LA artist Naotaka Hiro’s fragmentary, cast self-portraits question what we do and don’t see from the exterior. ‘Big Question’ also appeals our sense of hearing as the artist demonstratively takes hold of his ear. (At Brennan & Griffin on the Lower East Side through June 5th).
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Silver Leaf), papier mache and silver leaf, 22 x 19 5/8 inches, 2015.
Visit a New York City park in the summer and you’ll find clusters of kids filling water balloons at fountains identical to LA artist Fiona Connor’s handmade replica of a cast concrete water fountain. Connor’s indoor version offers more peaceful and contemplative refreshment, however, on its own in the back room of Lisa Cooley Gallery. (On the Lower East Side through August 21st).
Fiona Connor, On What Remains (fountain), concrete, EPS foam, antique brass hardware, plumbing supplies, steel, ply, paint and coatings, car battery, Jabsco pump, potable water, 36 x 24 x 36 inches, 2015.
California Light and Space artist De Wain Valentine pushed his chosen medium of polyester resin by finding a way to make larger pours and bigger pieces in the ‘60s; with their huge size, pieces like ‘Circle Gold-Rose’ from 1970 become actors in the room, changing the environment with shifting color. (At David Zwirner Gallery through August 7th).
De Wain Valentine, Circle Gold-Rose, cast polyester resin, 70 3/8 x 70 x 4 7/8 in, 1970.
Seventeen taxidermy molds of foxes, deer and caribou by iconic conceptual artist Bruce Nauman are poised like an acrobatic troupe but are more creepy than entertaining. Nauman ups the discomfort by keeping them hairless to suggest that they’ve experienced an unnamed brutality. (At Gagosian Gallery’s 821 Park Ave location through Feb 21st).
Bruce Nauman, Animal Pyramid, polyurethane foam, iron, wood, and wire, 144 x 84 x 96 inches, 1989.
