Chinese artist Shi Zhiying’s oil paintings of vessels and stone carvings at Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery were inspired by her travels in China, Cambodia and India. Strong tonal contrast and a grisaille color scheme impart a somber restraint that speaks to the spiritual import of her subject matter. (Through July 26th).
Shi Zhiying, Rock Carving of Thousand Buddhas, oil on canvas, 2013.
Willard Boepple’s 1981 stainless steel tower is a standout in Lori Bookstein Fine Art’s ‘Heavy Metal’ show for suggesting but denying utility with steps that look as if they’ve survived a hurricane or a cubist rendering. (Through June 29th).
Willard Boepple, Stephanie, stainless steel, 1981.
Raymond Pettibon tends to make large installations of small drawings, so this huge drawing depicting a Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers game, located next to the High Line at 10th Avenue and 18th Street, is an eye-opener. The picture goes beyond baseball to hint at East Coast/West Coast rivalries (the Dodgers moved to LA) that extend to music and more. (Through July 1st).
Raymond Pettibon, No Title (Safe he called…), print on vinyl, 2010.
If you missed Alexandre Arrechea’s sculptures of iconic New York City buildings on the Park Avenue mall this spring, you have another chance to enjoy the Cuban artist’s playful take on the city’s architectural landmarks. Located at the northwest corner of Union Square, this vivid red steel sculpture reimagines The Sherry Netherland hotel as an ouroboros.
Alexandre Arrechea, Sherry Netherland, steel, 2013.
Summer’s here and so is the Chelsea gallery group show. One of the best so far is ‘Mixed Media Message’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery‘s 21st Street location, where curator Neville Wakefield assembles works that use unexpected materials, including Dylan Lynch’s acrylic on steel barrels, Tony Labat’s out-of-reach grill and Kaari Upson’s silicone mattresses. (Through August 2nd).
Chelsea’s ‘Jeff Koons moment’ draws to a close as this week at mega-galleries David Zwirner and Gagosian where Koons’ has shown his stainless steel balloon sculptures and new work inspired by antiquity. But this Hulk remains at Sonnabend Gallery through July, allowing one more chance to marvel at the meticulous detail of this bronze rendition of an inflatable toy.
Jeff Koons, Hulk (Friends), polychromed bronze, 2004-2012.
DNA testing and genealogical research led New-York based artist Laurel Nakadate to distant relations, who she photographed in thirty-one U.S. states over the last two years. A selection of seventeen photos on view at Chelsea’s Leslie Tonkonow Artworks and Projects, including this detail from a picture of ‘Tyler’ in Texas, were taken outside at night, setting an uncertain stage for a visit from a stranger. (through June 29th).
Laurel Nakadate, ‘Tyler, Texas #1’, from the Relations series, type-C print, 2013.
Paula Wilson’s slice of the city street, created in tapestry at Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum, is a stunner in Sikkema Jenkins’ current summer group show. Surprisingly erotic architectural details and graffiti are a lively and provocative contrast to boarded up buildings that look as if they’ve seen better days. (In Chelsea through July 12th.)
Paula Wilson, ‘Between Two,’ silkscreen pigment, acrylic, felt, paper, canvas, wood block prints, spray paint, steel rod, wood hangers, 2010.
A small selection of photographs in Chelsea’s Yancey Richardson Gallery‘s back gallery by Sebastiao Salgado treats visitors to photos like this image of The Brooks Range in Alaska, part of the artist’s Genesis series in which he traveled the planet photographing untouched landscapes and people living traditional lifestyles. (Through July 3rd).
Sebastiao Salgado, ‘The Brooks Range, Alaska,’ from the series Genesis, silver gelatin print, 2009.
New York photographer Arne Svenson intended to capture the ‘quiet…most human moments,’ when he used a telephoto lens to photograph his downtown Manhattan neighbors through their apartment windows. He also succeeded in creating a loud storm of protest when they learned about the project, works from which are currently on view at Chelsea’s Julie Saul Gallery. Did he overstep the bounds of privacy? What do you think? (Through June 29th).
Arne Svenson, Neighbors #4, pigment print, 2012.
Garth Weiser continues to pursue the possibilities for contemporary abstraction with sumptuous metallic paintings like this one (seen in detail). Weiser applies copper leaf over layers of acrylic, then cuts into the surface using a razor creating patterns with color and texture. (At Chelsea’s Casey Kaplan Gallery through June 22nd).
