Tag: andrew kreps

Clare Rojas at Andrew Kreps Gallery

The title of Bay Area artist Clare Rojas’ show at Andrew Kreps Gallery, ‘Go Placidly,’ captures the quiet and restrained feel of paintings featuring a reserved, dark-haired woman.  It also casts an ominous pall on this painting, ‘They Were Both Stuck Inside,’ in which it appears that a woman who has fallen from a ladder (perhaps in an interaction with the bird in the background) has ‘gone’ in a final way.  Complicated by a tiny mosquito which has landed on the woman’s leg, the painting’s narrative – perhaps best explained by a book on the back table titled ‘The Same Old’ – suggests that sometimes the unexpected arrives in a profoundly impactful way.  (On view through May 6th).

Clare Rojas, They Were Both Stuck Inside, oil on linen, 60 x 43 1/8 inches, 2022.

Bendt Eyckermans at Andrew Kreps Gallery

The dramatically-patterned drawn curtains in this painting by young Antwerp-based artist Bendt Eyckermans shut out the sun, but a sense of illumination is nevertheless strong in this symbol-laden interior scene at Andrew Kreps Gallery.  Working in the studio that both his artist father and grandfather have used before him, the youngest artist in a lineage that goes back at least five generations ponders his inheritance by picturing objects with meaningful history.  A sculpture reminiscent of his father’s work crouches on the table in this picture titled ‘The successor,’ while two figures on the left (one nearly hidden behind the other) presumably picture artistic forebears.  A green marble on the orange-toned carpet reads like a warning to self not to slip in their watchful presence.  (On view in Tribeca through June 18th).

Bendt Eyckermans, The successor, oil and ink on linen, 74 3/8 x 62 5/8 inches, 2021.

Ernie Barnes at 55 Walker

An artist from his childhood and an NFL player for five years in the early 60s, late painter Ernie Barnes merged his talents in the visual arts and sports to create the powerful paintings now on view at 55 Walker in Tribeca.  Barnes saw body language and movement on the field in visual terms, using time outs to sketch the game’s lines and shapes on paper.  Here, three towering figures are no less dynamic for standing still; crowding together with oversized elbows and hands, they convey the danger of contact sports.  (On view in Tribeca through Oct 30th.  Masks required).

Ernie Barnes, Blood Conference aka Three Red Linemen, acrylic on canvas, 1966.

Roe Ethridge at Andrew Kreps Gallery

In Roe Ethridge’s tableau, juicy red apples are more of the poisonous, Snow White variety than the kind used to make all-American apple pie. Coupled with scattered cancer sticks and the words ‘American Spirit’ – a nod to two iconic photos titled ‘Spiritual America’ that criticized aspects of US culture –Ethridge’s assortment of objects is less innocuous than it first seems. (At Andrew Kreps Gallery in Chelsea through April 8th.)

Roe Ethridge, Apples, Almonds, American Spirit, dye sublimation print on aluminum, 49 ½ x 33 inches, 2017.

Peter Pillar at Andrew Kreps Gallery

German artist Peter Pillar spotted this surprising image of a woman being silenced by a ghostly hand while driving as he himself was traveling on the highway. As part of a series for which he photographed ads on the back of trucks, then removed text and non-image related info, Pillar lays bare how the images send particular messages. It’s an enticing challenge to imagine what’s would be sold by the original ad. (At Andrew Kreps Gallery through Aug 19th).

Peter Pillar, Erscheinungen #4, inkjet print on Alu-dibond, 59 1/16 x 53 1/8 inches, 2016.
Peter Pillar, Erscheinungen #4, inkjet print on Alu-dibond, 59 1/16 x 53 1/8 inches, 2016.