Jessie Henson at Broadway Gallery

Jessie Henson’s sewn works on paper at Broadway Gallery’s project room are unabashedly beautiful, harnessing the allure of gold to draw viewers in.  Abstract yet evoking natural forms – earth’s strata, a horizon – Henson composes patterns with thread and her industrial sewing machine.  Waves of textured color wash across the surface of each piece, made more dynamic by the literal bending of paper loaded with thread.  Abundant use of 12, 18 and 24K gold – together with areas of day-glo orange, flecks of blue or pink – resist the suggestion of realistic representation, creating a kind of hybrid beauty derived from nature and the man-made. (On view in Tribeca through July 28th).

Jessie Henson, You are Many All on Your Own, II, 12, 18 and 24K gold with polyester and rayon thread on paper, 35.5 x 26.25 x 3 inches, 2023.

Ghada Amer at Marianne Boesky Gallery

“Do not fit into the glass slipper like Cinderella did, shatter the glass ceiling,” reads the text (quoting Indian actor Priyanka Chopra?) covering Ghada Amer’s portrait of her friend, Elizabeth.  Though Amer has changed her subjects from women in erotic magazines to friends, family and collaborators, she has not altered her habit of citing truisms from a feminist perspective.  Her latest Chelsea show – her first at Marianne Boesky Gallery – features texts intended to build up women and their capabilities.  (On view through Oct 23rd).

Ghada Amer, Portrait of Elizabeth, acrylic, embroidery, and gel medium on canvas, 2021.

Josh Blackwell at 11R

New York artist Josh Blackwell morphs a plastic carrier bag into a wonder of colorful stitching in a free-standing sculpture that’s a poster child for reuse and recycling. (At 11R on the Lower East Side through June 5th).

Josh Blackwell, Neveruses (Unprincipled), plastic, wool, silk, paper, wire, foam, 15.5 x 15 x 4 inches, 2016.
Josh Blackwell, Neveruses (Unprincipled), plastic, wool, silk, paper, wire, foam, 15.5 x 15 x 4 inches, 2016.

Yoon Ji Seon at Yossi Milo Gallery

Physical transformation is nothing new for Korean youth; one recent poll reported that 50% of young women in their 20s have had a cosmetic procedure. Seoul-based artist Yoon Ji Seon alters her features aggressively by stitching over photographic self-portraits printed on linen, but she does so with a wild creativity that rejects conventional beauty norms. (At Yossi Milo Gallery through Dec 5th).

 Yoon Ji Seon, Rag Face #15022, sewing on fabric and photograph, 24” x 16.5”, unique, 2015.

Elaine Reichek at Zach Feuer Gallery

Elaine Reicheck updates Henri Matisse’s Blue Nude as part of her Swatches series, for which she Googles canonical art historical works, modifies their color and size, and renders them via a digital sewing machine on small fabric swatches. Presented as one of hundreds, an iconic artwork turns cute, neutralized by its size and the suggestion that it is just one of many. (At Zach Feuer Gallery through Feb 7th).

Elaine Reicheck, installation view of Swatches at Zach Feuer Gallery, Jan 2015.