Isa Genzken at David Zwirner Gallery

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Isa Genzken’s exuberant accumulations of glitzy and everyday
materials (where a pedestal wrapped in a sheet of shiny Mylar might meet
plastic chairs or a bouquet of flowers) have sobered up considerably with her
latest exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery. 
Here, mannequins are the basic building block for her abstractions; some
appear to converse freely with each other, others appear to be in disguise or
are tied and bound.  Several in police
vests and safety gear near the front door set a tense tone.  (At David Zwirner Gallery through Oct 31st).

Isa Genzken, installation view at David Zwirner Gallery, October 2015.

Jose Parla at Mary Boone Gallery & Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

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Once a street artist, now an artist inspired by the
histories of the built environment, Jose Parla adds layers of posters, grime
and brightly colored paint to faux fragments of wall currently on view at Bryce
Wolkowitz Gallery and Mary Boone Gallery. 
Considering that the block on which these galleries stand has been
largely rebuilt in the past several years, Parla’s treasuring of fragments from
the past has particular resonance. 
(Through Oct 31st).

Jose Parla, installation view at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery,
Sept 2015.

Richard Prince at Barbara Gladstone Gallery

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Talk about a lonesome cowboy. This solitary bronze figure – cast from a cowboy mannequin and painted – stands completely alone in Barbara Gladstone’s 21st Street space. However, though it looks like a younger relative to the artist’s famously appropriated Marlborough ads from the 80s, a text by Prince calls him ‘a male version of Spiritual America,’ a controversial past work appropriating a photo of a nude Brooke Shields. Is Prince approaching a new taboo with this trigger-happy youngster? (In Chelsea through Oct 30th)

Installation view of ‘Cowboy’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery.

Louis M. Eilshemius at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

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Late 19th, early 20th century American painter Louis M. Eilshemius painted in obscurity until he was discovered by Marcel Duchamp in 1917. Already embittered, the artist stopped painting just a few years later, despite a whirlwind of interest in and exhibitions of his work. At Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in Chelsea, a selection of paintings, including this enigmatic moonlit exchange between a merman and human woman, offer insight into Eilshemius’s moody narratives. (Through Oct 31st).

Louis M. Eilshemius, Untitled (Figures in a Moonlit Landscape), oil on paperboard, 22 ½ x 26 ½ inches, c. 1905.

Nigel Cooke at Pace Gallery

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British artist Nigel Cooke has signed on with a new gallery and stepped back from the abstract style of his last New York solo show in 2012, but his typically dark, psychedelic undertones remain. The common point of his latest body of work is a cast of mysterious, otherworldly characters like this spotlit ‘blind philosopher’ who sees beyond the glowing lamplight and burning bush surrounding him. (At Pace Gallery’s 510 West 25th Street location through Oct 24th). Nigel Cooke, detail of Blind Philosopher, oil on linen backed with sailcloth, 250cm x 190 cm, 2015.


Marco Maggi at Josee Bienvenu Gallery

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Uruguayan artist Marco Maggi’s labor-intensive installation at Josee Bienvenu Gallery – consisting of thousands of forms in self-adhesive archival paper applied directly to the gallery wall – is, according to a handout, intended ‘to promote pauses and make time visible.’ The incredible profusion of tiny cutouts sometimes resembles diagrams of electronic devices, sometimes a shape-based language system in disarray; the takeaway is a sense of wonder at the myriad systems which escape our day-to-day observation. (In Chelsea through Nov 7th). Marco Maggi, installation detail at Josee Bienvenu Gallery, Sept 2015.


Maureen Gallace at 303 Gallery

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Fleeting clouds, rapidly sloping greenery and a mini-explosion of wind-whipped shrubbery in this coastal scene by Maureen Gallace keep the eye moving around the spare landscape. Perfectly timed to generate nostalgia for disappearing fair weather days, Gallace’s latest solo show at Chelsea’s 303 Gallery speaks the language of memory and longing. (Through Oct 31st). Maureen Gallace, Surf Road, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches, 2015.

Wolfgang Tillmans at David Zwirner Gallery

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Digital technology allows us to picture everything in amazing detail, so how do you choose your subject matter as a professional photographer? Wolfgang Tillmans answers this question by continuing to zero in on the exceptional and mundane, picturing his day-to-day world (portraits of friends, laundry piles) and international travels in prints both tiny and monumental in a characteristic salon-style hanging which seems to evoke the randomness of life. (At David Zwirner Gallery through Oct 24th).

Wolfgang Tillmans, installation view of ‘New York Installation PCR’ at David Zwirner Gallery, September, 2015.

Roman Stanczak at Bureau Gallery

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‘My sculptures speak of life…among spirits,’ says Warsaw-based sculptor Roman Stanczak, whose carefully destroyed bedside table at LES Bureau Gallery suggests a particularly haunted mental state. (Through Oct 25th).

Roman Stanczak, From 2nd to 3rd, wooden cupboard, wood chips, 22.75 x 38 x 39.25 inches, 2015.

