Inspired by early Christian and Mesopotamian building practices that imbued built structures with spiritual meaning, young Brooklyn-based artist Jeff Landman transformed timbers from a Pennsylvania barn into furniture-like platforms for transcendent experience for his first solo show at Tracy Williams, Ltd. (In Chelsea through Feb 22nd).
Jeff Landman, installation view of ‘Working on a Building,’ with ‘Bed,’ white oak, linen, 2013 in the foreground. Tracy Williams, Ltd., Feb 2014.
Brooklyn’s McCarren Park – equally popular among Williamsburg hipsters and brawling youth – has been renovated to the tune of millions in recent years; New York artist Marc Glanzglass’ beautifully austere steel fence titled, ‘McCarren Fence,’ acknowledges the preciousness of the place as well as its divisions. (At Mitchell Innes & Nash in Chelsea through Feb 1st).
Marc Ganzglass, McCarren Fence, steel, 2013.
Inspired by a news story about a dolphin that swam into Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal and died the same day from the pollution, New York artist Alexis Rockman conjured this vision of the canal as a cauldron of contamination in which the strong adapt to survive. (At Sperone Westwater on the Lower East Side through Nov 2nd).
Alexis Rockman, Gowanus, oil on wood, 2013.
The roughly cut blocks of Allyson Vieira’s sculptures resemble the caryatids of Greek architecture but in an updated, futuristic way. We enjoyed versions made with drywall at Laurel Gitlen Gallery on last March’s Lower East Side tour, but it’s perfect to see them outdoors in proximity to a Greek-style façade at Brooklyn’s Metro Tech Center. (Through Sept 16th).
Allyson Vieira, ‘Weight Bearing V, Weight Bearing VI, Weight Bearing VII,’ 2012.
Known for crafting historical art and furnishings as if they’d been partly destroyed, Brooklyn artist Valerie Hegarty has astoundingly transformed several rooms in the Brooklyn Museum’s Cane Acres Plantation Dining Room to look as if disaster has struck, turning a gentile space into a riot of gunshot holes, destroyed food and flapping crows. (In the 4th floor Period Rooms at the Brooklyn Museum through Dec 1st).
Valerie Hegarty, installation view of ‘Valerie Hegarty: Alternative Histories’ at the Brooklyn Museum, July 2013.
