The U.S. flag becomes a symbol not just of the nation, but of the country’s continuous transformation in Ajay Kurian’s abstracted, epoxy rendition. Peeling, scale-like segments suggest old skin giving way to new in brilliant color. A similar piece from Kurian’s 2018 exhibition at 47 Canal is now showcased on ‘Inventory,’ a new platform organized by artist Darren Bader to present artwork that might otherwise languish in gallery storage while galleries are closed.
Clouds of pigment abut clusters of hooked forms – the meeting point of lines which cover each canvas like a net – in Shirazeh Houshiary’s elegant new paintings at Lisson Gallery, suggesting areas of active organization amid nebulous clouds. (On view at Lisson Gallery’s 24th Street space through Dec 22nd).
In a show dedicated to the legacy of Alexander Calder, Li Jingxiong’s snake skin footballs are a standout. Hung like buoys or a flattened Calder mobile, the balls marry beauty, with their craftsmanship, and danger, with their material. (At Klein Sun Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 7th).
Nicola Lopez mixes interior and exterior walls, façade and skeleton in her bold installation at Jacob Lewis Gallery in Chelsea. Titled ‘Big Windows: Skin: Portals’ Lopez questions the impenetrable quality of anonymous modern glass wall architecture, mounting woodcuts on normally hidden metal studs that support interior walls. (On view through June 30th).
From plant life to outer space, New York painter Terry Winter derives his dynamic abstract paintings from patterns and forms in the natural world. Here, ‘Skin’ suggests both an exotic lizard species and an abstracted architecture. (At Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea through Dec 23rd).
