New York artist Titus Kaphar disrupts each of his works, cutting figures out of a canvas to consider the impact of absence, whiting out and redrawing figures or peeling back a layer of canvas to literally reveal a back story. Here, a colonial-era man’s portrait is shredded and stretched to shatter any illusion of a tidy personal narrative. (At Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery through Feb 21st).
Titus Kaphar, Stripes, oil on canvas and nails, 59 ½ x 51 x 1 ½ inches, 2014.
Man-made objects and nature come together in surprising ways in this sculpture by New York artist Sarah Braman, as a cube recalling modernist architecture perches atop a massive tree stump (nature sacrificed?). A table and houseplant complete this pretty assemblage which points to the domestic realm as a place where nature is potted for pleasure and convenience. (At Jack Hanley Gallery on the Lower East Side through Feb 8th).
Sarah Braman, Underthunk, welded steel, color gels, glass, tree stump, house plant, aluminum, 65 x 35 x 70in, 2014.
Robert Kushner’s latest paintings at DC Moore include this gorgeous rendition of a fern, which blends modernist stripes with Japanese-style gold leafing and complex surface texture in a radiant homage to the natural world. (In Chelsea through Feb 14th).
Robert Kushner, Fern, oil, acrylic and gold leaf on linen, 84 x 60 inches, 2014.
It could be the outer space carpet or the thickly painted pastel-colored smiley face on this painting, but it’s hard to be sober in young LA artist Devin Troy Strothers’ latest solo show at Marlborough Chelsea. Here, basketball literally becomes an art form as little players in mid-dunk decorate the eyes and smile of this goofily-grinning abstract painting. (Through Feb 14th).
Devin Troy Strother, Devin Troy Strother x Rob Pruitt x Cory Arcangel x Walead Beshty x A Sad Face x 10 Michael Jordans, ink jet, air brush, acrylic, oil varnish, painted paper on birch panel, 84 x 60 x 2 inches, 2014.
Using telephone cable and pipes from local construction sites, Al Taylor created this sculpture on site for an exhibition in Denmark in 1997. Here, the cables read like colorful and jittery lines connecting solid objects whose shapes suggest the entire piece might literally begin to move. (At David Zwirner Gallery, 20th Street location through Feb 14th.)
Al Taylor, Full Gospel Neckless (Dog Act), P.E. plastic tubes, rubber wheel chocks and plastic-coated copper telephone cable, 27 ½ x 206 x 64 inches, 1997.
Greer Patterson’s new tropical landscape paintings at Marlborough Gallery were inspired by scenes from his Hawaiian shirts; the pool with two remote-controlled boats installed in the basement also uses materials at hand to create pleasant place. It’s not the Central Park boat pond, but on a cold January day, it’s nice to dream. (At Marlborough Gallery, Broome Street, through Feb 15th).
Greer Patterson, Partners in Crime, round metal frame pool with remote controlled boats, 30 x 144 x 144 inches, 2014.
Young LA-based artist Zachary Leener’s quirky abstract ceramic sculptures stand out in two New York group shows this month. At Wallspace Gallery in Chelsea, this beautifully glazed piece evokes the human body, truncated phallic forms and lab equipment. (Also at Rachel Uffner Gallery on the LES. At Wallspace through Feb 14th).
Zachary Leener, glazed ceramic, 14 x 12 x 13 inches, 2014.
Soap bubbles – a delight to both the young and the old – are the basis for Berlin-based artist Jiri George Dokoupil’s work on show at Paul Kasmin Gallery. Since the early 90s, the artist has experimented with various combinations of soap, pigment and other materials to create permanent traces of ephemeral beauty. (through Feb 7th).
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Untitled, soap-lye and pigments on canvas, 98 ½ x 118 1/8 inches, 2014.
In the past, British artist Anya Gallaccio has left red gerbera flowers to rot, covered walls with chocolate and placed a 32-ton block of ice to melt in a disused pump station, all as part of an art practice based on experimentation and manipulation of natural materials. In these stone pieces, she considers longer spaces of time – the effect of heat and pressure on minerals over the millenia. (At Lehman Maupin Gallery on the LES through Feb 15th.)
Anya Gallaccio, installation view at Lehman Maupin Gallery, (foreground) Lay my head, lavignes (stripes), mount ashen, texas cream, black granite and green chirt, 51 x 56 x 48 inches, 2014.
In British sound artist Susan Philipsz’s new installation at Chelsea’s Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, boldly redacted FBI documents overlay quickly penciled archival scores by composer Hanns Eisler. An LA-based refugee from Nazi Germany, his branding as a communist prevented his scores from accompanying Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Circus.’ Here, wall-mounted documents like this one are joined by a 12-channel sound installation that plays selections from his film compositions, daring viewers to find a note of sedition. (Through Feb 14th).
Susan Philipsz, from the Part File Score series, digital print and silk screen print on canvas, 74 ½ x 59 x 1 2/3 inches, 2014.
