Monks levitate in an intense ball game imagined by German artist Werner Buttner. Elsewhere, sausages fall from the sky and a dinosaur skeleton in a red hat bounds through a barren landscape in a series of paintings that combine the banal and the unusual to striking effect. (At Chelsea’s Marlborough Gallery through Dec 3rd).
Berlin-based artist Matthias Bitzer’s paintings, mixed media works and sculptures at Marianne Boesky Gallery are uniquely difficult to categorize. Constructed from concrete, wood, glass and more (and those are just the 2-D, wall mounted works), elegantly minimalist artworks take the eye on an adventure of materials. (In Chelsea through Dec 17th).
Two nudes descending a staircase by Georg Baselitz channels Marcel Duchamp’s famous 1912 Cubist figure but without the nervous energy. Upside down and painted in white, they are joined in the room’s other monumental paintings by ghostly characters who could be disappearing slowly downward into a dark pool of water, like Bill Viola’s transcending subjects. (At Gagosian Gallery’s 21st Street location in Chelsea through Oct 29th).
German artist Peter Pillar spotted this surprising image of a woman being silenced by a ghostly hand while driving as he himself was traveling on the highway. As part of a series for which he photographed ads on the back of trucks, then removed text and non-image related info, Pillar lays bare how the images send particular messages. It’s an enticing challenge to imagine what’s would be sold by the original ad. (At Andrew Kreps Gallery through Aug 19th).
Imi Knoebel’s large potato paintings are a standout in Luhring Augustine’s impressive intergenerational summer painting exhibition. Organic and geometric shapes seem to vie for dominance while muted tones struggle with vibrant color. (At Luhring Augustine Gallery through August 12th).
