Daily for the past twenty years, New York artist Yuji Agematsu has walked the city streets collecting refuse and reforming it into artful accumulations and arrangements. Here, he has allowed lollipops to melt and deteriorate before arresting them in precise moments of decay that still recall the joy of a freshly unwrapped piece of candy while fast forwarding to the end of that pleasure. (At Miguel Abreu Gallery through April 2nd).
‘My sculptures speak of life…among spirits,’ says Warsaw-based sculptor Roman Stanczak, whose carefully destroyed bedside table at LES Bureau Gallery suggests a particularly haunted mental state. (Through Oct 25th).
Roman Stanczak, From 2nd to 3rd, wooden cupboard, wood chips, 22.75 x 38 x 39.25 inches, 2015.
From the heart of the Rust Belt to the heart of Chelsea, scenic designer turned fine artist Julie Schenkelberg has transplanted an installation begun in a disused church basement to Asya Geisberg Gallery. Furniture, dishware, wedding dresses and more combine to create a monument to memory and decay. (In Chelsea through Oct 24th).
Julie Schenkelberg, Swan Song, reclained lath, wood, marble, iron, paper, vintage furniture, dishware, figurines, natural debris, crushed reclaimed metal, light fixtures, vintage wedding dresses, bathtub, wallpaper, plaster, paint, dimensions variable, 2015.
Italian artist Angelo Filomeno is known for making the macabre gorgeous. Here, a detail from a bright yellow silk support shows a pretty assortment of embroidered tropical fish; but decay is never far away, as evidenced by scuttling black beetles and a ravaged angelfish. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through Jan 31st).
Angelo Filomeno, detail from ‘Tropical Still Life in Yellow,’ embroidery and crystals on silk shantung stretched over linen, 78 x 39 inches, 2014.
Rotting fruits in bright hues, fiddlehead ferns, flowers, egg casings, leaves and other natural materials in various states of decay form the gorgeous palette and patterns of Tanya Marcuse’s new photo series at Julie Saul Gallery in Chelsea. (Through Feb 22nd).
Tanya Marcuse, Fallen No 439 (seen here in detai)l, pigment print, 37 ¾ x 48,” ed 1/7, 2013.
