Tag: italy

Louis Fratino at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Surprisingly, Louis Fratino’s still lives can be the most dynamic of his works – a sink full of dishes or an arrangement of fish in a market stall appear as a jumble of curving or stacked forms in constant motion.  In ‘Latteria,’ from Fratino’s current show at Sikkema Jenkins and Co., the artist creates an intriguing balance of action and repose as he combines the bustle of the figures in the café, tables that tilt and floor tiles that rear up with the stillness of the central figure who sits with a quiet and pensive look.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 9th).

Louis Fratino, Latteria, oil on canvas, 47 x 42 inches, 2023.

Philip Guston at Hauser & Wirth Gallery

When Philip Guston stopped painting in an abstract expressionist style and adopted a new, faux-naïve look in 1970, art world response was so negative that the artist relocated to Rome for the better part of the following year.  ‘Pittore,’ part of a major show of Guston’s late work at Hauser & Wirth Gallery, expresses some of the anxiety that Guston must have felt as a painter, as well as his need to change to a representational style to engage in a more overt way with the politics of the day.  Here, the artist lies awake in bed at night, his paint and brush beside him.  Smoking, his eyes bloodshot, and with a clock rising behind him like a moon dominating a landscape, the pressure is palpable.  (On view in Chelsea.  Proof of vaccination, photo ID and masks are required).

Philip Guston, Pittore, oil on canvas, 72 ¾ x 80 ½ inches, 1973.

JoAnn Verburg at Pace Gallery

JoAnn Verburg’s recent photos at Pace Gallery of olive groves were taken in California, Israel and Italy, but it’s not always easy to guess which location is which.  Calling the images a ‘contemplative respite’ from the demands of everyday city life, Verburg steps outside of the specifics of place and time to present a meditation on time and beauty in nature.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 20th).

JoAnn Verburg, BETWEEN, pigment print mounted to Dibond, 57 1/8 x 40 1/8,” 2021.

Beatrice Caracciolo at Paula Cooper Gallery

Paris-based Italian artist Beatrice Caracciolo’s ‘Tramontana’ refers in its title to a cold north wind, which appears to cause a landscape to hunker down in this expressive ink on paper artwork. (On view at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea through Feb 3rd).

Beatrice Caracciolo, Tramontana, water soluble ink on paper, 58 x 65 x 1 inches, 2017.

Kevin Francis Gray at Pace Gallery

Marble moves in surprising directions in UK artist Kevin Francis Gray’s new sculpture, first executed in clay in London and then hand-carved with a team of master sculptors in Italy. Now at Pace Gallery in Chelsea, Gray’s seated nude bears abundant evidence of the artist’s hand and his desire to arrest a state of unfinish, perhaps destruction. (On view at Pace Gallery’s 24th Street address through April 22nd).

Kevin Francis Gray, Seated Nude, Carrara marble, 43 5/16 x 48 1/16 x 59 7/16 inches, 2017.