Gahee Park at Perrotin Gallery

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

Lone insects, sharpened fingernails and portraits of impassive, semi-clad or nude characters lend young New York painter Gahee Park’s new paintings at Perrotin Gallery a sense of eerie calm and pervasive danger.  Innuendo ranges from the obvious to subtle, here appearing in two speared olives and the fishs’ pretty lips not to mention the long red nails pulling down the blinds.  A mini-cascade of eyes peers in past the shrimp-shaped nails to give the painting a surreal, voyeuristic charge.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 17th).

Gahee Park, Seafood Dream, 24 x 25 inches, oil on canvas, 2020.

Michele Abeles, 1/1/19, 2:20PM at 47 Canal

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

Known for adding paint, tile or other materials to the surface of her photographs, Michele Abeles shifts gears in her current show at 47 Canal, offering a surprisingly unmanipulated selection of images reflecting on macabre Halloween traditions.  Most of the show’s pictures of ghoulish lawn decorations come across as straightforward documentation of bizarre but unsurprising phenomenon.  A few images break through to another level, however, making an inflatable demon or a casually placed, dismembered body part freshly strange.  Here, natural materials on the ground contrast sharply with the glowing white paper skeleton, creating a jarring contrast that illuminates the artificiality of the bones.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 3rd.  Appointments are encouraged and masks and social distancing are required.)

Michele Abeles, 11/1/19, 2:20PM, dye sublimation on aluminum, 31 x 21 ½ inches, 2020.

Ward Shelley and Douglas Paulson at Pierogi Gallery

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

Boxes are stacked floor to ceiling and charts dominate a claustrophobic space introduced as ‘The Truth Workshop,’ an installation by artists Ward Shelley and Douglas Paulson at Pierogi Gallery.  The artists conceived this drably colored, overwhelmingly crowded room as the place where the secretive powers-that-be concoct what the public will believe to be truth.  Stacked boxes labeled ‘Fake News Homeruns,’ or ‘Classic Inside Jobs’ house the juicy details of manufactured truths while rows of books with titles like ‘Trashing the Planet’ offer instruction on nefarious activities.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 11th. Appointments are not necessary.  Masks and social distancing are required.)

Ward Shelley and Douglas Paulson, installation view of ‘The Room Where it Happened,’ at Pierogi Gallery, Sept 2020.

Beverly Fishman at Miles McEnery Gallery

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The simple geometry, reflective surfaces and day-glo colors of Beverly Fishman’s new paintings at Miles McEnery Gallery are an immediate draw.  Despite the allure, however, they were inspired by shiny marketing techniques used by pharmaceutical companies and colors that signal warning.  Fishman’s abstraction, rooted in real world references and resembling portals nods to the various mental and physical states we pass through in life.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 10th.  Appointments are not necessary but masks and social distancing are required.)

Beverly Fishman, Untitled (Pain, Diabetes, Depression, Depression, Depression), urethane paint on wood, 52 ½ x 100 ¼ x 2 inches, 2019.

Pieter Schoolwerth at Petzel Gallery

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Pieter Schoolwerth’s new paintings at Petzel Gallery question human identity in a time when our on-screen personas are more prevalent than ever.  Basing his images on screenshots of the life-simulation game The Sims 4, each digital avatar’s form is mingled with flat layers of grey surface and some have faces rendered in expressionist swirls of paint.  Here, young women take a selfie while a horrified woman in a space suit (full protective gear?) looks on.  The disorienting effect of paint vs inkjet print, vivid color vs drab grey and layers that have come unmoored from their source create a fascinating world of provisional realities.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 31st. Masks and social distancing are required and gallery capacity is limited.  Visitors must give contact info.)

Pieter Schoolwerth, Shifted Sims #1 (Get Together) oil, acrylic, inkjet on canvas, 54 x 93 inches, 2020.

Alyson Shotz Installation at Derek Eller Gallery

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Alyson Shotz’s fascination with gravity, light, and other natural phenomenon continues in her current show of sculpture at Derek Eller Gallery. Textile-like sheets of electroplated metal disks hang from the ceiling, enticing visitors with their shiny iridescence.  Curling inward, they create shapes that resemble chrysalises while at the same time suggesting shed skin, another natural phenomenon signaling growth.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 10th. Masks and social distancing are required and gallery capacity is limited.)

Alyson Shotz, installation view of Intricate Metamorphosis #1-6, plated carbon steel, various dimensions, 2020 in ‘The Small Clocks Run Wild’ at Derek Eller Gallery.

