Titled ‘Joy Revolution,’ Salon94’s exhibition of late French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle’s painting, sculpture and work on paper celebrates color, pleasure and play. Just inside Salon94’s stunning new 89th Street location, a 17,500 square foot former mansion built by philanthropist Archer Huntington, two lions originally intended as garden decoration greet visitors. Intended to entice kids to climb them, they serve here as guardians and greeters. (On view through April 24th).
As a new year approaches and many hope for better times ahead, west coast painter Hung Liu marks time in a personal and captivating way in two new paintings at Nancy Hoffman Gallery. Every twelve years, at the start of the Chinese zodiac and in the Year of the Rat in which she was born, the artist creates a self-portrait paired with an important symbolic animal or object. In 2020, the most recent year of the rat, the artist marks her 72nd year with an image of herself draped in and masked by the US flag, a contrast to the red scarf she wears in her 1972 portrait as she lived through China’s Cultural Revolution. To the right, she repeats a five-stroke Chinese character to recall the prisoner’s act of marking time in strokes on the wall. (On view through Jan 2nd in Chelsea. Masks and social distancing are required.)
Sadie Laska’s flags line the walls of Canada NYC’s Tribeca project room in a profusion of color and an abundance of possible messages. An evolving fish strides along with the message ‘go fund yourself,’ as if suggesting a fundraising campaign to finance future development. Nearby, a quilted star hovers over the image of planet earth featured in the 1960s-designed Earth Flag, while a mysterious silhouette thoughtfully paces above it all. With humor, Laska suggests more complex flag-flying. (On view in Tribeca through Dec 5th).
Though Minnie Mouse and other comic icons are a recurring subject for Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, they’re new every time she makes them. This is apparent in this sculpture of Minnie holding a Prada bag and cocking her head thoughtfully to the side from Suarez Frimkess’ 2017 show at Kaufmann Repetto. The gallery’s current on-line show of Suarez Frimkess’ features insights from the artist, more Minnies and diverse work that draws on art historical sources from Egyptian sculpture to pre-Columbian art.
North Carolina potter Jim McDowell channels the ceramic styles of enslaved craftsmen from the mid-19th century in face jugs with a message. ‘War Ends Nothing’ says the text written into the side of ‘War ‘n’ Peace’ on the left, while ‘Trayvon’ at center carries words that expresses anger at and healing after the death of Trayvon Martin. (On view at Cavin Morris Gallery in Chelsea through April 20th).
