Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz brings the destruction and theft of ancient artworks to public attention at Jane Lombard Gallery with a beautiful but barren reconstruction of the banqueting hall of 9th century BC Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II at the Palace of Nimrud. Though destroyed by the Islamic State in 2015, panels from the Palace of Nimrud are housed in many museums, a point Rakowitz highlights by crafting ‘empty’ walls as meticulously as the patterned ones. (On view in Chelsea through Feb 22nd).
Michael Rakowitz, The invisible enemy should not exist (Room F, section 1, panel 15, Northwest Palace of Nimrud), Middle Eastern food packaging and newspapers, glue, cardboard on wooden structures, 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)
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