A 70s style motorcycle merges with a camouflage carpet in front of a geometric patterned wall in Tyson Reeder’s ‘Chopper,’ one of several new canvases that look like a teenager’s careful drawing of an object or place that’s desirable but out of reach. (At Canada on the Lower East Side through Feb 15th).
Tyson Reeder, Chopper, mixed media on paper on canvas, 52 x 71 inches, 2014.
Elaine Reicheck updates Henri Matisse’s Blue Nude as part of her Swatches series, for which she Googles canonical art historical works, modifies their color and size, and renders them via a digital sewing machine on small fabric swatches. Presented as one of hundreds, an iconic artwork turns cute, neutralized by its size and the suggestion that it is just one of many. (At Zach Feuer Gallery through Feb 7th).
Elaine Reicheck, installation view of Swatches at Zach Feuer Gallery, Jan 2015.
Outdoor scenes including a hot-air balloon over a Mexican pyramid and a lone, wind-gnarled tree by a lake in Japan have inspired British American photographer Michael Kenna’s serenely beautiful black and white images, now on view at Chelsea’s Robert Mann Gallery. Here, a jet of water shoots into the air, merging water and clouds in a mediated ‘equivalent’ worthy of Stieglitz. (In Chelsea at Robert Mann through January 31st).
Michael Kenna, Jet d’Eau, Geneva, 9.5 x 6.5 inches, 2012.
In 22 minutes of rich visuals, Israeli artist Yael Bartana inaugurates and destroys a replica Solomon’s Temple in her captivating film ‘Inferno.’ Inspired by a version of the temple finished last summer in Sao Paulo by a religious group (built with stones imported from Israel) Bartana’s film compresses a sequence of emotions – exhilaration to horror to indifference at a distant memory – at a dizzying rate. (At Petzel Gallery through Feb 14th).
Yael Bartana, still from ‘Inferno,’ Alexa camera transferred onto HD, 22 minutes, 2013.
The postmodern Italian design collective The Memphis Group flaunted ‘good taste’ in the 80s with their anti-modernist designs and materials that included molded plastics and laminates. Now the public can’t get enough, as evidenced by an irrepressibly upbeat show of furniture and design at Chelsea’s Koenig and Clinton Gallery. (Through Jan 31st).
Installation view of The Memphis Group at Koenig and Clinton, Jan 2015. Featuring Michele De Lucchi’s ‘Lido’ couch and ‘Polar’ end tables and Ettore Sottsass’s ‘Treetops’ lamp and ‘Park Lane’ coffee table.
On the subway platform one day, Dutch photographer Reinier Gerritsen noticed a serendipitous arrangement in red in the bag, sweater and lips of three women reading on the 6 train. From this initial flash of inspiration, Gerritsen began his a series of photo collages, bringing together book readers in single compositions that memorialize the printed tome. (On view at Chelsea’s Julie Saul Gallery through Feb 7th).
Reinier Gerritsen, One Hundred Years of Solitude, pigment print, 40 ½ x 70 ¾ , 2013.
Dolls, puppets, and dancers populate Swedish artist Mamma Andersson’s new, theatrically lit show at Chelsea’s David Zwirner Gallery. This towering character has a bonnet and a complexion to match the porcelain on her side cabinet. (Through Feb 14th).
Mamma Andersson, installation view of ‘Behind the Curtain,’ at David Zwirner Gallery, January, 2015.
Ocean waves smoothed the base of this iceberg while wind erosion and detached ice carved the top into this majestic, castle-like form. It’s one of the many stunning images from Sebastiao Salgado’s latest ‘Genesis’ series – for which the artist travelled the world photographing landscapes untouched by modernization – currently on view at Chelsea’s Yancey Richardson Gallery. (Through Jan 24th).
Sebastiao Salgado, Fortress of Solitude, Antarctica, 24 x 25 inches, gelatin silver print, 2005.
Like a studio visit and gallery show rolled into one, Matthew Chambers’ solo show at Zach Feuer Gallery presents both books of ideas and finished paintings. Though the paintings appear to be unchallenging but pretty floral designs, the gallery explains that they’re designed to ‘transfix viewers by their own experience of seeing.’ (Through Feb 7th).
Matthew Chambers, installation view of solo show at Zach Feuer Gallery, January 2015.
Shanghai artist-provocateur Xu Zhen shows a piece from his ‘Eternity’ series at James Cohan Gallery that literalizes the idea of ‘East meeting West’ in an absurd combination of classical refinement and enlightenment. (In Chelsea through Jan 17th).
Xu Zhen, Eternity-Aphrodite of Knidos, Tang Dynasty Sitting Buddha, glass fiber-reinforced concrete, marble grains, sandstone grains, mineral pigments, steel, 139 ¾ x 35 13/16 x 35 13/16 inches, 2014.
