‘Shrines to Speed’ at Leila Heller Gallery

As summer travel season rolls around, ‘Shrines to Speed’ at Chelsea’s Leila Heller Gallery acts as something of a cautionary tale. Sylvie Fleury’s smashed and sliced car – covered in nail polish – rests near an ominous pair of van doors by Richard Prince and a crushed Fiat 500 by Ron Arad. All are enticing objects but each undermines the glamor of car culture. (In Chelsea through July 9th).

Sylvie Fleury, Skin Crime 6, crashed car, enamel, 31 x 29 x 141 inches, 1997 in foreground of installation view of ‘Shrines to Speed’ at Leila Heller Gallery, June 2016.
Sylvie Fleury, Skin Crime 6, crashed car, enamel, 31 x 29 x 141 inches, 1997 in foreground of installation view of ‘Shrines to Speed’ at Leila Heller Gallery, June 2016.

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)