Tag: plaster

Karon Davis at Deitch Projects

In her impressive New York solo show debut, Karon Davis transforms Deitch Projects’ cavernous SoHo space into the 1969 Chicago courtroom in which Bobby Seale stood trial bound and gagged.  Before a plaster cast of the Black Panther leader, a towering bench houses a replica of Judge Julius Hoffman, who Davis describes in the trial as ‘brutal and monstrous.’  Here, on the gallery’s elevated platform, a row of jurors looks on impassively, isolated in red and blue cases that disengage them with the scene unfolding before them.  (On view in SoHo through April 24th).

Karon Davis, Jury Member #3, plaster bandages, plaster, glass-eyes, steel, acrylic, plywood, white paint, 70 x 22 x 22 inches.

Claudia Martinez Garay in ‘Ilaciones’ at Timothy Taylor Gallery

Young Peruvian artist Claudia Martinez Garay’s paintings on plaster in the form of squash associate identity with the products of the land, personality with nourishment.  Though gourds go through quick cycles of growth and decay relative to humans, this shape appears ancient, taking the mind back through distant human histories tied closely to the land.  (On view at Timothy Taylor Gallery in Chelsea through July 26th).

Claudia Martinez Garay, Untitled (head), plaster and watercolor, 5 7/8 x 5 1/8 x 5 1/8 inches, 2018.

Leonardo Drew in ‘The Onrush of Scenery’ at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Though it resembles an oversized segment of wall and molding, Leonardo Drew’s ‘Number 201’ is a standout in Sikkema Jenkins & Co’s current nature-focused show.  Using materials originally derived from nature and often used in building, Drew’s construction marries nature and culture in enticing forms.  (On view in Chelsea through Feb 24th).

Leonardo Drew, Number 201, wood, plaster and paint, 24.5 x 25.5 x 17.25 inches, 2017.

Anselm Kiefer at Gagosian Gallery

The heart of Anselm Kiefer’s latest exhibition at Gagosian Gallery is a series of large-scale handmade books crafted from cardboard covered in plaster and painted with watercolor. Titled ‘Walpurgia,’ after an 8th century English nun, this lush, flesh-colored rendering of flowers echoes the erotic nature of the new paintings. Though the subject matter seems like a departure for Kiefer, it continues work begun in the 70s for which he merged the landscape and female bodies. (At Gagosian Gallery’s 21st Street location through July 14th).

Anselm Kiefer, Walpurgia, watercolor and pencil on plaster on cardboard, 14 pages (six double page spreads, front and back cover), 34 ¼ x 25 9/16 x 2 ¾ inches, 2013.

Elizabeth Ferry at Honey Ramka Gallery

Brooklyn-based artist Elizabeth Ferry takes fuzzy dice to a new level with these tactile plaster, paint and foam cubes, now on view at Bushwick’s Honey Ramka. (On view through May 15th).

Elizabeth Ferry, Dice, plaster, paint, foam, 5 x 5 x 5 inches, 2016.
Elizabeth Ferry, Dice, plaster, paint, foam, 5 x 5 x 5 inches, 2016.