A broken column constructed of foam core and covered by custom handmade silk Kashmiri rugs in Baseera Khan’s current show at Simone Subal Gallery suggests an empire toppled, its segments like gears in a massive, defunct machine. Instead of dominating visitors with its huge size though, the pillar entices thanks to its decorative patterns and appears mysteriously futuristic due to its liquid-looking resin core. Fascinating remnants entice us to consider the historical past as complicated and unknown, suggesting new legacies for the future. (On view on the Lower East Side through Dec 22nd).
Baseera Khan, installation view of ‘snake skin’ at Simone Subal Gallery, Nov 2019.
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)
View all posts by Merrily Kerr
