Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles creates an awkward space for viewers, who are invited to climb onto a platform of wooden eggs under a canopy of bullets. Titled ‘Amerikkka,’ the piece’s extra consonants suggest racial discord in a loaded and fragile environment. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through June 27th).
Cildo Meireles, Amerikkka, 20,050 painted wooden eggs and 31,695 bullets, 158 x 236 x 118 inches, 1991/2013.
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.
In contrast to Andy Warhol’s 1964 film ‘Empire,’ Lutz Bacher’s installation by the same name features a multitude of Empire State Building spires in full color, reflecting off of sheets of Plexi arranged around GreeneNaftali Gallery. While the piece feels like a celebration of the fact that there’s no ‘one New York,’ sandbags holding down the panels add a note of caution. (In Chelsea through May 9th).
Lutz Bacher, Empire, two channel digital video, color/sound, Plexiglas, sand, 43 min, 1 second, 2014.
Unwary gallery-goers are likely to think they’ve walked into Klein Sun Gallery during installation when they see Beijing & Sydney-based artist Shen Shoamin’s paintings propped against the wall and encased in bubblewrap. The plastic is an illusion, however, painted on over blurry images of Warhol-derived soup cans to create the artist’s own take on art-world consumerism. (Through May 2nd).
Shen Shoamin, Handle with Care No 10 and No 12, oil on canvas, each 35 x 23 ¼ inches, 2014.
One day while cleaning, artist Pieter Schoolwerth exclaimed in frustration, ‘This vacuum sucks!’ This unintended truism launched the idea for a show – can a vacuum do anything other than suck? Schoolwerth’s paintings and installation at Miguel Abreu Gallery show humans sucked into another dimension, speaking from the void and holding a vacuum hose like a mic. (Through May 3rd).
Pieter Schoolwerth, installation view of ‘Your Vacuum Blows, which Sucks,’ at Miguel Abreu Gallery, March 2015.
