Hilary Berseth at 11 Rivington

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.

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Merrily Kerr

Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education. For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine. Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)