A pot of gold in this new painting by Kerry James Marshall symbolizes good fortune but rests near a skeleton’s arm, suggesting that someone’s luck has run out. Such contrast is at the heart of the artist’s new show, Exquisite Corpse, at Jack Shainman Gallery in Chelsea. Titled after the Surrealist game invented in the 1920s, each of the exhibition’s drawings and paintings are divided into three or four rectangular zones and appear to have been completed by separate individuals who had no knowledge of what was drawn or painted by the previous game participants. The conceit might seem humorous at first – Marshall winkingly signed his own name different ways and suggests that he’s playing a game in this series. But operating with no knowledge of the past can have implications if the stakes are higher than a fun time with friends. Beauty ideals, a (disappearing) house, or a pot of gold are mirage-like, unstable symbols, offering food for thought about contemporary life and perceptions. (On view through Dec 23rd).
Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Exquisite Corpse Pot of Gold), acrylic on PVC panel, 2021.
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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