Niko Luoma in ‘Brought to Light’ at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

Experimental Finnish photographer Niko Luoma recreates a scene from an iconic 19th century woodblock print by Hokusai in this photographic image made from multiple exposures at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery.  Whereas Hokusai pictures travelers battling the wind – holding on to their hats or losing a stack of paper to a strong gust – Luoma’s version abstracts the scene, creating mood with strong color and foregrounding the escaping pieces of paper as they take flight.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 27th.

Niko Luoma, Self-titled Adaptation of Travelers Caught in a Sudden Breeze at Ejiri (1832), Archival pigment print, diasec, frame, 2019.

James Welling in David Zwirner Gallery’s On-Line Viewing Room

Titled ‘Pathological Color,’ James Welling’s on-line exhibition of photography at David Zwirner Gallery assaults the senses with intense color contrasts generated by the artist’s experimental practice in Photoshop.  This detail of a photo by Welling from New York Art Tours’ archives features images of dancers layered with modernist buildings and landscapes, each suggesting performance on a different kind of stage.   Aiming to explore our perception of color, Welling draws on ‘pathologies’ described by Goethe, who considered the impact of particular colors on the senses.  For more images, including early examples of his technique, visit David Zwirner Gallery’s on-line Viewing Room.

James Welling, detail of 7809, inkjet print, 42 x 63 inches, 2015.

Walter Marchetti in ‘ambient’ at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

This vegetable-strewn Steinway grand piano was the standout in Tanya Bonakdar Gallery’s otherwise spare summer group show, ‘ambient.’  It’s abundance is a foil to the hauntingly minimal musical piece ‘Natura Morta’ by Italian avant-garde composer and artist Walter Marchetti which experimental musician Alex Waterman played in the show’s first week.  (In Chelsea through July 26th).  

Walter Marchetti, Natura Morta, Steinway and Sons concert grand piano, selection of produce, 10-page handwritten manuscript of Walter Marchetti’s ‘Natura Morta,’ 1988.