Piero Golia in ‘Mixed Media Message’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery

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I saw a dog enthusiastically enjoying this sculpture at Barbara Gladstone Gallery with its owner…that is, until it was scared away when the animatronic creature raised its head in response to a periodic drip coming from an easy-to-miss fake ventilation shaft.  This piece by LA-based artist Piero Golia suggests that even a faux dog’s powers of perception are to be reckoned with.  (At Chelsea’s Barbara Gladstone Gallery, 24th St space, through Aug 2nd).  

Piero Golia, The Dog and the Drip, animatronic dog, solenoids and sync device, 2013.

Simryn Gill in ‘CHICK LIT: Revised Summer Reading’ at Tracy Williams, Ltd.

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Australia-based artist Simryn Gill found a nine-volume set of books by Mahatma Gandhi in a library sale and transformed them into spheres.  But like a book, the sculptures are intended to be held, prompting their audience to consider their subject in a new way. (At Tracy Williams, Ltd. through Aug 9th).  

Simryn Gill, 9 Volumes from The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, paper, glue, 2008.

Anoka Faruqee and Michael DeLucia in ‘On the Grid’ at Lu Magnus Gallery

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The artists in Lu Magnus Gallery’s summer group show ‘On the Grid’ mediate between technology and the handmade:  Anoka Faruqee’s (background) pattern paintings look computer generated but are determined by intuitive hand painting, while Michael DeLucia’s (foreground) creates his patterned, wood sculptures on a screen, then brings them into reality.  (On the Lower East Side through Aug 2nd).  

Foreground: Michael Delucia, Double beam, plywood and construction enamel, 2013. background: Anoka Faruqee, Dusk, acrylic on linen, 2010.

Mike Nelson in ‘Folk Devil’ at David Zwirner Gallery

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Known for immersive environments including four conjoined Airstream trailers in his last solo show at 303 Gallery, British artist Mike Nelson has explained that his work is ‘ritualistic and votive.’  This minimalist, totemic character suggests the ease with which he transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.  (At David Zwirner Gallery’s 525 W. 19th Street location through Aug 9th).  

Mike Nelson, Amnezi Skalk Kask, wood, plastic helmet and bones, 2012.

Sam Falls in ‘Noa Noa’ at Metro Pictures Gallery

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Sam Falls has a different take on beauty and the urban environment with his two huge (15 feet long) hangings created by putting abandoned tires on colored canvases and leaving them outside to age for several months. (At Chelsea’s Metro Pictures through Aug 2nd).  

Sam Falls, Untitled (Large Blue, Glassel Park Los Angeles, CA), & Untitled (Large Orange, Glassell Park, Los Angeles, CA), both pre-dyed canvas and metal grommets, 2013.

Francis Cape at Murray Guy Gallery

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Can a room full of benches inspire community-minded thinking? Francis Cape’s hand-crafted replicas of furniture from Shaker and other 19th century separatist communities, presented en masse at Chelsea’s Murray Guy Gallery, are objects whose value is rooted in their usefulness to many people – opposite of art as luxury commodity.  (Through Aug 9th).  

Francis Cape, installation view of Utopian Benches at Murray Guy Gallery, July 2013.

Alice Mackler at Kerry Schuss Gallery

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At eighty-two years old, Alice Mackler is enjoying a career revival with this show at the Lower East Side gallery Kerry Schuss, inspiring nods to Matisse’s odalisques (Time Out) and William Steig cartoons (Gallerist NY).  (Through July 26th).

Alice Mackler, Untitled, glazed earthenware, 2013.

Lucas Samaras in ‘Specific Objects’ at Susan Inglett Gallery

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Lucas Samaras’ pin-encrusted cube is a standout in Susan Inglett Gallery’s ‘Specific Objects’ show, an exhibition inspired by a pivotal 1965 Donald Judd essay that came to define minimalism.  The piece’s shape is its subject matter, but the pins introduce an element of danger that give it a charge.  (In Chelsea through July 26th).  

Lucas Samaras, Untitled, pins on wood, 1964.

Matt Hoyt in ‘Mind is Outer Space’ at Casey Kaplan Gallery

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New York artist Matt Hoyt was a star of the last Whitney Biennial with his tiny, meticulously crafted sculptures that resemble archeological finds or rare natural specimens but which remain a pleasing puzzle.  This assortment (‘group 93’) appears in Casey Kaplan Gallery’s summer group show ‘Mind is Outer Space.’ (In Chelsea through Aug 2nd).  

Matt Hoyt, Untitled (Group 93), two wooden shelves with polyurethane supports containing 11 component objects comprised of all or some of the following:  various putties, plastic, metal, clay, krazy glue, pastel, oil, tempera, acrylic, and spray paint, 2010-2013.

Renzo Piano Building Workshop at Gagosian Gallery

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An exhibition of architect Renzo Piano’s work, including models, photos, diagrams and reference books on Piano’s buildings takes visitors to Chelsea’s Gagosian Gallery on an around the world tour of marvelous homes, museums and in this picture, the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center, built on a peninsula in New Caldonia. (through Aug 2nd).

