Jonas Woods at Anton Kern Gallery

Jonas Woods’ monumental painting of late basketball player Dwayne Schintzius offers a tragic figure for contemplation. After a promising start in college basketball, health problems thwarted Schintzius’ career before he died due to complications of leukemia in his early 40s. At over seven feet tall, with a mullet hairstyle as renowned as his sports skills, Schintzius was a particular type of American hero; Woods prompts us to ask what kind with his over nine-feet-tall canvas. (At Chelsea’s Anton Kern Gallery through Oct 22nd).

Jonas Woods, Dwayne Schintzius, oil and acrylic on canvas, 110 x 82 inches, 2016.
Jonas Woods, Dwayne Schintzius, oil and acrylic on canvas, 110 x 82 inches, 2016.

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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)