If figures appear at all in Praxis NY’s summer group show ‘Missapes,’ they pose in place or rarely dominate. Instead, still lives are a commanding presence, particularly Francisco’s Ratti’s large indistinct arrangements of objects that simultaneously look low-res digital and handmade. The Argentina-based artist’s practice involves drawing on a cell phone screen, then transferring his images to canvas. Here, ‘Naturaleza’ (Nature) is a pleasant, conventional arrangement of flowers, plants and food stuffs but includes a more realistic painting of a tree trunk inserted onto the larger painting’s surface. Gashed and supporting a haphazard sign warning that a property is being monitored, the tree imagery complicates what a painting can offer at one time. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 30th).
