In Albertz Benda’s summer group exhibition, ‘Fragmented Bodies II: Fluidity in Form,’ fluidity defines identity. Chloe Chiasson’s Target Practice, a shaped painting that is part of the wall and leaps off of it, features a group of young men who defy stereotypes of masculine rural behavior. Perched on a wooden fence with beer cans used for target practice, one man’s ‘Daddy’ tattoo, another’s earring and scattered daisies upend expectations. (On view in Chelsea through July 31st).
Josh Sperling describes his shaped canvases as “simple, beautiful, and fun” in a recent Perrotin Gallery video that touts the pleasures of looking. He can add ‘huge’ to describe fifteen-foot tall Hocus Pocus, a centerpiece of his current show at the gallery. Evoking flowers or ripples from raindrops in water, the assemblage of eighty-four separate paintings is pure enjoyment. (On view on the Lower East Side through Feb 16th).
Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery in Chelsea aims to prove that iconic Pop artist Tom Wesselman was not only a pioneer of pop culture imagery, but a technical innovator, from collaging billboard cutouts onto canvas to molding plastic paintings. Here, Smoker reminds us that Wesselman also used shaped canvases to isolate forms that here, make supposedly seductive lips look troubling. (In Chelsea through May 28th).
Svenja Deininger, Untitled, oil on canvas, 80 ¼ x 52 inches framed, 2015.
