Tag: contemporary sculpture

Alyson Shotz, ‘Wavelength #2’ in ‘Sculpted Matter’ at Paul Kasmin Gallery

Alyson Shotz, Wavelength #2, dichoric acrylic on aluminum tube and steel, 2008. Image courtesy of Alyson Shotz Studio.
Alyson Shotz, Wavelength #2, dichoric acrylic on aluminum tube and steel, 2008. Image courtesy of Alyson Shotz Studio.

‘Dazzling’ is a good way to describe Alyson Shotz’s optically enticing sculpture whether it’s the shimmering curtain of Fresnel lenses she memorably installed in the Guggenheim’s atrium in ‘07 or a mirrored fence hidden in plain view in the fields at the Storm King Art Center.  ‘Wavelength #2’ from 2008 continues Shotz’s interest in waveforms and uses dichroic acrylic to both transmit and reflect different wavelengths of light, creating a range of colors from a clear material. (‘Wavelength #2’ is at Paul Kasmin Gallery as part of ‘Sculpted Matter’ through August 17th.)

Ashley Bickerton in ‘I Followed You Into the Water,’ at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Ashley Bickerton, 'Seascape: Floating Costume to Drift for Eternity I (Armani Suit), suit, glass, aluminum, wood, caulk, fiberglass, enamel, canvas and webbing, 1991.
Ashley Bickerton, ‘Seascape: Floating Costume to Drift for Eternity I (Armani Suit), suit, glass, aluminum, wood, caulk, fiberglass, enamel, canvas and webbing, 1991.

As far as self-portraits go, ‘Seascape:  Floating Costume to Drift for Eternity I (Armani Suit)’ by Ashley Bickerton is a little on the dark side, despite its bright orange buoys.  Made in 1991, just two years before this regular on the downtown New York art scene relocated permanently to Bali, it seems to foretell his departure.  Quixotic, a little lonesome, and stylishly branded by Armani and his signature ‘Susie’ logo – a semi-corporate brand of his own invention – Bickerton’s craft signals a dignified leave-taking, a memorial to a past life and an adventure about to begin. (Through August 17th at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Chelsea.)

Davina Semo in ‘Sweet Distemper’ at Derek Eller Gallery

Davina Semo, You Said We're Skipping the Prelude; Start the Insults, reinforced concrete, safety glass, enamel paint, 2011
Davina Semo, You Said We’re Skipping the Prelude; Start the Insults, reinforced concrete, safety glass, enamel paint, 2011

Three panels of painted concrete covered in shattered safety glass by Davina Semo at Chelsea’s Derek Eller Gallery rest on the floor like they were just brought in from a war-zone.  Minimalist stripes in safety orange appear to have suffered heavy attack but survive to bear witness.  Together they’re titled, ‘You said we’re skipping the prelude: start the insults.” (Though August 16th).

Alessandro Pessoli in ‘Lilliput’ on The High Line

Alessandro Pessoli, Old Singer with Blossoms, bronze, steel, wool, 2012.
Alessandro Pessoli, Old Singer with Blossoms, bronze, steel, wool, 2012.

Alessandro Pessoli’s ‘Old Singer with Blossoms’ on the High Line is half hidden amongst short trees and lush plantings, making this odd character all the more strange once you become aware of his presence.  A balaclava in pretty, rainbow colors gives him a childlike or hippy appearance completely at odds with his cold steel body and bronze head.  As a mechanical creature subject to ridicule (for that silly hat), he could be one of Marcel Duchamp’s bachelors grown old.  (On the High Line as part of the group show ‘Lilliput’ through April 2013.)

Carol Bove in ‘Painting in Space’ at Luhring Augustine

Carol Bove, Aurora, concrete, bronze, steel and seashells, 2012.
Carol Bove, Aurora, concrete, bronze, steel and seashells, 2012.

After appearing on the cover of May’s Art in America magazine, Carol Bove’s sculpture ‘Aurora’ is on view in Chelsea at Luhring Augustine’s ‘Painting in Space’ summer group show.  Bove is known for accumulating and displaying books, objects and ephemera that relate to 60s culture.  More recently, she’s been scavenging natural materials to continue her investigation of what a readymade object (or collection of them) might convey when put on display as art.  With their spikes, undulating surfaces and bands of color, these shells are exquisite examples of nature’s creativity and a contrast to the manmade, geometric rods that cradle them.  (Through August 17th).