Os Gemeos at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

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Os Gemeos, the Brazilian brothers who’ve painted giant outdoor murals around the world, are back in town with an exhibition of typically fabulous paintings at Lehman Maupin Gallery.  Harkening back to the artists’ initiation into the world of street art, music and dance in the 80s, this painting actually functions as a boombox, streaming music through Bluetooth speakers.   (On view in Chelsea through Oct 31st.  Masks and social distancing are required and gallery capacity is limited.  Visitors must give contact info.)

Os Gemeos, Boombox Walking, mixed media with sequins on MDF with sound system composed of two 6 inhc JBL/Harman Triaxial 60W speakers, DC 12V input bivolt amplifier and source 12V 3A, 74.61 x 110.04 x 4.53 inches (framed), 2020.

Sonya Kelliher-Combs in ‘Ecofeminism(s)’ at Thomas Erben Gallery

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Last summer’s popular group show ‘Ecofeminism(s)’ at Thomas Erben Gallery, curated by Monika Fabijanska, has reopened after the summer break for another brief run.  Audiences can take in artworks by iconic artists who probe human relationships to nature and get another chance to check out Alaska-based Sonya Kelliher-Combs’ delicately crafted ‘Mark, Polar Bear,’ which veils the U.S. flag with polar bear fur. (On view in Chelsea through Sept 26th.  No appointment is necessary but visitor numbers are limited and masks are required.)

Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Mark, Polar Bear, acrylic polymer, polar bear fur, fabric flag, metal brackets, 40 x 65 inches, 2019.

Raul de Lara at Ethan Cohan Fine Art

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A cactus featuring a grinning mask greets visitors to Raul de Lara’s New York solo show debut at Chelsea’s Ethan Cohan Fine Art, but beneath the apparent levity are the hard realities of the artist’s migrant experience.  Though he employs humor to lift his audiences’ spirits, de Lara reveals the frustration and anxiety of life as DACA recipient in his autobiographical sculptures.  Surprising juxtapositions of forms, like this school desk studded with dangerous cactus needles, energize the work and, in this case, recall how the artist was hit on the hand by nuns at school who punished him for being left-handed.  De Lara gets the last laugh here by lodging a piece of gum under the desk, a mini act of rebellion.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 17th by appointment.  Masks and social distancing are required.)


Raul de Lara, For Being Left-Handed, 2020, Pine, Chiclets Gum, Acrylic, Brass, Steel, Particle Board, 27 x 12 x 13 in.

Lawrence Weiner in front of the Whitney Museum

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The Whitney’s social distancing markers are more artful than most…or so it appears in front of the museum where conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner’s manhole cover aligns with the line to get in the museum.  Commissioned in 2000 by the Public Art Fund, the cover is one of many that were installed around Union Square, Washington Square Park and other downtown locations through early 2011.  Reading ‘In direct line with another and the next,’ the text relates to the city grid and its residents moving though urban spaces together, a theme never more relevant than now.

Elle Street Art at Hudson Yards

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Renowned and prolific international street artist Elle has transformed the 11th Ave approach to Hudson Yards with this 2,000 sq ft mural.  Hoping “to instill passion and hope and peace in the people who see it,” Elle pictures a mother and daughter looking forward into a brighter future.  (On view on 11th Ave in Hudson Yards through 2020).

Sarah Morris at 1285 Avenue of the Americas

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On your way to the newly reopened MoMA?  If it’s that or something else that takes you to mid-town Manhattan, be sure to check out Sarah Morris’ UBS Wall Painting in the UBS building on 6th Ave right around the corner from the museum.  Morris’ mural packs a punch from the sidewalk, towering over passersby and offering an abstracted image of the city grid (including this very building) that’s livelier and more colorful than the real version surrounding it.  (On view at 1285 Avenue of the Americas.)

Sarah Morris, UBS Wall Painting, household gloss paint on wall, 195.6 x 536 inches, 2001/2019.

Serena Stevens at Postmasters Gallery

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Now back in her native Iowa to complete an MFA, young painter Serena Stevens conveys contemplative quiet in new, large-scale paintings of domestic environments at Postmasters Gallery.  Cats abound, here, pictured in the panels of a cozy-looking quilt and as stuffed toys.  A pair of cast-off jeans on the bed suggest a quick change rather than an erotic interlude in a painting that explores the psychology of intimate spaces.  (On view in Tribeca through Sept 13th.  Appointments are not necessary, but masks and social distancing are required.)

Serena Stevens, Spare Bed, oil on canvas, 80 x 72 inches, 2020.