Saying her art practice is about ‘mistranslating the history of ancient objects,’ Brooklyn-based sculptor Sarah Peters ‘misinterprets’ Akkadian rulers, Greek busts and more with stunning results in several bronze heads at LES gallery Eleven Rivington. (Through May 17th).
Sarah Peters, Portrait of a Bearded Man with Triangular Base, bronze, 17.5 x 7 x 13 inches, 2015.
Both identity and longevity are illusory, Judith Henry’s photos seem to say. Masked and standing in front of paintings that she made in response to others, Henry takes a photo, then uses the painting as a surface for the next work. (At Bravin Lee in Chelsea through May 16th).
Judith Henry, Blue Rectangle, archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Bright White, 19 x 24 inches, 2014.
A November sun ignites the tree tops and illuminates a field of jittery stalks in this watercolor by American painter Charles Burchfield at DC Moore Gallery in Chelsea. Painted late in life when Burchfield’s scenes had become more dream-like, the brilliance of the sun belies the impending dormancy of the natural world as winter approaches. (Through June 13th).
Charles Burchfield, November Sun Emerging, watercolor, charcoal, and chalk on joined paper, mounted on board, 37 ¾ x 31 7/8 inches, 1956-59.
British ceramic artist Andrew Lord riffs on Gauguin’s ceramics and the colors of the New Mexico sunset in three multi-part sculptures at Chelsea’s Barbara Gladstone Gallery. Here, a female figure with flowing hair becomes one with a pot, making her body a vessel but also suggesting the spiritually imbued function of a canoptic jar. (Through May 30th).
Andrew Lord, detail from ‘at sunset, Carson Mesa (Gauguin),’ 13 glazed ceramic sculptures in 14 parts, 2013.
Mariah Dekkenga’s vibrantly colored untitled abstraction is a standout in The Hole’s ‘post-analogue’ painting group show on the LES. Developed in Adobe Illustrator and transferred to canvas by hand, Dekkenga’s paintings feature obviously hand-applied thick paint as well as blurs and gradients that suggest the digital. (Through May 24th).
Mariah Dekkenga, Untitled (6), oil and acrylic on linen, 32 x 64 inches, 2015.
