The Face, one of the first works in Dana Schutz’s absorbing show of recent paintings and bronzes at David Zwirner Gallery, pictures a surreal scene of figures supporting and hiding under a huge mask. Barely able to control the giant visage, one character bends over to pick up a rock, perhaps intending to fire it in anonymity at a foe (us?) from behind the face. Rife with allegory, Schutz’ new work configures various groupings of individuals in unclear yet meaningful interactions – gathering to paint together, sitting on a couch as if on a talk show or clustered together in a circle, arms on shoulders. Crowded into the picture plane, dynamic and rendered in vibrant colors, the figures recall not only the exaggerated features of Italian Commedia dell’arte masks but theatrical storylines that foreground human folly. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 16th).
Dana Schutz, The Face, 108 x 138 inches, oil on canvas, 2023.
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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