Tara Donovan, Sphere at Pace Gallery

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

Masses of everyday objects (pencils, cups, index cards) transform into wondrous landscapes, creatures and more in Tara Donovan’s labor-intensive sculptural practice, but her latest show at Pace Gallery elicits awe at purely abstract forms.  Black drinking straws by the thousands create subtle patterned surfaces in the main gallery while manipulated wire screens dipped in ink demonstrate the endless possibilities of transformation on a grid.  The show’s centerpiece is the most interactive, causing visitors to circle around a sphere composed of slim plastic cylinders in an attempt to reconcile how light can make hard plastic appear soft and fuzzy.  (On view at Pace Gallery through March 6th).

Tara Donovan, Sphere, PETG, 6’ x 6’ x 6’, 2020.

Irving Penn, Imperial Pink Bud at Pace

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Irving Penn coined the term ‘Photographism’ to describe his style, a synthesis of graphic design and fine art, but the impact of his images goes beyond words.  Isolated against a white background that emphasizes strong tonal contrast and boldly outlined form, this 1971 photograph at Pace Gallery lends these two buds a hyperreality and heightened beauty.  (On view in Chelsea through Feb 13th).


Irving Penn, Imperial Pink Bud (top), Imperial Gold Bud (bottom), New York, pigment print mounted to board, 16 7/8 x 21 ¾ inches (image, paper and mount), 1971.

Eleanor Swordy in ‘In Situ’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery

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Inspired by a late 19th century story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in which the narrator’s confinement drives her into another reality, Marianne Boesky Gallery’s group show ‘In Situ’ zeroes in on lone individuals in personally meaningful moments.  Here, Eleanor Swordy’s curvy character unzips an alarming torrent from an alternative universe (or maybe just a tent flap) from within the cocoon of a sleeping bag.  (On view in Chelsea through Feb 6th).

Eleanor Swordy, Hard Rain, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 inches, 2020.

Adrian Ghenie Paintings at Pace Gallery

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Ghosts of Van Gogh and Gauguin haunt Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie’s latest body of work, now on view at Pace Gallery.  Titled ‘Hooliganism,’ the show is inspired by the idea that beneath the attractive colors or forms of historic avant-garde painting is an explosive departure from painterly norms.  This painting recalls Van Gogh’s 1889 self-portrait made after cutting his ear but substitutes Van Gogh’s impassive stare with a face literally swirling with psychic force.  (On view through April 24th).

Adrian Ghenie, Untitled, oil on canvas, 39 3/8 x 27 9/16 inches, 2020.

Alice Aycock Sculpture at Marlborough Gallery

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‘Wind, waves, turbines and vortexes of energy’ take solid form in Alice Aycock’s undulating aluminum sculptures at Marlborough Gallery.  Intended to evoke the power of natural elements, Aycock’s cyclones – towering or tiny – are static but strongly suggestive, resembling game pieces, cut paper or dancing forms.  (On view in Chelsea through Feb 27th).

Alice Aycock, installation view Marlborough Gallery, Dec 2021.

Hannah Whitaker at Marinaro

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New York photographer Hannah Whitaker departs from her usual complex, multiple exposure images in recent straight photographs at Marinaro that employ grids and gradients to create what looks like a digital environment for a lone female character.  Here, a shaft of light illuminates a sliver of her model’s otherwise dark body, suggesting that we’re seeing a fragment of what’s before us.  Imagined as a sister to digital avatars like Siri or Alexa, Whitaker’s new figure questions who our AI characters are and why they’re designed as they are.  (On view in Manhattan’s Two Bridges neighborhood through Jan 24th.  Masks and social distancing are required.)

Hannah Whitaker, Orange Eye, Slit, UV printed onto MDF with hand painted edges, 21 x 15 inches, 2019.

Sally Saul, Troubled Waters at Rachel Uffner

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Sally Saul’s new ceramics at Rachel Uffner Gallery engage today’s difficult times with humor by bringing out the absurdity in some of our anxieties.  Here, waves defy nature to encircle one swimmer and finger-like peaks rise up in to threaten unwanted contact.  On the other hand, the small size and delicate nature of the waves make them look almost playful.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Jan 30th.  Masks and social distancing are required).

Sally Saul, Troubled Waters, clay and glaze, 12 ½ x 28 x 17 inches, 2020.

Otto Piene at Sperone Westwater

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Though Otto Piene’s involvement with Group Zero, a post-war avant-garde group dedicated to exploring light and motion in art, ended when the group dissolved in the ‘60s, his experimentation with light continued into late career.  This stunning ceramic sculpture resembling a rainbow at Sperone Westwater is characteristic of his ‘heavy images,’ made by pushing metallic glazes through a screen onto clay before firing.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Jan 16th. Masks and social distancing are required.)

Otto Piene, Grosse Regenbogen (Ohne Titel), glaze on clay in three parts, 37 3/8 x 56 1/8 x 2 3/8 inches, 2014.

Elisa Sighicelli at Kaufmann Repetto

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Ethereal forms appear to rise up in this photograph printed on satin by Turin-based artist Elisa Sighicelli, currently part of her two-artist show at Tribeca’s 55 Walker/Kaufmann Repetto.  Created by hanging sheets of plastic in front of her window and photographing them, Sighicelli’s images are clearly representational yet appear abstract as they invite shifting perceptions of space.  Printed on sheets of synthetic satin and hung in the gallery, they ripple slightly – just enough to create additional, 3D spatial depth.  (On view through Jan 23rd).

Elisa Sighicelli, untitled (3288), photograph printed on satin, 78.3 x 53.9 inches, 2020.

Alice Tippit at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

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Judging by this standout painting from her current show at Nicelle Beauchene’s new Tribeca space, it comes as no surprise that painter Alice Tippit has cited Magritte as her ‘all-time favorite’ artist to come back to for his ‘sense of mystery.’  Though ‘Stall’ suggests a recognizable scenario – the mind wandering to happy places or at rest – its graphic, streamlined style embodies enigma.  (On view at 7 Franklin Place through Jan 16th. Masks and social distancing are required.)

Alice Tippit, Stall, 21 x 17 inches, oil on canvas, 2020.

Mernet Larsen Paintings at James Cohan Gallery

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Mernet Larsen continues to break with traditional Western linear perspective in new, irresistibly cheeky canvases at James Cohan Gallery that pay homage to Russian constructivist El Lissitzky.  Larsen explains that decades ago, she broke a taboo by imagining that the early 20th century avant-gardist’s abstractions could be read figuratively.  She takes things a step further here, turning El Lissitzky’s circles bisected by long rectangles into an astronaut floating in front of a planet or a restaurant table attending by a plank-like waiter bearing cocktails.  (On view in Tribeca through Jan 23rd .  Masks and social distancing are required).

Mernet Larsen, Astronaut: Sunrise (after El Lissitzky), acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 49 ½ x 49 inches, 2020.

John Edmonds at Brooklyn Museum of Art

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

At first glance, one figure dominates John Edmonds’ photograph ‘Two Spirits,’ a standout in his gorgeous solo show at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.  However, a soft area on the model’s light-bathed right shoulder and the shifting finger and thumb of his left hand testify to the film’s double exposure, a technique that adds to the abundant doubling taking place in the image. While the title is a term referring to nonbinary people, and Dan masks traditionally can shift identity when worn in performance, Edmonds brings to mind a third doubling by citing Ibeji, the Yoruba deity associated with twins.  (On view through Aug 8th.  Masks, social distancing and advance tickets required).

John Edmonds, Two Spirits, archival pigment photograph, 2019.