Derek Fordjour’s tour de force exhibition at Petzel Gallery includes two dramatic sculptural installations, a puppet show performed twice daily and two distinct bodies of collaged 2-D work, each as powerful as the next. Continuing to address themes of systemic racism in the US, Fordjour was prompted by George Floyd’s death to directly address Black grief, mourning and the specter of death in several powerful paintings. He also returns to his signature themes of performance and games to consider the complex lives of Black performers in the spotlight. The synchronized swimmers in this image join marching bands, dancers, jugglers who occupy ambiguous identities as they keep the show on the road. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 19th. Masks and social distancing are required.)
Derek Fordjour, Cadence, acrylic, charcoal, cardboard, oil paste, foil and glitter on newspaper mounted on canvas, 2020.
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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