After confronting viewers with visceral, blood-red sculpture in his last New York show, Anish Kapoor is back with a two-venue exhibition bound to seduce his audience. Front and center in Lisson Gallery’s 24th Street space is Tsunami, a towering stainless steel sculpture that lures visitors in to marvel at the spatial distortions created by the curved metal. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 20th).
Inspired by a hermit living in the Maine woods with only a radio to hear news of the outside world, Dutch artist Jasper de Beijer created, then photographed paper dioramas depicting major world events from his memory rather than from documentation. Here (seen in detail), de Beijer recalls the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in all its terror. (At Chelsea’s Asya Geisberg Gallery through March 14th).
Jasper de Beijer, 12-26-2004 (from Mr Knight’s World Band Receiver’), c-print, 45×25” x 71,” 2014.
Hands down, one of the hottest shows of the season in Chelsea is Takashi Murakami’s current solo at Gagosian Gallery, featuring towering demons guarding an ancient Japanese sacred gate crafted by Japanese artisans. After Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Murakami watched the nation turn to things spiritual…with this show, he makes a response by offering up his own quasi-religion. (Through Jan 17th).
Installation view of Takashi Murakami’s ‘In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow,’ Gagosian Gallery, Nov 2014.