Installation view of Jean-Marie Tjibaou table in ‘Renzo Piano Building Workshop’ at Gagosian Gallery, July 2013.

Show Me the JPEG at Winkleman Gallery

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Can you really shop for art online?  Artnet.com, the VIP art fair and other web-based art businesses question of how necessary it is to see art in person before buying.  In a daring tongue-in-cheek gesture, Winkleman Gallery devotes its summer group show to a huge exhibition in every media by its gallery artists…with all work displayed online on a bank of monitors lining the gallery walls.  (In Chelsea through August 2nd).  

Installation view of ‘Show Me the JPEG’ at Winkleman Gallery, June 2013.

Willie Cole’s Shoonufu Female Figure at Alexander & Bonin Gallery

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It would be amazing enough if this sculpture by Willie Cole was made of shoes.  It’s rendered more permanent and pushes the materials a step further by being crafted of bronze.  (At Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin Gallery through July).

Willie Cole, Shoonufu Female Figure, bronze, 2013.

Daniel Gordon in ‘Jew York,’ at Untitled Gallery

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Brooklyn-based Daniel Gordon presents one of his signature photo collages at Untitled Gallery on the Lower East Side, a selection of apples and pears that update Cezanne’s twisted perspectives on fruit by adding multiple digital perspectives against contemporary but dated background textiles.  (Through July 26th).

Daniel Gordon, Pink Ladies and Pears, chromogenic print, 2012.

Samara Golden in ‘Truck Baby,’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery

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Disembodied hands snap photos at all angles from long tripods in ‘Truck Baby’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side.  LA-based Samara Golden, known for disorderly installations of fantastical worlds, presents a more straightforward tableau here, in which anonymous hands record everything.  (Through July 20th).  

Samara Golden, installation view of ‘A Convocation of,’ foam, wood, acrylic, 2012 in ‘Truck Baby’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery.

‘No Name’ at On Stellar Rays

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Bayard’s mohair sculpture, hanging from the ceiling of the Lower East Side’s ‘On Stellar Rays,’ may look uncomfortably warm for this weather but it’s the most tactile object in a show that includes a flag painted in bacon fat and pigment by Michael Mahalchick, a meticulously constructed faux pile of twigs by Nathaniel Robinson and a sculpture painstakingly crafted by Susan Collis to look like an old discarded plank.  (Through July 26th)  

Installation view of ‘No Name’ at On Stellar Rays, June 2013.

Alex Israel in ‘Noa, Noa,’ at Metro Pictures

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At seven feet tall, Alex Israel’s shades are impressive.  One coldly reflective lens propped against the wall in Metro Pictures’ summer group show ‘Noa, Noa’ seems designed less as sun protection than as proof of its wearer’s extreme fashionability.  (In Chelsea through August 2nd).   

Alex Israel, Lens, UV protective plastic, 2012-13.

Matthias Merkel Hess at Salon 94 Freemans

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Titled ‘Hereafter,’ LA-based artist Matthias Merkel Hess’s first New York solo show features a roomful of beautiful, handmade, ceramic objects that replicate everyday items…ones you might choose to be entombed with if you were buried in the ancient Egyptian manner.  (At Salon 94 Freemans on the Lower East Side through August 9th).  

Matthias Merkel Hess, installation view of ‘Hereafter’ at Salon 94, June 2013.

Anne-Lise Coste at Eleven Rivington

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Taking Picasso’s 1937 anti-war masterpiece Guernica as inspiration, New York based French artist Anne-Lise Coste sets out in her recent freehand spray-paint paintings to question how to make an anti-war painting today.  (At Eleven Rivington through August 9th).

Doris Salcedo at Alexander and Bonin Gallery

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Bogota-based artist Doris Salcedo continues to carefully craft sculpture that speaks to violence and oppression with what ‘A Flor de Piel,’ a blanket of treated, waxed and sewn rose petals which she refers to as this shroud or skin.  (At Alexander and Bonin Gallery in Chelsea through July 26th).

Doris Salcedo, A Flor de Piel, rose petals and thread, 2013.

‘The Boxer’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Further to yesterday’s post, this late 4th – 2nd century BC Greek bronze is another reason to visit the Met sooner rather than later.   On view in the Greek and Roman galleries through Sunday, this remarkably detailed depiction of a boxer fresh from a fight even includes copper inlay to convey cuts to the face and ear as well as an altered alloy under one eye to suggest bruising.  

Boxer at Rest, Greek, Hellenistic period, late 4th – 2nd century B.C., bronze inlaid with copper.  Lent by Republic of Italy, 2013.

Velazquez’s Duke of Modena at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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If you’ve been thinking of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, do it this weekend, before this major 17th century Velazquez portrait on loan from the earthquake damaged Galleria Estense, Modena returns home.  Exuding ‘arrogance and sensuality’ (according to the Met), the painting demonstrates Velazquez’s deft realism and stunning economy of means. (On view through July 14th).

Diego Velazquez, Portrait of Duke Francesco I d’Este, oil on canvas, 1638.