Julie Schenkelberg, Swan Song at Asya Geisberg Gallery

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From the heart of the Rust Belt to the heart of Chelsea, scenic designer turned fine artist Julie Schenkelberg has transplanted an installation begun in a disused church basement to Asya Geisberg Gallery. Furniture, dishware, wedding dresses and more combine to create a monument to memory and decay. (In Chelsea through Oct 24th).

Julie Schenkelberg, Swan Song, reclained lath, wood, marble, iron, paper, vintage furniture, dishware, figurines, natural debris, crushed reclaimed metal, light fixtures, vintage wedding dresses, bathtub, wallpaper, plaster, paint, dimensions variable, 2015.

Pinaree Sanpitak at Tyler Rollins Fine Art

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Inspired by ma-lai flower garlands used in Thai ceremonies, Pinaree Sanpitak continues her interest in artwork related to the female body and experience with this installation of fabric that drains the color from the toile ‘flowers,’ leaving pure forms behind. (At Tyler Rollins Fine Art in Chelsea through Oct 24th).

Pinaree Sanpitak, ‘Ma-Lai: mentally secured,’ toile, 15 pieces, dimensions variable, 2014 – 15.

Sara Cwynar in ‘Continuous Surfaces’ at Andrea Rosen Gallery

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Sara Cwynar’s photo of stacked images of Nefertiti comes at a moment when it’s possible to see images of the ancient Egyptian queen at both the Brooklyn Museum and another Chelsea gallery, reinforcing the idea that much of what we’re seeing in daily life is an oft repeated referent to a distant original. The words ‘ERROR: ioerror’ appear scattered throughout suggesting a corrupting effect to so much mediation. (At Chelsea’s Andrea Rosen Gallery through Oct 24th)

Sara Cwynar, 432 Photographs of Nefertiti, collaged UV coated archival pigment prints mounted to Plexiglas and Dibond, 54 x 43 x 7/8 inches, 2015.

Simon Schubert at Foley Gallery

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Edgar Allan Poe’s stern face dominates one very dark wall of graphite drawings by German artist Simon Schubert at the Lower East Side’s Foley Gallery; on the other, a series of white paper ‘drawings’ are folded to create the lines that picture a staircase with a ghostly figure. The sense of a benign, ghostly presence is palpable. (Through Oct 18th).

Simon Schubert, Untitled (Stairs with Figure), 39.5 x 27.5 inches, 2015.

William Villalongo at Susan Inglett Gallery

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‘You Matter,’ reads a sign in the window of William Villalongo’s current solo show at Susan Inglett Gallery, recalling the refrain from recent protests against police aggression. Inside, the Brooklyn-based artist presents the seasons as skeletons cloaked in glittering black female bodies and dominating lush landscapes – characters at peace and one with nature. (In Chelsea through Oct 17th).

William Villalongo, (detail from) Spring, acrylic, paper and velvet flocking on wood panel, 72 x 36 inches, 2015.

Keltie Ferris at Mitchell-Innes and Nash

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Brooklyn-based painter Keltie Ferris is known for abstract paintings that recall the city grid, so you’d think she’d relish LA’s road systems on her recent residency there. Instead, she turns her eye skyward in pieces like ‘oRiOn,’ a canvas that hints at a celestial hunter, outlined in vivid color and decorated in a shower of shooting stars. (At Chelsea’s Mitchell-Innes and Nash through Oct 17th).

Keltie Ferris, oRiOn, acrylic and oil on canvas, 72 x 60 inches, 2015.

Chuck Close Self Portraits at Pace Gallery

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For his latest show at Pace Gallery’s 534 West 25th Street location, Chuck Close continues to replicate mechanical processes by hand in huge self-portraits painted square by square in thin washes of red, blue or yellow paint. (Through Oct 17th).

Chuck Close, Self-Portrait IV, oil on canvas, 96 x 84 inches, 2014-15 (right) and Self-Portrait III, oil on canvas, 101 5/8 x 84 inches, 2014 (to the left).

McArthur Binion at Galerie Lelong

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Using copies of his birth certificate, pages from his address books and these photos, Chicago-based artist McArthur Binion creates a deeply personal abstract modernism. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through Oct 17th).

McArthur Binion, MAB: 1971: I, oil paint stick and paper on board, 15 x 15 inches, 2015.

Martin Roth at Louis B. James Gallery

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Parakeets without owners occupy the upper reaches of Louis B James Gallery, while rubble shipped in suitcases from the Syrian/Turkish border is strewn on the floor, creating a situation that prompts meditation on freedom and migration by Austrian born, NY-based artist Martin Roth. (On the Lower East Side through Oct 18th).

Martin Roth, installation view of ‘untitled (debris)’ at Louis B. James Gallery, Oct 2015.

