The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is the largest national wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River, a draw for hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and an area of interest for mining companies. The wetland recently drew iconic photographer Catherine Opie to shoot images now on view at Lehmann Maupin Gallery that expand her career-long exploration of US places and communities of people. Threatened not just by limited environmental protections but also by climate change, the Swamp is counterpoint to the oft repeated notion of ‘draining the swamp’ from Opie’s perspective. (On view in Chelsea through Sept 26th. No appointment is necessary but social distancing and masks are required.)
Tag: politics
Melanie Baker at Cristin Tierney
The man in the foreground of this huge charcoal, graphite and pastel drawing by Melanie Baker leans forward conspiratorially, his own identity concealed as he shields the figure before him from view. Ironically framed on each side by lit sconces, the two shadowy figures seem to have paused in the halls of power to engage in an intense and private discussion that Baker invites us to question. (On view on the Lower East Side at Cristin Tierney through Feb 22nd).
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).
Nina Chanel Abney at Jack Shainman Gallery & Mary Boone Gallery
Nina Chanel Abney’s electrifying new paintings take gun violence, racial conflict, and protests turned violent as subject matter. Their dynamic jumble of forms echoes the constant stream of alarming news supplied 24/7 by the media. (Nina Chanel Abney is showing new work at Jack Shainman Gallery’s 20th Street location through Dec 20th and Mary Boone Gallery’s 24th Street location through Dec 22nd).
Eric Fischl at Skarstedt
Though the pool is enticing, this isn’t a tranquil summer scene. Eric Fischl’s ‘Daddy’s Gone, Girl’ suggests that the woman in the voluminous black dress is in mourning for an absent father and maybe a little unmoored. As an update on Fischl’s well-known 1984 painting Daddy’s Girl, it’s a meditation on loss and isolation. (At Skarstedt’s Chelsea location through June 24th).