Simon Denny at Petzel Gallery

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One of Chelsea’s more unusual looking shows of the moment involves innovative display of old information.  Berlin-based artist Simon Denny’s latest solo show at Petzel Gallery takes the 2012 version of the annual DLD tech conference as its subject matter, displaying posters that summarize event highlights (last year’s news) in analogue (obsolete?) style.  

Simon Denny, installation view of ‘All you need is data:  the DLD Conference REDUX rerun,’ at Petzel Gallery, June, 2013.

Philadelphia Wireman at Invisible Exports

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An art student discovered a cache of tiny sculptures left on the sidewalk for the trash truck; thirty years later, they’re renowned as the work of the anonymous outsider artist known as the Philadelphia Wireman.  Invisible Exports enlivens a selection of them by showing them alongside a huge Vik Muniz photo from his Pictures of Junk series.  (On the Lower East Side through July 13).

Alexandre da Cunha at Simon Preston Gallery

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London-based Brazilian artist Alexandre da Cunha’s cement-mixer turned art-object brings to mind ancient bells or a new archaeological find.  Supported by a concrete square on a plinth on the concrete gallery floor, it points to the labor involved in art-making and exhibiting.  (At the Lower East Side’s Simon Preston Gallery through August 4th).  

Alexandre da Cunha, Full Catastrophe (drum XIV), cement mixer drum, concrete, wooden plinth, 2013.

Frank Nitsche at Leo Koenig Gallery

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Berlin-based artist Frank Nitsche’s recent pared-down, monochrome abstractions reduce the urban world to minimal forms, a stark contrast to a column containing drink cans and plastered in stickers collected during his travels. (At Chelsea’s Leo Koenig Gallery through July 20th)  

Frank Nitsche, KAY-25, oil on canvas, 2013 & GNL, mixed media installation, 2013 (column seen in detail).

Francis Upritchard at Anton Kern Gallery

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Francis Upritchard’s medieval-looking characters ride, run, lunge and more as they engage in slightly ludicrous one-sided combat.  Their expressions read as aloof, nauseous or perhaps both, which seems fitting for such convincingly-executed weedy warriors. (At Chelsea’s Anton Kern Gallery through August 9th)  

Francis Upritchard, installation view at Anton Kern Gallery featuring ‘Rider,’ modeling material, wire, fabric, leather and shell buttons, 2012.

Dario Escobar at Josee Bienvenu Gallery

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Guatamala City-based artist Dario Escobar’s sculpture ‘Obverse & Reverse (Cloud 11)’ may look like a scientific model, but this mobile of inside-out soccer balls offers a new take on the sport as ‘the beautiful game.’   (At Josee Bienvenu Gallery through July 18th).

Dario Escobar, Obverse & Reverse (Cloud 11), latex, leather, string and steel, 2013.

Martin & Erik Demaine at Guided by Invoices

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Martin and Erik Demaine, a father and son sculpture-making duo both teaching at MIT, printed Graham Greene’s 1954 short story ‘The Destructors’ on paper, then cut, scored and combined separate sheets to create these dynamic forms.  (At Chelsea’s Guided by Invoices through July 13th).

Erik and Martin Demaine, 0363, Language Series, Destructors III, elephant hide paper, 2013.

Walter Marchetti in ‘ambient’ at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

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This vegetable-strewn Steinway grand piano was the standout in Tanya Bonakdar Gallery’s otherwise spare summer group show, ‘ambient.’  It’s abundance is a foil to the hauntingly minimal musical piece ‘Natura Morta’ by Italian avant-garde composer and artist Walter Marchetti which experimental musician Alex Waterman played in the show’s first week.  (In Chelsea through July 26th).  

Walter Marchetti, Natura Morta, Steinway and Sons concert grand piano, selection of produce, 10-page handwritten manuscript of Walter Marchetti’s ‘Natura Morta,’ 1988.

Jon Kessler in ‘Jew York’ at Zach Feuer Gallery

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Diversity is the message in Zach Feuer Gallery’s ‘Jew York’ summer group show featuring artists of Jewish descent; one of the standout pieces is kinetic sculptor Jon Kessler’s creepy ‘Magnum Opus,’ a noisy box with a rotating iPad set to show distorted portraits of onlookers.  Powered by a mechanical kid turning a crank, this mish mash of high-tech/low-tech and fakery repulses and amuses.  (In Chelsea through July 26th).  

Jon Kessler, Magnum Opus, mixed media, 2012.

Jane & Louise Wilson at 303 Gallery

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British sisters Jane and Louise Wilson planted yardsticks in scenes from an H-bomb testing facility in the UK (at back) and a building at Chernobyl then photographed them, seemingly taking the measure of atomic energy as a destructive force.  In the foreground, a yardstick sculpture references a 1924 Rodchenko sculpture while suggesting that precision hasn’t helped this listing structure.  (At Chelsea’s 303 Gallery through August 2nd).  

Jane and Louise Wilson, installation view at 303 Gallery including ‘Altogether,’ Madeira wood, 2010.