Butterflies are a reminder of the brevity of life, but the Xerces Blue perching on this crate is an extinct species, adding a note of finality even as the nearby Venus Flytrap demonstrates abundant health. Jeanne Silverthorne’s new sculpture at Marc Straus Gallery also includes silicone rubber crates which symbolize unknown creative possibilities. Acting as pedestal and art object, they range from sturdy to dilapidated, suggesting the coexistence of ideas that will someday manifest as artworks and those that will not. (On view on the Lower East Side through Feb 16th).
Jeanne Silverthorne, Venus Flytrap with Xerces Blue (Extinct), Two Crates, platinum silicone rubber, 53 x 25.3 x 48 inches, 2012-19.
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)
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