Tara Donovan’s ‘Colony’ is a standout in Pace Gallery’s group exhibition, ‘Grounded,’ which gives the floor to artwork created to be displayed on the ground. Donovan’s signature premise – an accumulation of ordinary small things makes an excellent big thing – is now art-making orthodoxy, but no one does it quite like Donovan. (At Pace Gallery’s 534 West 25th Street location through Feb 22nd.)
Tara Donovan, Colony, pencils, 2004.
Sometimes using as much as a mile of thread, Stockertown, PA based artist Emil Lukas creates an ambiguous and intriguing sense of space in two-dimensional wall pieces like ‘Red Gas,’ seen here in detail. (At Sperone Westwater on the Lower East Side through Feb 22nd).
Emil Lukas, Red Gas (detail), thread over wood frame with nails, 16 x 14 inches, 2013.
Known for fabric sculptures like those pictured here, LA-based artist Lara Schnitger is now allowing fans a more intimate appreciation of her work with a couture line – Sister of Arp. The clothes will, she says, “play with themes of motherhood, feminism, fashion and sculpture.” (At Anton Kern Gallery, Chelsea, through Feb 15th.)
Lara Schnitzer, installation view of ‘Sister of Arp’ couture clothing at Anton Kern Gallery, January 2014.
Known for his careful arrangements of consumer objects on shelves, New York artist Haim Steinbach samples readymades of a different kind in this text piece. Though the size of the greeting suggests it’s being offered at high volume, its punctuation implies a curtness lacking warmth. (At Chelsea’s Tanya Bonakdar Gallery through Feb 8th).
Haim Steinbach, ‘hello. again.’, text in matte black vinyl letters, dimensions variable, 2013.
Liz Glynn’s latest solo show is full of loot. Before visitors reach this suspended, damaged vessel, they pass Ming porcelain, Julius Caesar’s robes and more, all comically rendered in paper mache and suggesting alternate takes on history. (At Chelsea’s Paula Cooper Gallery through Feb 8th).
Liz Glynn, Vessel (Ravaged, Looted and Burned,) hardwood with bronze and steel hardware, rope, 86 x 246 x 73 inches, 2013.
American photographer Andrew Moore’s latest series, Dirt Meridian, zeros in on the 100th meridian, a longitudinal line that has demarcated the start of the American West. In his haunting photos, Moore considers the area ‘lost in time,’ yet at the center of global forces including climate change, energy exploration and more. (At Chelsea’s Yancey Richardson Gallery through Feb 15th).
Andrew Moore, Homesteaders Tree, Cherry County, Nebraska, archival pigment print, ed 1 of 5, 46 x 58.25 inches, 2013.
Beijing-based artist Li Hongbo has applied the concept behind Chinese paper gourd decorations – made of paper glued together – to classical sculpture to shocking effect in his latest sculpture series at Chelsea newcomer Klein Sun Gallery. What at first appear to be marble sculptures reveal themselves to be flexible stacks of paper when activated by a gallery staff member. (Through March 2nd).
Li Hongbo, Bust of Marseilles, paper, 23 5/8 x 14 1/8 x 13 ¾ inches, ed of 2, 2012.
Based in LA, artist Anna Sew Hoy has more interesting purposes for trench coats than wearing them. This one, titled ‘Black Noir/beige tan’ recalls a line drawing or futuristic garb for a sci-fi thriller; but held aloft by two precious and strange objects – a resin, finger-shaped hook and a ceramic hanger – it evokes appealingly idiosyncratic storylines. (At Louis B. James Gallery on the Lower East Side through Jan 26th).
Anna Sew Hoy, Black Noir/beige tan, trench coat seams, glazed stoneware, and resin finger hook, 2013.
Titled ‘Du’ or the informal version of ‘you’ in German, German-born, Brooklyn-based artist Anke Weyer’s latest show of abstract oil paintings hint at human shapes and active figures. Here, ‘Sweat, Tears and Fire’ summons frenetic activity worth of Weyer’s dynamic style. (At Canada through Jan 26th).
Anke Weyer, Sweat, Tears and Fire, oil on canvas, 72 x 56 inches, 2012.
Japanese artist Tomoo Gokita’s stark black and white portraits of anonymous women (sometimes accompanied by male companions with zig-zag patterned heads) belies their ambiguous identities. ‘Sham Marriage’ deliciously includes a hand-like shape pointing off-stage. (At Chelsea’s Mary Boone Gallery through March 1st.)
Tomoo Gokita, Sham Marriage, 90” x 72,” acrylic gouache, charcoal, gesso/linen, 2013.
