Ariel Orozco at Spencer Brownstone Gallery

No detail of urban life is too mundane for Mexico-City based conceptual artist Ariel Orozco, whose minimalist panels at Spencer Brownstone Gallery uncover a hidden choreography in the metropolis.  Finding himself trailing 18 wheelers through city traffic, Orozco recorded the patterns of blinking lights on the rear of the trucks, then recreated the same flashing sequences with lights embedded into canvas.  The effect is humorous and surprisingly engaging…and viewers don’t even have to deal with diesel exhaust.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Nov 8th).

Ariel Orozco, installation view of La cabeza el los pies (Head on feet), truck tail lights, electrical hardware, circuit box, canvas on panel, 90.5 x 78.5 inches, 2020.

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Merrily Kerr

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)