Will Ryman at Paul Kasmin Gallery

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Will Ryman has arranged thousands of paint brushes into soft wavy walls and planted huge metal flower sculptures on the Park Avenue malls, so the political subtext beneath his recent sculpture ‘The Situation Room’ at Chelsea’s Paul Kasmin Gallery comes as something of a surprise. Wanting to respond to the famous photos of the Obama administration watching the SEAL raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in 2011, Ryman recreated the scene in coal dust covered sculptures that appear suspended in time as if preserved by a fossil fuel-related Pompeiian disaster. (Through Oct 17th).

Will Ryman, The Situation Room, coal, fiberglass, wood, fabric, epoxy, 132 x 163 x 78 inches, 2014.

Teppei Kaneuji at Jane Lombard Gallery

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Originally inspired by a coffee stain on paper, Kyoto-based artist Teppei Kaneuji elaborated on this Dagwood-esque sandwich to the point of amusing absurdity. Here he combines pieces of wood and plastic food in a mix of ‘natural’ and ‘fake’ that conveys the fun of stacking blocks and the specter of excess calorie consumption. (At Jane Lombard Gallery through Oct 17th).

Teppei Kaneuji, Muddy Stream from a Mug (Sandwich), coffee, paper, wood, plastic objects, urethane resin, 19 ½ x 12 x 10 inches, 2015.

Terry Haggerty, Double Back at Sikkema Jenkins

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British artist Terry Haggerty takes his illusion-based painting a step further in his solo show at Chelsea’s Sikkema Jenkins & Co by literally projecting his signature undulating ribbons toward the viewer. The normally wall-hugging panels are painted on aluminum supports and appear as if they can’t quite be tamed. (Through Oct 17th).

Terry Haggerty, Double Back, acrylic on aluminum, 81.125 x 36 x 17.75 inches, 2015.

Clement Siatous at Simon Preston Gallery

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In 1973, the British government handed over the Chagos Islands to the US to use for military operations, claiming that they were uninhabited. Island resident Clement Siatous paints evidence to the contrary in a series of palpably wistful paintings inspired by memories from his childhood. Here, the Nordver removes citizens of Diego Garcia, leaving behind homes, animals and a cultural heritage. (At Simon Preston Gallery on the Lower East Side through Oct 18th. More info at http://newatlantisproject.com/)

Clement Siatous, Dernier Voyage des Chagossiens a bord du Nordvar anrade Diego Garcia, en 1973, acrylic on linen, 26 x 45.75 inches, 2006.

Morgane Tschiember at Tracy Williams, Ltd.

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Paris-based Morgane Tschiember uses Tracy Wiliams’ new Lower East Side space to great effect with this handsome installation of compromised, suspended vessels set off by the huge wall painting ‘Falls.’ (Through Nov 1st).

Morgane Tschiember, installation view of ‘Almost a Kiss’ at Tracy Williams Ltd. on the Lower East Side, Sept 2015.

Samara Golden at Canada

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Enter LA artist Samara Golden’s full-gallery installation at Canada on the Lower East Side, and prepare to be jolted from the everyday – the floor under a catwalk is lined with mirrors and furniture fixed to the wall in a gravity-defying display the invites visitors to let loose from their moorings and play ‘what if.’ (Through Oct 25th).

Samara Golden, installation view of ‘A Fall of Corners’ at Canada Gallery, Sept 2015.

Zheng Lu at Sundaram Tagore Gallery

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Beijing artist Zheng Lu learned the art of calligraphy from his literary family; respect for the written word has extended to his present practice in pieces like this, for which the artist laser cut characters from steel (that originally appeared in historically important texts) fusing them into this elegant, dynamic drip of water. (At Chelsea’s Sundaram Tagore Gallery through Oct 10th.)

Zheng Lu, Water Dripping – Splashing, stainless steel, 181.1 x 131.9 x 114.2 inches, 2014.

Alicia McCarthy at Jack Hanley Gallery

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San Francisco Mission School artist Alicia McCarthy presents signature grids and more at Jack Hanley on the Lower East Side, including this pulsing lattice, marred (or made perfect?) by a blur of grey paint. (Through Oct 11th).

Alicia McCarthy, Untitled, gouache and spray and latex paint on wood panel, 96 x 96 inches, 2015.

‘In Appearance of Order’ at 247365

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Normally, this tiny art gallery exists on-line only as virtual gallery ‘Water McBeer,’ run by artist Henry Gunderson. On the occasion of Gunderson’s solo show in 247365 Gallery’s main space, it has stepped into the realm of the real to show miniature artwork by an impressive roster of artists including Carol Bove’s caterpillar, recognizable from bigger versions on the High Line. (Through Oct 11th).

‘In Appearance of Order,’ including work by Carol Bove, Ajay Kurian, Nathaniel de Large, and Jessie Stead, Sept 2015.

Elias Sime at James Cohan Gallery

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Addis Ababa-based artist Elias Sime carries away electronic components by the truck-full from Africa’s largest open-air market in order to create gorgeous installations like this colorful collage at Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery. (Through Oct 17th).

Elias Sime, Tightrope 7, reclaimed electronic components and wires on panel, 8 ½ x 39 ¼ feet (estimated), 2009-2014.