Known for her elaborate, nature-inspired ceramic vessels, Joan Bankemper’s three-part contribution to Nancy Hoffman Gallery’s winter group exhibition is a serenely gorgeous reminder that winter won’t last forever. (In Chelsea through Jan 24th).
Joan Bankemper, installation view of ‘Cutout/Decoupage’ at Nancy Hoffman Gallery, December 2014.
Though it looks like an earthquake-destroyed parking garage or an uprooted step-pyramid, the preppy green and soothing beige color of this sculpture by Chicago-based artist Diane Simpson suggests unblinking calm. The title, Underskirt, gives the game away, bringing to mind a crinoline for a ‘Cubie’ from the Cubist-inspired 1913 alphabet book. (At Mitchell-Innes and Nash in Chelsea through Jan 24th).
Diane Simpson, Underskirt, oil stain and acrylic on MDF with cotton mesh, 44 x 69 x 7 inches, 1986.
LA-based artist Thomas Houseago’s latest solo show marks a seismic shift from his signature, large-scale sculptures of human bodies to a huge structure that accommodates human bodies. Titled ‘Moun Room,’ a reference to his girlfriend’s first name, the piece’s geometric shapes evoke celestial bodies and art deco design while the entire structure resembles a sturdy shipping container and, paradoxically, a delicate paper lantern. (At Hauser & Wirth in Chelsea through January 17th).
Thomas Houseago, Moun Room (detail), Tuf-Cal, hemp, iron rebar, 1098.6 x 1388.1 x 365.8 cm, 2013-2014.
Italian artist Angelo Filomeno is known for making the macabre gorgeous. Here, a detail from a bright yellow silk support shows a pretty assortment of embroidered tropical fish; but decay is never far away, as evidenced by scuttling black beetles and a ravaged angelfish. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through Jan 31st).
Angelo Filomeno, detail from ‘Tropical Still Life in Yellow,’ embroidery and crystals on silk shantung stretched over linen, 78 x 39 inches, 2014.
How to create a universal art? Pennsylvania-based artist Hilary Berseth drew seven faces contorted by common human emotions (surprise and fear seen here) on the inside of five Platonic solids, shapes that Plato felt were key to constructing all around us. Slowly spinning in the gallery, the shapes intensify each emotion and invite a viewer to compare each to his/her own emotional state. (At Lower East Side gallery 11 Rivington through Jan 17th).
Hilary Berseth, Installation view at 11 Rivington, December 2014.
In 2002, the pedestal under a rare early Renaissance sculpture by Tullio Lombardo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art buckled and the piece fell to the floor, smashing into several large pieces and hundreds of fragments. Conservators set to work on a twelve-year mission to restore Adam to his former glory as he contemplates the fruit that leads to mankind’s fall. (Through July 2015).
Tullio Lombardo, Adam, marble, c. 1490-95.
Japanese photographer Yasumasa Morimura first photographed himself as the Infanta, daughter of King Felipe IV from Velazquez’s famous ‘Las Meninas’ in 1990. Almost twenty-five years later, his latest series has him playing the role of every other character in it, as well as figures from the paintings that hang to either side at Madrid’s Prado. (At Chelsea’s Luhring Augustine through Jan 24th).
Yasumasa Morimura, Living in the realm of the painting (The princess), chromogenic print, 31 ½ x 25 ¼ inches, 2013.
After witnessing substandard working conditions at a building site for which he’d been commissioned to create artwork, Beijing-based artist Xu Bing created two huge phoenix sculptures composed of construction equipment. Suspended at the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine, their decorative lights are akin to stained glass and their message in keeping with the church’s activist history. (Through Feb 2015).
Xu Bing, Phoenix, installation view at St John the Divine, Dec 2014.
In this towering mash-up of American vernacular imagery that includes Ronald Reagan’s caricatured head at top, tree stumps carved into baseball bats, faces and an elephant foot and two large baseballs, Ivan Witenstein creates a portrait of America from precariously balanced kitsch. (At Derek Eller Gallery through Jan 3rd).
Ivan Witenstein, Rails to Trails, wood, acrylic, oil, enamel, wood burning, 93 x 75 x 31 inches.
Though British artist (and writer) Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s figures look like portraits, they come from her imagination. The title of this piece, ‘Attention from the Righteous,’ suggests a condescending character, but this young man’s lively eyes and soft expression make him immediately likeable. (At Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery through Jan 10th).
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Attention From the Righteous, oil on canvas, 19 ¾ x 18 inches, 2014.
Like giant party streamers, over 500 length of pink and orange flagging tape suspended by paperclips from the New York Hall of Science’s rotunda hint at the fun to be had inside. Titled ‘Scattered Light,’ this installation by Dick Esterle includes sunlight reflecting disco balls, adding to the celebratory effect. (Through Sept 2015).
Dick Esterle, Scattered Light (installation view at the New York Hall of Science), flagging tape, paper clips, metal rods, 2014.
