Robert Longo at Metro Pictures

Resembling a disco ball and wrecking ball, Robert Longo’s dramatic 1.5 ton sculpture ‘Death Star’ draws viewers into Metro Pictures in Chelsea to discover a sphere covered with 40,000 inert assault rifle bullets.  Referring to the number of deaths by gun violence in the US in 2017, the number has more than doubled from those included in a similar piece by Longo from 1993.  (On view through May 25th).

Robert Longo, Death Star 2018, approximately 40,000 inert bullets (brass, copper, lead) welded to the frame; steel I-beams; steel chain, 254 ½ x 254 ½ x 144 inches, 2018.

Robert Longo in ‘A New Ballardian Vision’ at Metro Pictures

From huge charcoal drawings to weighty bronzes, Robert Longo has returned to images of the U.S. flag throughout his career in an on-going exploration of power and politics. Here, the mirrored surface of this flag makes viewers part of an object and a symbol.   (At Metro Pictures Gallery in Chelsea through August 4th).

Robert Longo, Untitled (Mirror Flag), silver oxide, clear coated aluminum bonded polyester resin, 42 x 56 x 14 inches, 2015.

Robert Longo at Metro Pictures Gallery

Round the corner into Metro Pictures smaller back gallery and suddenly you’re in the valley of an enormous wave, dwarfed by a ominous black swell that prompts terror even on dry land. The scene is the highlight of Robert Longo’s show of huge, charcoal drawings, a body of work that pictures refugees, CIA prisoners and Ferguson protesting football players in a tour de force of contemporary conflict. (On view in Chelsea through June 17th).

Robert Longo, Untitled (Raft at Sea), triptych; charcoal on mounted paper, 140 x 281 inches overall, 2016-2017.

Sean Landers at Petzel Gallery

The tale of Moby Dick as metaphor for a doomed, obsessive quest, specifically the U.S.’s military involvement in the Middle East, was the subject of Robert Longo’s stunning show at Chelsea’s Petzel Gallery last spring. Now at the same gallery, Sean Landers’ takes up the subject in a more narcissistic way, depicting the great whale as a stand-in for the artist’s pursuit of a lasting artistic legacy. (Through Dec 20th).

Sean Landers, Moby Dick (Merrilees), oil on linen, 112 x 336 inches, 2013.

Robert Longo at Petzel Gallery

There’s little subtlety in Robert Longo’s massive, 17 ft tall U.S. flag that appears to sink into Petzel Gallery’s floor and is subtitled ‘The Pequod’ after the ship destroyed by Ahab’s mad quest for vengeance on Moby Dick. (In Chelsea through May 10th).

Robert Longo, Untitled (The Pequod), steel, wood, wax and pigment, 207 x 192 x 12 inches, 2014.