Compact yet full-bodied, unexpressive yet communicating feeling, South African artist Claudette Schreuders’ figurative wooden sculptures have an uncanny presence in her current solo show at Jack Shainman Gallery. Medieval church figures, Baule sculpture and historic wooden representations of people in western dress made for the colonial tourist trade influence the form of Schreuders’ sculpture, but new pieces featuring the artist’s son, husband, dog and herself at work on a sculpture keep the subject matter close to home. In this sculpture, simply titled ‘Work,’ Schreuders invites us into her studio to witness the process of creation, a sustained intimacy between maker and made. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 1st. Note summer hours.)
