John Gerrard’s 18’ tall installation at Pace Gallery, picturing a flag-shaped gas flare rising from the South Pacific Ocean near Tonga, speaks to climate crises on a massive scale. The artwork is based on photos of the ocean taken by artist and activist Uili Lousi, but quickly departs from fixed images, using game engines to generate always-changing, non-time-based simulations. The show’s other pieces – a portrait of the last passenger pigeon in the world and a huge traffic jam in LA – question where our consumption of resources is taking us. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 12th).
John Gerrard, Flare (Oceania), simulation, installation dimensions variable, 2022.
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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