Grids of black, hanging chains, squares of painted, cast concrete and slender brass poles leaning against the wall demonstrate New York artist Davina Semo’s affinity for both gritty and slick industrial materials. With titles suggesting interpersonal relationships (‘What is it one person can offer another’ hangs on the back wall in this picture), Davino creates an idiosyncratic style at once personal and distant. (At Chelsea’s Marlborough Gallery through Feb 15th).
Davina Semo, installation view of ‘Ruder Forms Survive,’ at Marlborough Gallery, January 2014.
This portrait of Marillyn A. Hewson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation by Scottish artist Michael Fullerton comes with a wall text briefly summarizing positions she’s held at the company. Political commentary seems inevitable but apart from a hint in the title of this conventional-looking portrait, ‘The Mistress,’ is up to our interpretation. (At Greene Naftali Gallery through Feb 8th).
Michael Fullerton, The Mistress, oil on linen, 2014.
New York based artist and avid surfer Emilio Perez is known for dynamic abstractions resembling landscapes or water. In his latest solo show at Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong, Perez’s 40 foot long, untitled painting on Masonite carries the eye around the corner on what looks like a long gush of water or fabric. (Through Feb 1st).
Emilio Perez, Untitled, stencil painting on masonite, 9 x 40 feet, 2013.
Brooklyn’s McCarren Park – equally popular among Williamsburg hipsters and brawling youth – has been renovated to the tune of millions in recent years; New York artist Marc Glanzglass’ beautifully austere steel fence titled, ‘McCarren Fence,’ acknowledges the preciousness of the place as well as its divisions. (At Mitchell Innes & Nash in Chelsea through Feb 1st).
Marc Ganzglass, McCarren Fence, steel, 2013.
Alex Prager has explained that living in LA, she doesn’t have a lot of experience with crowds. Her latest body of photos and her film ‘Face in the Crowd,’ makes a break with the norm though as Prager directs actor Elizabeth Banks and hundreds of other actors on constructed sets as they play out scenes of crowd dynamics from the thrilling to the terrifying. (At Chelsea’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery through Feb 22nd).
Alex Prager, still from ‘Face in the Crowd’ at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, January, 2013.
Vancouver photographer and filmmaker Stan Douglas continues a theme from his last show – the influence of Afrobeat on the NY music scene of the 70s – with his latest film ‘Luanda-Kinshasa,’ on view at Chelsea’s David Zwirner Gallery. Watching the video in its entirety – and music lovers may want to – could take six hours as the scenes run in non-sequential loops. (Through Feb 22nd).
Stan Douglas, still from Luanda-Kinshasa, Jan 2013, David Zwirner Gallery.
New residential buildings are springing up on 10th Ave like weeds, making this billboard-sized domestic scene by LA artist Jonas Woods strangely appropriate. The personality of each plant is enhanced by quirky pots – most of which resemble creations by Wood’s wife, ceramic artist Shio Kusaka. (On the High Line at 18th Street through Feb 3rd.)
Jonas Woods, Shelf Still Life, print on vinyl, 25 x 75 feet, 2013.
Italian-born artist Domenico Zindato works on each of his meticulous paintings outdoors, at his home in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Inspired by his trips to India and Morocco, Sufi music and more, Zindato’s colorful, pattern-rich scenes invite entrée into a magical, alternate universe. (At Chelsea’s Andrew Edlin Gallery through Jan 18th).
Domenico Zindato, detail of Untitled, ink and pastel on paper, 2009.
Known for her faux naïve painting style, Dutch artist Lily van der Stokker offers art customers an added bonus – socks, too! (At Koenig & Clinton in Chelsea through Jan 18th).
Lily van der Stokker, Complicated Cheap and Socks, acrylic on wood, 2012.
San Francisco-based photographer Michael Light – known for his aerial photographs of the American West – needs considerable distance not just to capture the natural and manipulated landscape but to fit in a train so long it seems like part of the environment. (At Danziger Gallery through Jan 18th).
Michael Light, Union Pacific Freight Train Heading West, Near Rock Springs, WY, pigment print, 2007.
This swashbuckling Puss in Boots was created on 36 former library card catalogue cards, sourced from eBay by New York artist Matthew Weinstein. One of the topmost cards originally directed readers to a commentary on Dante’s Divine Comedy. Now it plays host to a new creation. (At Carolina Nitsch Gallery through Jan 18th).
Matthew Weinstein, piece from ‘The Splendid Outcast,’ featuring card catalogue cards re Dante’s Divine Comedy, ink on paper, 2013.
Has this couple managed a mind-meld between her warm personality and his cool-colored tranquility? Or do they remain at opposite ends of a spectrum? Titled ‘The Anniversary,’ this embroidery on a found photograph by British artist Julie Cockburn grants suggestive new lives to forgotten pasts. (At Yossi Milo Gallery in Chelsea through Jan 25th).
