Tag: ancient

‘Chroma’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

See Greek and Roman sculpture like never before in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new show ‘Chroma,’ which presents reconstructions of ancient sculpture in vivid tones based on traces of original pigment.  Using tools like multispectral photography, German professor Dr V. Brinkmann and Dr U. Koch-Brinkmann of the Liebieghaus sculpture collection in Frankfurt, Germany reveal how ancient Mediterranean cultures favored vibrant color.  Join me on a Met Museum highlights tour to see these works and more.  (On view through March 26th, 2023).

Vinzenz Brinkmann and Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann, Reconstruction of a marble statue of a woman wrapping herself in a mantle (so-called Small Herculaneum Woman). Marble stucco on plaster cast, natural pigments in egg tempera, gold foil, 2019.

Shari Mendelson at Tibor de Nagy Gallery

The centuries and cultural divides melt away like hot glue in Brooklyn sculptor Shari Mendelson’s replicas of ancient artifacts from China, Egypt, Mesopotamia and elsewhere at Tibor de Nagy Gallery.  Using plastic bottles gathered near her studio, Mendelson cuts and glues together forms, using acrylic resin to make patinas that transform trash into ancient artworks.  Here, she creates a Tang Dynasty court lady from recognizable consumer plastics, subtly nodding to the material’s long life.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Dec 5th).

Shari Mendelson, Praying Lotus Woman, repurposed plastic and mixed media, 17 x 10 x 11 inches, 2020.

Thomas Houseago at Hauser & Wirth

LA-based artist Thomas Houseago’s latest solo show marks a seismic shift from his signature, large-scale sculptures of human bodies to a huge structure that accommodates human bodies. Titled ‘Moun Room,’ a reference to his girlfriend’s first name, the piece’s geometric shapes evoke celestial bodies and art deco design while the entire structure resembles a sturdy shipping container and, paradoxically, a delicate paper lantern. (At Hauser & Wirth in Chelsea through January 17th).

Thomas Houseago, Moun Room (detail), Tuf-Cal, hemp, iron rebar, 1098.6 x 1388.1 x 365.8 cm, 2013-2014.