Tag: glass

Olafur Eliasson at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Glass balls in a rainbow of color and a beautifully ephemeral light projection greet visitors to Olafur Eliasson’s gorgeous new solo show at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, an exhibition designed to give visitors ‘a moment to exhale.’  ‘We need a moment of relief, of beauty, of letting go,’ explains Eliasson, an ambition fulfilled by every piece in the exhibition, including this spherical light installation.  Created from green tinted glass and pink iridescent color-effect-filter glass, the piece reflects light of a single color while allowing its complementary color to pass through.  (On view through April 24th. Appointments, masks and social distancing required.)

Edgy but perfect kinship sphere, color-effect filter glass (pink), color glass (green), stainless steel, LED system, diameter: 43 1/4 inches, 2020.

Malia Jensen at Cristin Tierney Gallery

Malia Jensen explores the idea of getting closer to nature in a literal way by placing sculpture resembling body parts into remote Oregon landscapes.  In 2019, the artist carved a hand, foot, head, breast and a stack of donuts (representing the stomach) from livestock salt licks and positioned them and several motion-triggered cameras in places where they’d be altered over time by animals and weather.  A year later, she collected the sculptures and cast them in glass, creating artworks now on view at Cristin Tierney Gallery that demonstrate ‘beauty in our vulnerability.’ (On view on the Lower East Side through April 3rd. Masks and social distancing are required.)

Malia Jensen, Foot, kiln-cast glass, etching ink, white oak, reclaimed fir, 8 x 13 ½ x 11 ½ inches, 2020.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian at James Cohan Gallery

Geometric forms offered endless opportunity for experimentation in late artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s painted glass and mirror sculptures, meticulously created with craftspeople in Iran.  Now on view at James Cohan Gallery’s Tribeca location, pieces such as ‘Hexagon Maze’ were inspired by geometric principles in Islamic art and design, the ways in which a maze can alter everyday reality, and the possibilities of creating artwork within a framework of rules.  (On view through March 6th. Masks and social distancing are required).

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Hexagon Maze, Mirror and reverse glass painting on plaster and wood, 47 1/4 x 47 1/4 in, 2014.

Beth Lipman at Nohra Haime Gallery

Enticing to the eye but lacking color, Beth Lipman’s glass sculptures at Nohra Haime Gallery replicate sumptuous still life arrangements but deny the satisfaction of seeing them clearly.   Created from black or clear glass, the details of the sculptures can be hard to discern.  The effect is deliberate, intended to provoke low-level frustration that might prompt viewers to question the desire to consume. (On view in Chelsea through Jan 16th).

Beth Lipman, detail of Scale and Gazing Ball, glass, wood, metal, paint, adhesive, 64 x 42 x 32 inches, 2020.

Jordan Nassar at James Cohan Gallery

A rich array of colors make Jordan Nassar’s flame-worked glass bead sculptures at James Cohan Gallery an immediate and present pleasure, yet the experience of dislocation drives these abstracted landscapes.  Raised in the US, the young Palestinian-American artist grew up understanding aspects of his family’s culture at a geographical remove.  Here, he creates points of entry into imagined landscapes through transparent grids of glass beads.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Nov 21st.  Masks and social distancing required.)


Jordan Nassar, Bab Al-Amoud (Gate of The Pillar), hand-flamed glass beads, steel, wire, 12 x 29 x 10 inches, 2020.