds standing in for fuel while looking like makeshift coffins.  Whether it’s the death of the industrial past hinted at by the old railway sheds or more contemporary losses, this somber installation acts as a reminder to pause and reflect.  (On view through Dec 23rd).

Jannis Kounellis, Untitled, iron panels, bent metal, metal hooks; iron panels, rope, metal hooks; antique wardrobes, coal, overall dimensions variable, 2016.

Glenn Kaino at Pace Gallery

Just as this fifty-foot-long sculpture by Glenn Kaino at Pace Gallery multiplies and extends Olympic gold winner Tommie Smith’s raised fist on the podium at the 1968 Olympics, the athlete’s gesture for social justice continues to impact protest in and beyond the sports world. The installation – Kaino’s first at Pace Gallery – comes on the heels of his ‘Pass the Baton’ NFT project, through which digital renderings of a baton used by Smith in record-breaking races have been sold to raise funds for activist organizations.  The piece is on view through Saturday, but if you don’t catch it at Pace Gallery, an earlier, larger sculpture from the Bridge series will go on view next year in the Smithsonian’s permanent collection in Washington DC.  (On view through June 11th in Chelsea).

Glenn Kaino, installation view of Bridge (Raise Your Voice in Silence) at Pace Gallery, June 2022.

Pieter Hugo at Yossi Milo Gallery

Invited by curator Francisco Berzunza to make new work to show in Mexico on the themes of sex and death, South African photographer Pieter Hugo spent months meeting people from all walks of life including this community theater group formed by sanitation workers in Oaxaca de Juarez.  Here, they reenact a scene from a mural painted in the 50s by David Alfaro Siqueiros at Chapultepec Castle, bringing revolutionary attitudes into the present day.  (On view at Chelsea’s Yossi Milo Gallery through Feb 29th).

Pieter Hugo, After Siqueiros, Oaxaca de Juarez, archival pigment print, 47 1/8 x 63 inches, 2018.

Mitch Epstein at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

‘Property Rights,’ Mitch Epstein’s latest photography series focuses on contested land in the U.S., from protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock to the conflict between immigration activists and self-organized patrols along the southern border.  Though each location is defined by its tensions, Epstein’s photos are marked by their calmness and sensitivity to the experience of everyday people navigating the impact of larger forces on their lives.  (On view at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. in Chelsea through Oct 5th).

Mitch Epstein, Border Wall, Nogales, Arizona 2017, chromogenic print, 25.125 x 33.5 inches, 2017.