Claudia Wieser, Chapter at Marianne Boesky

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest Show, Inside ViewPosted on Comments are Disabled

Berlin-based artist Claudia Wieser takes the 1976 BBC drama ‘I, Claudius’ as inspiration for a gorgeous exhibition featuring wallpaper printed with towering busts from antiquity and a series of refined painted vessels atop a large ceramic tiled pedestal.  Rather than tell a story or suggest particular meanings, Wieser evokes elegance and opulence using low-brow materials like wood and mirror-polished steel, perhaps a parallel to politically corrupt Roman rulers whose culture non-the-less produced prized artwork.  (On view at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea through April 14th).

Claudia Wieser, installation view of ‘Chapter’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery, March 2018.

Stan Douglas, Jewels at David Zwirner Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

A faintly reflected man in a white shirt and tie looks on while a hand fondles jewels in the window of a looted shop in photographer Stan Douglas’ careful staging of a hypothetical New York City blackout.  Strangely calm, the scene suggests looting as leisure activity and – given the man’s gaze – as potential romantic encounter.  (On view at David Zwirner Gallery’s 525 West 19th Street location through April 7th).

Stan Douglas, Jewels, digital chromogenic print mounted on Dibond aluminum, 36 x 36 inches, 2017.

Thomas Demand, Daily #30 at Matthew Marks

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Thomas Demand’s meticulous paper sculptures from his ‘Dailies’ series pay homage to ordinary objects that were encountered, considered extraordinary for a moment, photographed, then forgotten.  After reconstructing a scene shot on his phone as a paper sculpture, Demand prints the image as a vivid dye transfer print.  Positioned on Demand’s wall of anonymous lockers, the banal becomes something wondrous again. (On view in Chelsea at Matthew Marks Gallery through April 7th). 

Thomas Demand, Daily #30, framed dye transfer print, 26 ½ x 21 ½ inches, 2017 over Locker, UV print on nonwoven wallpaper, dimensions variable, 2017.

Kay Rosen at Alexander Gray Associates

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Often political, never shy, Kay Rosen’s text-based wall art is bold and outspoken at Alexander Gray Associates.  Just four letters speak volumes in this installation titled ‘White House v. America.’  (On view in Chelsea through April 7th). 

Kay Rosen, White House v. America, paint on wall, dimensions variable, 2018.

Sarah Blesener at Anastasia Photo

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After a stint photographing patriotic camps and schools in Russia, US photojournalist Sarah Blesener turned her focus to schools like the Utah Patriot Camp, a short summer camp in Utah that aims to help kids memorize the articles of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and more.  Blesener’s goal – to invite conversation about nationalism vs patriotism – makes for a timely and provocative body of work.  (On view at Anastasia Photo on the Lower East Side through April 1st). 

Sarah Blesener, photo taken at Utah Patriot Camp, Herriman, Utah, 2017-18.

Maria Nepomuceno at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

A superabundance of color and curving forms characterize Brazilian artist Maria Nepomuceno’s ‘imaginary nature,’ as she calls her sculpture composed of woven straw, beads, ceramics and resin forms.  With direct links to the human body – beads are cells, straw references skin – the artist’s life affirming constructions celebrate nature in its eye-popping variety. (On view at Sikkema Jenkins and Co in Chelsea through April 7th). 

Maria Nepomuceno, 3 mulheres, beads, braided straw, ropes, ceramics, clay, resin and wood, 180 x 150 x 90 cm, 2017.

Zhang Enli at Hauser & Wirth

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Though they conjure Monet’s quiet gardens at Giverny, Zhang Enli’s new abstract canvases were inspired by Shanghai’s greenery.  Known for representational paintings of everyday objects that twist and turn – cord, branches, wire – and immersive painted installations, Zhang’s new work continues to suggest movement.  (On view at Hauser & Wirth through April 7th). 

Zhang Enli, The Monochrome. Night (2), oil on canvas, 98 ¼ x 117 ½ inches, 2017.

Mimi Lauter at Derek Eller Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Titled ‘Devotional Flowers,’ Mimi Lauter’s show of soft pastel and oil pastel blooms at Derek Eller Gallery suggests mystical experience as a sunflower morphs into a blazing sun and landscape.  Critics have praised the young LA artist’s work as ‘enthralling’ and ‘rapturous.’  Today and tomorrow are the final days to test for yourself the transcendent power of Lauter’s petals. (On view on the Lower East Side through March 18th).

