A sculpture titled ‘Feeding Frenzy’ – three giant chrysalis forms studded with red paper admission tickets – announces Whitney Oldenburg’s first New York solo at Chart Gallery as an energetic and ambitious debut. In addition to suggestive titles, unusual materials hint at storylines – Feeding Frenzy mixes in ear plugs, helmets to bring to mind a raucous concert. Composed of molds of ‘Feeding Frenzy’ along with row after row of generic acetaminophen, ‘High Tide,’ pictured here, alludes to medicated states. Also resembling a shell big enough for Venus to arrive on, the sculpture remakes the natural world through human materials as eclectic as lollipop sticks and tiki wall, one of Oldenburg’s idiosyncratic works that beg a closer look. (Gallery opening hours change during the holidays. Check opening hours before visiting. On view in Tribeca through Jan 6th).