Garth Weiser, detail of ‘WNYC sustaining member Haiku,’ copper leaf, acrylic, and dimensional fabric paint on paper, 2013.
In one of the Lower East Side’s standout shows of the moment, Margaret Weber meticulously deconstructs large sections of commercial carpeting to create two monumental wall hangings and a floor piece, changing a drab, industrial product into an airy, handcrafted textile. (At Ramiken Crucible, through June 23rd).
Margaret Weber, Trading Comfort for Freedom, industrial carpet, 2012.
Mark Shetabi’s white, pleasingly symmetrical airport baggage carousel evokes James Turrell’s models for sky-viewing structures (recently exhibited at Pace Gallery). But while both artists conjure a powerful moment of waiting and wondering, Shetabi’s clever take on minimalist forms is more anxious than sublime. (At Chelsea’s Jeff Bailey Gallery though June 22nd).
Mark Shetabi, Carousel, wood, polystyrene, modeling paste, acrylic, linen, sandpaper, old T-shirt, and Plexiglas, 2013.
‘You get to have your cake and eat it, too,’ explains experimental film and video artist Leslie Thornton in respect to her three-channel video, ‘Luna.’ Digital effects morph her subject, Coney Island’s historic Parachute Jump, into vibrant, kaleidoscopic forms that evoke different 20th century time periods, prompting us to question what it is that conjures the mood of a particular era. (At Chelsea’s Winkleman Gallery through June 22nd).
Leslie Thornton, Luna, three-channel HD video, 12 minutes, 2013.
At over nine feet tall, New York-based Erin Shirreff’s hot-rolled steel sculpture ‘Drop (no. 3)’ is imposing without being overbearing. The elongated shapes, hung from a steel rod, derive from paper scraps created by the artist and turn leftovers into the monumental main attraction. (At Lisa Cooley Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 23rd).
Erin Shirreff, Drop (no. 3), raw hot-rolled steel, 2013.
Brendan Fowler will show his ‘crashed’ photographs, for which he meticulously merges framed photographs into what looks like the disastrous results of careless art shipping, in MoMA’s ‘New Photography’ showcase in Sept. In the meantime, his solo show on the LES at Untitled Gallery ups the ante in terms of destruction and obfuscation as Fowler covers the photos and their frames with purple or black silkscreens. (Through June 16th).
Brendan Fowler, Shipper in Jail – Something Something Adris Hoyos Something, silkscreen on archival inkjet prints, silkscreen on frames, plexi, 2013.
For a commission at the Eastern State Penitentiary, now a Philadelphia-area museum, renowned glass artist Judith Schaechter showed excess and austerity at battle in a gloriously colorful, somewhat comic update of Pieter Breughal’s 1559 painting ‘The Battle of Carnival and Lent.’ (At Claire Oliver Gallery in Chelsea, through July 6th).
Judith Schaechter, ‘The Battle of Carnival and Lent,’ stained glass lightbox, 2012.
Known for highly conceptual sculpture and installations using traditionally non-art materials, New York artist Gedi Sibony takes a step towards legibility in his latest show, which offers carpet painted with five images (an acorn, snowflake, seedling, sun and butterfly) that evoke the seasons. Before them a scuffed, arc-shaped form recalls an empty stage – a platform signifying the potential to communicate. (At Chelsea’s GreeneNaftali Gallery through June 15th.)
Gedi Sibony, foreground sculpture: The Porcelains, wood and mixed media, 2013. 3 wall panels: Ceaseless Episodes of Blossom, carpet, primer, 2013.
To her repertoire of vessel shapes and flat ceramic wall pieces, Betty Woodman adds carpets created from ceramic off-cuts she calls ‘bones’ in her latest solo show at Salon94 Freemans on the Lower East Side. She uses every available piece of gallery real estate (ceiling next?) to immerse visitors in colorful exuberance in both 2-D and 3-D space. (Through June 14th).
Betty Woodman, installation view at Salon94 Freemans of ‘Windows, Carpets and Other Paintings,’ May 2013.
Las Vegas-based artist Tim Bavington has painted geometric, abstract canvases which translate musical notes into lines of color for years. Recent paintings on view at Jack Shainman Gallery’s new 24th Street location were inspired by The Who’s Quadrophenia album and let loose from his usual grid in swirling flowers of color. Too much like computerized music visualizations? (Through June 29th)
Tim Bavington, 5:15, synthetic polymer on canvas, 2013.
