Paul Kasmin Gallery and Sotheby’s Gallery team up this month to bring the vanitas still life and memento mori up to date in an impressive exhibition of Dutch genre painting and contemporary art touching on the theme of life’s brevity. Columbian artist Rafael Gomezbarros’ smarm of ants – constructed with cast human skulls – opens the show with a bang. (At Paul Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea through March 4th).
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.
