Mernet Larsen at James Cohan Gallery

Mernet Larsen continues to break with traditional Western linear perspective in new, irresistibly cheeky canvases at James Cohan Gallery that pay homage to Russian constructivist El Lissitzky.  Larsen explains that decades ago, she broke a taboo by imagining that the early 20th century avant-gardist’s abstractions could be read figuratively.  She takes things a step further here, turning El Lissitzky’s circles bisected by long rectangles into an astronaut floating in front of a planet or a restaurant table attending by a plank-like waiter bearing cocktails.  (On view in Tribeca through Jan 23rd .  Masks and social distancing are required).

Mernet Larsen, Astronaut: Sunrise (after El Lissitzky), acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 49 ½ x 49 inches, 2020.