Union recruiter and self-taught artist Ralph Fasanella’s socially conscious paintings – like this piece, which conflates scenes related to JFK’s assassination with civil rights protests – resonate, even in today’s apolitical art world. (At Chelsea’s Andrew Edlin Gallery through June 22nd).
Ralph Fasanella, American Tragedy (detail), oil on canvas, 1964.
Greek-Italian artist Jannis Kounellis returns to Chelsea’s Cheim and Read Gallery for his first New York solo show since ’06 with work that continues to contrast individuals with larger societal structures. Here, a train track and steel beams conjure wide transportation networks; unworn clothing and hanging overcoats stand in for the individuals who conceive of them, build, operate and are served by them. (Through June 22nd).
Jannis Kounellis, installation view at Cheim & Read Gallery, May 2013.
Kristin Jensen’s ‘Vase Faces,’ are inanimate objects that appear to come to life, but the effect is more humorous homeyness than horror. Ghostly but not spooky, chubby-cheeked visages seem to emerge and disappear on these simple vessels to charming effect. (At Nichelle Beauchene Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 9th).
Kristin Jensen, ‘Face Vases 1-4, with Prologue,’ porcelain with celadon glaze, 2013.
Exhibitions at three of Matthew Marks’ Chelsea galleries celebrate American art legend Ellsworth Kelly’s 90th birthday (which occurred earlier this week). The vibrant ‘Gold with Orange Reliefs’ is luxurious and organic, evoking lush fruits or a splendid sunrise. (Through June 29. This painting is at the 502 West 22nd Street location.)
Ellsworth Kelly, Gold with Orange Reliefs, oil and canvas and wood, three joined panels, 2013.
Andrew Kreps inaugurates its new space at 537 West 22nd (Petzel Gallery’s old spot) with a show by new gallery artist Christian Holstad, whose handcrafted objects (including trashcans, an abandoned stroller, a flock of chickens and bees like this one) invite mediation on the contemporary urban environment. (Through June 22nd).
Christian Holstad, installation view of ‘Christian Holstad: The Book of Hours,’ at Andrew Kreps Gallery, May 2013.
The summer group shows have started in Chelsea with Marlborough Gallery’s ‘Endless Summer II/Still Bummin,’ a sprawling exhibition featuring Kaari Upson’s balcony railing, floppy as if melting off a building in the heat. Nestled in the gallery’s corner with a torn parade photo by Christian Marclay, both suggest summer traditions coming undone. (through June 15th).
Christian Marclay, Untitled (from the series ‘Fourth of July’) torn c-print, 2005. Kaari Upson, Balcony Railing, latex, 2013.
Toward the end of her short life, Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta imported sand and soil from locations important to her (Cuba, the Nile, etc.), to make sculpture that evokes organic materials, the female body and far-away locations. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through June 22nd).
Ana Mendieta, installation view of ‘Ana Mendieta: Late Works 1981-85,’ at Galerie Lelong, May 2013.
Public sculptures tend to depict moments of triumph, not regret. This makes Polish artist Goshka Macuga’s bronze rendition of Colin Powell, part of the High Line’s portrait exhibition ‘Busted,’ surprising and poignant as he shows the leader holding a vial of anthrax in his 2003 UN speech on weapons of mass destruction. (Through June 2014 at 22nd Street on the High Line.)
Goshka Macuga, ‘Colin Powell,’ bronze and concrete, 2009.
“I think that’s amazing, what people can do with the hands. It’s the same, and still they make it new,” says LA-based ceramic artist Shio Kusaka, regarding the tradition of ceramic making. No two of her vessels are alike, a point proved by 127 porcelain stoneware pots on show at Chelsea’s Anton Kern Gallery. (Through June 22nd.)
Shio Kusaka, installation view at Anton Kern Gallery, May 2013.
Known for digitally distorted, 3-D self-portraits, New York based artist Richard Dupont takes his artwork a step closer to painting by mounting this cast of an enlarged head and creating a ghostly portrait with disarming presence. (At Tracy Williams, Ltd. through June 28th.)
Richard Dupont, Untitled, cast pigmented resin and marble dust, 2013.
