David Zwirner Gallery opened its new five-story, 30,000 square foot gallery with the perfect artwork to highlight architecture by Annabelle Selldorf. Eight-foot square pieces from Dan Flavin’s 1966-71 ‘European Couples’ series (titled after Europeans he considered influential) turn light into an artistic medium, washing every white wall in color. (At David Zwirner’s 537 West 20th Street location through March 16).
Dan Flavin, untitled (to Janet and Allen), pink fluorescent light, 1966-71.
Shinique Smith’s fabric sculptures bring to mind the way we fashion our identities through clothing, even when her bright bunches of used garments are bunched together and hung from the ceiling. Here, the artist turns her work jeans into a Hans Bellmer-esque assemblage of biomorphic shapes that touch on body image and the sensuous. (At James Cohan Gallery, Chelsea through March 16).
Shinique Smith, Soul Elsewhere, artist’s clothing, fiber-fil and rope, 2013.
Tam Van Tran is known for dynamic, sculptural wall installations created from usual materials (spirulina and chlorophyll colored stapled paper artworks a verdant green in past work). At Ameringer McEnery Yohe in Chelsea, Tran’s new works literally move, as copper foil catches the breeze and hints at palms moving in West Coast winds, which inspired this series. (Through March 16th).
Tam Van Tran, detail from ‘Palm Shrapnel,’ copper foil, palm leaf, and cardboard on canvas, 2012.
In past work, German artist Michael Riedel has drawn his materials from texts on the web written about his own work, which he turned into exhibition wallpaper. For his current show at David Zwirner Gallery, he puts those images into PowerPoint and causes a ‘freezing’ between slides to create a new merger of information. (At David Zwirner Gallery’s 533 West 19th Street location through March 23rd).
Michael Riedel at David Zwirner Gallery, installation view, Feb 2013.
Discover Chelsea’s newest gallery and more this Saturday (11am – 1pm) on Merrily’s first group gallery tour of the year! Iconic European artist Dieter Roth merged art and life to the point of exhibiting impressive chunks of his studio floor that bear the traces of decades of art making. Email merrily to reserve your spot: merrily@newyorkarttours.com. (If you’ve toured with Merrily before, take 25% off your ticket price!)