Julie Cockburn, The Anniversary, hand embroidery on found photograph, unique, 2013.
Cesar’s process art fills Upper East Side gallery Luxembourg & Dayan in a mini-retrospective ongoing until the end of this month. Here, ‘Compressions’ of heavy-duty fabrics that bring that bring to mind commerce (jute sacks) and work clothes (corduroy) contrast a shiny plastic ‘Expansion’ which seems to exist for visual pleasure. (Through Jan 31st).
Cesar. On walls: three Mural Compressions (Jute Sack, Wool Blanket & Corduroy – all 1976.) On floor: Expansion N35/15, polyester reinforced with fiberglass, mauve lacquer, 1972.
Twice a day, a New Museum employee starts up and moves a motorcycle to maximum speed, its rear wheel causing a huge, cast-iron flywheel to spin for over two hours after the performance ends. Chris Burden’s contraption – The Big Wheel from 1979 – contrasts the freedom of an individual on a bike with an industrially sized wheel, visibly demonstrating both labor and energy harnessed. (On the Lower East Side through Jan 12th).
Chris Burden, The Big Wheel, three-ton, eight-foot diameter, cast-iron flywheel powered by a 1968 Benelli 250cc motorcycle, 1979.
From 1944, the year of his first solo show in New York, Hans Hoffman’s ‘Seated Woman’ imported a sense of movement, bold colors and a Cubist approach to the human body to the budding New York School. (At Ameringer McEnery Yohe Gallery in Chelsea through Jan 25th).
Hans Hoffman, Seated Woman, oil on panel, 1944.
“The whole surface of the world is a potential drawing,” said LA artist Ingrid Calame in a recent interview. “How do you represent something as huge as the world?” Calame answers her question by mapping a small section of the world and making it feel large. For this room-sized installation, Calame visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway pits, tracing the stains and tire tracks and reproducing them here in a blaze of electric colors. (At Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery through Feb 8th.)
Ingrid Calame, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pits, #4, #7, #9, #26, #32, #33, #35, #37, #39, #40, as installed: 13’ 5 ½” x 41’ 9” x 30’, pigment on wall, 2013.
Built from materials reclaimed from shipwrecks off Florida’s Key West, this pigeon coop houses birds trained by New York artist Duke Riley to fly from Havana to Key West bearing cigars in carefully crafted slings. Grids of painted bird portraits detail the fates of the participants, who were named after filmmakers who had brushes with the law, or historical smugglers. (At Chelsea’s Magnan Metz Gallery through Jan 11th).
Duke Riley, installation view of ‘See You At the Finish Line,’ at Magnan Metz Gallery, Dec, 2013.
Idiomatic phrases like ‘jumping through hoops’ or ‘afraid of her own shadow’ inspired London-painter Sophie von Hellerman’s latest solo show at Chelsea’s Greene Naftali Gallery, which includes this huge canvas installation, ‘Throwing Stones in a Glass House.’ In her signature, washy style (pigments are applied directly to unprimed canvas), von Hellerman presents characters who don’t look like they could do much harm with stones resembling mud-clumps, but who conjure unease nonetheless. (Through Jan 4th).
Sophie von Hellerman, Throwing Stones in a Glass House, pigment and acrylic emulsion on canvas, 2013.
This monumental, eight-part painting may be an abstraction, but it was inspired by the winter colors of southern Bavaria, where artist Sean Scully spends time. (At Chelsea’s Cheim & Read Gallery through Jan 11th).
Sean Scully, Night and Day, oil on aluminum, 110 x 320 inches, 2012.
How could an avant-garde mid-century painter keep up with the trends in abstract minimalism while still making representational work? This clever 1967 canvas by Sylvia Plimack Mangold has the artist looking down for an answer and finding a ready-made grid of wood – a Minimalist-approved material – that has an inherently physical relationship to the viewer. (At Alexander and Bonin Gallery through Jan 4th.)
Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Floor 1, acrylic on canvas, 1967.
The elegant simplicity of Modernist art icon Constantin Brancusi’s sculptures is on display at Chelsea’s Paul Kasmin Gallery, where the gallery has partnered with the Brancusi Estate to showcase five posthumously created cast bronze sculptures. Based on a Hungarian artist who modeled for Brancusi several times, this sculpture of Mllm Pogany displays the otherworldly charm of her saucer-like eyes, hands folded against her head and cascades of hair down her back. (Through Jan 24th. Check website for holiday season opening hours.)
Mademoiselle Pogany II, polished bronze, 17 5/8 x 11 3/8 x 11 7/8 inches, 1925-2006.
