Ben Sanders in ‘Elysian Redux’ at Asya Geisberg Gallery

Taking an 80s aesthetic as inspiration, Ben Sander’s steel vase is a surprisingly sturdy support for an abstract design of floating shapes and heavily textured lines of lavender paint. Sander’s accompanying 2-D work behind likewise balances the substantial – thick marks resembling giant paint strokes – with unanchored shapes including ping pong and Wiffle balls to offer an amusing musing on taste. (At Chelsea’s Asya Geisberg Gallery through June 25th).

Ben Sanders, Blue Tube Dude, enamel and oil on steel, 16 x 6 inches, 2016 in front of ‘Untitled,’ acrylic on magnet-inlaid MDF, rubber, ping pong balls, Wiffle ball on enameled steel, 28 x 34.5 inches.
Ben Sanders, Blue Tube Dude, enamel and oil on steel, 16 x 6 inches, 2016 in front of ‘Untitled,’ acrylic on magnet-inlaid MDF, rubber, ping pong balls, Wiffle ball on enameled steel, 28 x 34.5 inches.

Published by

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)