Modeled after El Greco’s ‘The Penitent Mary Magdalene,’ Mary Carlson’s small-scale sculpture of one of Christ’s most devoted followers is both delicate in her tiny features and monumental in her seated, robed body. Now on view at Kerry Schuss Gallery, displayed on wall-mounted wooden shelves amid scrolling copper piping, Carlson’s new sculptures evoke the figures and decorative designs on the pages of medieval manuscripts. Characterized by world-weariness vs El Greco’s doe-eyed young woman, Carlson’s saint is pictured in the process of receiving a revelation and puts a hand to her bare chest. Less erotic than El Greco’s version, Carlson’s Mary is a substantial woman engaged with the life of the mind and spirit. (On view in Tribeca through April 27th).
Tag: porcelain
Joanne Greenbaum at Rachel Uffner Gallery
New York painter Joanne Greenbaum takes mark making into three dimensions with ceramics that evoke natural forms and architecture in vibrant color at Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side. (Through July 1st).
Ward Shelly, Douglas Paulson and Carol K Brown at Pierogi Gallery
Thousands of books with fake titles create a false and fun library at Pierogi Gallery, where a not-quite-homey feel is completed by Carol K. Brown’s editioned porcelain plate featuring a down-on-his-luck wanderer. (At Pierogi Gallery on the Lower East Side through May 8th).
Kate Newby at Laurel Gitlen Gallery
New Zealand artist Kate Newby’s handmade ceramic skipping stones were a standout last summer at Tracy Williams’ summer group show; a year later, she’s enjoying her first New York solo show at Laurel Gitlen Gallery. Given the extra space to work with, she’s constructed a bright yellow platform to show off tiny handmade sculptures that suggest precious finds along a beach juxtaposed with unexplained spills. (On the Lower East Side through July 31st.)
Kate Newby, installation view of ‘I memorized it I loved it so much,’ wood, wax, concrete, mulberries, paint, 2015.
Francesca DiMattio at Salon94 Bowery
Inspired by ceramic traditions from Islamic Fritware to Wedgewood figurines, New York artist Francesca DiMattio irreverently combines them all in towering ceramics that recall totemic human figures. (At Salon94 Bowery on the Lower East Side through May 7th).
Francesca DiMattio, (foreground) Fetish Sculpture, glaze on porcelain and stoneware, 87 x 20 x 20 inches, 2015. (background) Chandelabra II, glaze and luster on porcelain and stoneware, epoxy, steel frame, 120 x 96 x 96 inches, 2015.