Mimi Lauter, Untitled, gouache, watercolor, soft pastel and oil pastel on paper, 11.5 x 8 inches, 2018.

Carrie Moyer, Jolly Hydra at DC Moore

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Pleasure is the driving factor in Carrie Moyer’s eye-popping new work at DC Moore Gallery in Chelsea.  Here, ‘Jolly Hydra:  Unexplainably Juicy’ suggests the multi-headed hydra of Greek mythology as it encounters blocks and washes of bubble gum-bright color and sensually curving bodily forms.  (On view through March 22nd).

Carrie Moyer, Jolly Hydra: Unexplainably Juicy, acrylic on canvas, 2017.

Jeffrey Milstein at Benrubi Gallery

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Peering down from chartered planes and helicopters, photographer Jeffrey Milstein sees the world from an ordering distance. Here, a container ship moves ahead with tugs in its wake.  Like Milstein’s aerial photos of cities and transportation networks, his nautical views turn monumental manmade objects into a creative play of color and form.  (On view at Benrubi Gallery through March 17th).

Jeffrey Milstein, Container Ship and Tugs 2, archival pigment print, 52 ½ x 70 inches, 2017.

Chris Oh at Sargent’s Daughters

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Vignettes repainted by Chris Oh from a highly detailed early northern Renaissance painting transcribe a scene of veneration onto a soccer ball.  In the original 15th century painting, St Anthony honors the Christ child.  Here, he appears like an apparition on another object of worship.  (On view on the Lower East Side at Sargent’s Daughters through March 11th).

Chris Oh, Vertex, acrylic on soccer ball, 6.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches, 2018.

Marjan Teeuwen at Bruce Silverstein Gallery

by Merrily KerrFeatures & Commissions, Hottest Show, Inside ViewPosted on Comments are Disabled

Working with materials salvaged from destroyed buildings, Dutch artist Marjan Teeuwen creates abstract arrangements of forms that suggest paintings.  Here, she worked in an abandoned school in Johannesburg, South Africa during a 2015 residency to create an installation that speaks to a key theme – the inevitability of destruction and but also the hope of renewal.  (On view through April 14th at Bruce Silverstein Gallery in Chelsea.)

Marjan Teeuwen, Archive Johannesburg, archival pigment print, 38 x 43 inches, 2015.

Lesley Dill at Nohra Haime Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Lesley Dill describes Emily Dickinson’s poems as having a physical effect on her as she experienced ‘an ocean of images’ while reading.  Similarly, Dill’s series of sculptural characters now on view at Nohra Haime Gallery in Chelsea are covered and overpowered by their own words.  The show includes figures like John Brown and Sojourner Truth – who were driven by powerful experiences of the spiritual world. (On view in Chelsea through March 17th).

Lesley Dill, [foreground] Northern Blast (Edward Taylor), oil stick, ink, thread on fabric, wooden shoe lasts, 100 x 23 x 1 inches, 2017 and [background] Omnipotence Enough (Emily Dickinson), oil stick on fabric, 95.5 x 22 x 1 inches, 2017.

Gao Rong at Klein Sun Gallery

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Gao Rong’s meticulously crafted and embroidered pay phone replicates the chips and scratches of a once-shiny public pay phone.  As the importance of the payphone diminishes in the face of cell phone usage, Gao Rong’s 2012 sculpture lovingly preserves its memory in cloth, foam and wood.  (On view at Klein Sun Gallery through March 11th).

Gao Rong, Call No. 1, sponge, cloth, thread, wooden board, 18 7/8 x 11 x 7 7/8 inches, 2012.

Benjamin Degen, Night Move at Susan Inglett Gallery

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Naked feet running along the shore at night in this painting by Benjamin Degen at Susan Inglett Gallery could belong to cavorting friends or fleeing migrants.  The lack of distinction is the point; Degen created his latest paintings “…in celebration of human movement” and in favor of choosing liberation over self-destruction.  (On view in Chelsea through March 10th).

Benjamin Degen, Night Move, oil and spray enamel on canvas, 60 x 84 inches, 2018.

Danielle Orchard at Jack Hanley Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Bodies threaten to dissolve into abstract forms in intriguing new paintings of women by young Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Orchard at Jack Hanley Gallery.  Here, a coy figure either hides behind a flower or is about to take it in hand as a microphone.  (On the Lower East Side through March 11th).

Danielle Orchard, Girl with Tulip, oil on canvas, 36 x 24 inches, 2017.