Lucas Arruda Paintings at David Zwirner Gallery

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Though the skies directly ahead are dark in this small painting by Brazilian painter Lucas Arruda at David Zwirner Gallery, light shines out from behind the clouds, ready to transform the scene.  Light conditions and colors vary greatly in Arruda’s signature seascapes and jungle-scenes in response to time of day and atmospheric conditions yet each painting draws viewers in to appreciate the particular, fleeting circumstances presented.  Titled ‘Assum Preto’ after a Brazilian bird whose song alters in response to light, this show’s sensitivity to time and place is so subtle and calming as to be therapeutic.  (On view through June 15th in Chelsea).

Lucas Arruda, Untitled (from the Deserto-Modelo series), oil on canvas, 9 5/8 x 11 ¾ inches, 2022.

Lucas Arruda at David Zwirner Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Lucas Arruda’s meditative paintings at David Zwirner Gallery fall into the rough categories of seascapes, jungle landscapes and monochromes with hovering rectangles of color.  Though ostensibly representational, landscapes like this untitled painting from the artist’s ongoing Deserto-Modelo series feature fields of hazy form that can bring to mind clouds, mist, fog, or other atmospheric conditions.  This canvas reverses the color arrangement in several of the show’s other paintings, positioning light colors toward the bottom of the composition, as if we’re glimpsing bright skies ahead whilst still under the dark of night or storm.  Peaceful and contemplative, Arruda’s paintings are a tonic for over-stimulated eyes.  (On view through June 15th).

Lucas Arruda, Untitled (from the Deserto-Modelo series), oil on canvas, 9 5/8 x 11 ¾ inches, 2022.

Julia Felsenthal at JDJ Gallery

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Julia Felsenthal is the first to acknowledge that many artists before her have painted the sea, while also observing that, even in her own production, each rendition is different.  The Brooklyn and Cape-Cod based writer and painter tempts viewers to stop in front of each of her small watercolor on gouache studies of sky and water at JDJ Gallery in Tribeca to appreciate the various effects of light, mist, cloud, sunrise, water depth and more.  Sublime in power yet compact in form, Felsenthal’s waterscapes speak to the endless beauty and fascination of the ocean.  (On view through July 21st).

Julia Felsenthal, Glinting Sea, watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 9 inches, 2022.

Hans Op de Beeck at Marianne Boesky Gallery

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Since 2009, Brussels-based Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck has been painting black and white watercolors during the night, as a contrast to days spent in a busy studio making art that includes CGI animations, video, installation and more. Empty of people and highly atmospheric, the watercolors are a peaceful and evocative contrast to the digital realm. (At Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea through May 2nd).

Hans Op de Beeck, Seascape, Cloudy Sky, black and white watercolor on Arches paper in wooden frame, 51 ½ x 100 ¼ x 1 ½ inches, 2014.

Ashley Bickerton Self Portrait at Lehmann Maupin

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Ashley Bickerton, 'Seascape: Floating Costume to Drift for Eternity I (Armani Suit), suit, glass, aluminum, wood, caulk, fiberglass, enamel, canvas and webbing, 1991.
Ashley Bickerton, ‘Seascape: Floating Costume to Drift for Eternity I (Armani Suit), suit, glass, aluminum, wood, caulk, fiberglass, enamel, canvas and webbing, 1991.

As far as self-portraits go, ‘Seascape:  Floating Costume to Drift for Eternity I (Armani Suit)’ by Ashley Bickerton is a little on the dark side, despite its bright orange buoys.  Made in 1991, just two years before this regular on the downtown New York art scene relocated permanently to Bali, it seems to foretell his departure.  Quixotic, a little lonesome, and stylishly branded by Armani and his signature ‘Susie’ logo – a semi-corporate brand of his own invention – Bickerton’s craft signals a dignified leave-taking, a memorial to a past life and an adventure about to begin. (Through August 17th at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Chelsea.)