From papier-mâché to paintings on panel, Barry McGee’s exhibition of recent work at Cheim & Read is packed with a superabundance of objects bearing McGee’s signature patterns and logos. In the back, a stack of surfboards is typical of the show’s visual overload, speaking to McGee’s boundless creative impulse. (On view in Chelsea through Feb 17th.)
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Silver Leaf), papier mache and silver leaf, 22 x 19 5/8 inches, 2015.
Resting on their stately pedestals like exhibits at the Met, late Viennese sculptor Franz West’s candy-colored abstract sculptures may strike a serious pose but still exude nose-thumbing absurdity. (At David Zwirner Gallery’s 20th Street location through Dec 13th).
Franz West, Untitled (10 Sculptures), papier-mache, plaster, polyester, gauze, paint, plastic, metal and wood in eleven parts, dimensions variable, 1990-1997.
Brooklyn-based artist Elisa Lendvay’s totemic objects stand out in Asya Geisberg Gallery’s dystopic summer group show as tools for navigating a hostile environment. They bring to mind masks or divining rods without revealing any intended purpose, allowing us to invent our own uses. (Through Aug 15th).
Elisa Lendvay, (top) Inverted Pocket, papier mache, silver leaf, acrylic paint, 12 x 7 x 2.5,” 2012, (middle) Code, bamboo, papier mache, silver leaf, acrylic paint, wire, 16.5 x 18 x 2,” (bottom) Skate, wood, wire, plastic, papier mache, acrylic paint and medium, 17.5 x 11 x 1.25,” 2013.
