John Mason at Albertz Benda

Like models strutting down a catwalk, a row of abstracted ceramic figures by nonagenarian LA artist John Mason exude confidence and style. Recalling Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, Brancusi’s sculpture and Lygia Clark’s bichos they combine Cubist form, Futurist dynamism with a suggestion of moveability often alien to ceramics. (On view at Albertz Benda Gallery in Chelsea through Jan 13th).

John Mason, Figure, Spring Green, ceramic, 63 x 24 x 21 inches, 2014.

Kay Kurt at Albertz Benda

Collectors might metaphorically salivate after coveted artworks, but the feeling turns literal in sight of Kay Kurt’s intense, realist renderings of candy. At six feet high and eleven feet long, this assortment of hard candies brings to mind the flavors of childhood while treating each piece as its own perfectly formed sculptural object. (At Albertz Benda in Chelsea through Feb 16th).

Kay Kurt, Hallelujah, oil on linen, 72 x 132 inches, 1995-2016.
Kay Kurt, Hallelujah, oil on linen, 72 x 132 inches, 1995-2016.