Emilija Skarnulyte at Canal Projects

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

Lithuanian artist Emilija Skarnulyte pictures herself swimming between the cold, concrete-colored waters of Brazil’s Rio Solimoes and the warmer darkness of the rainforest fed Rio Negro in an absorbingly fantastical video on view at Canal Projects in SoHo/Tribeca through Saturday.  Wearing a mermaid costume and navigating these two water bodies as they meet but before their distinctive colors, temperatures and chemical makeup merge into the Amazon River, Sharknulyte introduces many viewers to a phenomenon so strange (the waters go for 6km before finally mixing) as to seem unreal.  As the artist swims, pink Amazon River dolphins playfully come near, an interaction which adds to the disbelief and amazement, allowing viewers to appreciate a wonderous ecosystem.  In an unfortunate coda, climate change and fires in the Amazon caused this waterway to dry up after filming, killing many of the area’s famous dolphins.  (On view through March 30th).

Emilija Skarnulyte, detail of Aequalia at Canal Projects, March 2024.
Emilija Skarnulyte, installation view of Aequalia at Canal Projects, March 2024.

Carey Young at Paula Cooper Gallery

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

Google Her Honour Judge Barbara Mensah, the first Circuit Judge of African origin in England and Wales when appointed in ’05, and animated pictures will pop up of her speaking at a podium or posing in her robes and white judges’ wig.  In front of Carey Young’s camera, however, Judge Mensah sits almost motionless, making steady eye contact with us, a larger-than-life presence who seems to be waiting for us to speak.  She is one of fifteen female judges from the UK who are featured in the video ‘Appearance,’ now on view at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea, a title which doesn’t just refer to a court appearance but to the appearance of the judges who sit on the bench and embody the law.  Closeups of jewelry, hair and shoes highlight the individuality of each judge.  By celebrating ‘women in control of justice,’ as she puts it, Young points to the diversity she sees in the current legal system and her hopes for the future.  (On view through Feb 17th).

Carey Young, still from Appearance, single-channel HD video (from 4K); 16:9 format, color, silent, duration: 49 min, 30 sec, 2023.

Maria Petschnig at On Stellar Rays

by Merrily KerrDon't MissPosted on Comments are Disabled

Austrian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Maria Petschnig terms her videos ‘raw’ and ‘psychological,’ terms which still apply to her videos and installation at On Stellar Rays on the Lower East Side, as she transforms the white cube gallery into a dimly lit, wood-paneled maze punctuated by mattress sculptures featuring eerily unknowable lumps.  (Through June 16th).  

Maria Petschnig, Mycroft, mattress, jersey, polyester, padding, 2013.

Yael Bartana at Petzel Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't MissPosted on Comments are Disabled

“We cannot live alone.”  “We need you.” “We are sick of our own similar faces.”  These pleas and more come from the central actor in Yael Bartana’s riveting trilogy about a Polish leader who implores the over 3 million Jews who lived in Poland prior to WWII to return and transform 40 million Poles.  Here, returnees establish a Kibbutz-like compound that looks uncomfortably like a concentration camp as they sit to learn Polish words like ‘Freedom.’  (At Chelsea’s Petzel Gallery through May 4th).  

Yael Bartana, Mary Koszmary (Nightmares), one channel video and sound-installation, 16mm transferred to DVD color/sound, 10:50 min, 2007.

Sylvie Fleury at Salon 94 Bowery

by Merrily KerrDon't MissPosted on Comments are Disabled

Sylvie Fleury’s 1998 video ‘Walking on Carl Andre,’ features women’s feet as they pose on ‘60s Minimalist icon Carl Andre’s signature metal floor plate sculptures.  In this updated version, she allows visitors to try on a pair of heels and strut their stuff on an Andre replica in a feminizing collaboration that turns his masculine, industrial art product into a catwalk. (At Salon 94 Bowery through April 27th.)  

Sylvie Fleury, installation view of ‘It Might as Well Rain Until September,’ at Salon 94 Bowery, March 2013.

Ragnar Kjartansson at Luhring Augustine Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't MissPosted on Comments are Disabled

Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s 9-screen installation at Chelsea’s Luhring Augustine has been a hands-down ‘Chelsea Gallery Tour’ favorite lately.  Kjartansson and a band of musician friends occupy different rooms in a 200 year old Hudson River mansion as they perform a 53 minute song, which fades away but sticks in the memory as the group exits the house and trails away over green hills. (Through March 16th).  

Ragnar Kjartansson, ‘The Visitors,’ installation view, Nine channel HD video projection, 2012.

Paul Pfeiffer at Paula Cooper Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't MissPosted on Comments are Disabled
Paul Pfeiffer, 100 Point Game, digital video transferred to 16mm film, 2012.
Paul Pfeiffer, 100 Point Game, digital video transferred to 16mm film, 2012.

Paul Pfeiffer continues to manipulate footage of sporting events in his latest solo show at Chelsea’s Paula Cooper Gallery; though he makes welcome forays into new areas, the show’s most entertaining piece collages footage of basketball games from the 50s through the 90s, only with the players and ball digitally removed.  What’s left are bright lights and a ghostly, swishing net as Pfeiffer turns a popular game into a magic act. (Through October 13th).

Christian Jankowski at Friedrich Petzel Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't MissPosted on Comments are Disabled
Christian Jankowski, 'Discourse News,' video on plasma screen, 2012.
Christian Jankowski, ‘Discourse News,’ video on plasma screen, 2012.

It isn’t news that art jargon can obscure more than it illuminates.  But in Christian Jankowski’s video ‘Discourse News,’ the spectacle of a popular New York news anchor delivering the artist’s wordy definition of art from her usual desk in the NY1 studio makes visual art verbosity seem particularly absurd while also reminding viewers of how over-simplified normal news programs can be. (Jankowski’s latest solo show runs through July 28th at Friedrich Petzel Gallery.)

Christian Marclay’s ‘The Clock’ opens at Lincoln Center Today

by Merrily KerrDon't MissPosted on Comments are Disabled
Christian Marclay, 'The Clock,' still from single channel video, 2010.
Christian Marclay, ‘The Clock,’ still from single channel video, 2010.

Christian Marclay’s 24 hour video installation ‘The Clock’ – praised as one of the standout artworks of the past decade – opened today at Lincoln Center as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. Composed of thousands of film clips featuring timepieces, and synched with real time, it entertains while making viewers eerily aware of the time they’re spending watching it.  Arrive early – lines snaked down the block to view it in Feb ’11, so check out the Festival’s twitter ‘line update.’ (Runs through Aug 1st).