Jack Shainman Gallery brings together sculptures from the past twenty-six years by major Spanish artist Susana Solano this month, including these evocative rattan forms, which suggest miniaturized housing (foreground) or a gargantuan thimble (back). (In Chelsea through Jan 11th. Check website for holiday season opening hours.)
Susana Solano, Bura III (foreground), rattan, 2004-2005. Bura II (background), painted iron and rattan, 2001-2005.
Born in Arizona to Native American parents, raised by his adoptive German-American parents in Wisconsin and based on the Bowery for the past 23 years, Brad Kahlhamer still draws on his varied background in art that blends Native American iconography and a graffiti-like graphic sensibility in this haunting portrait of an apparition-like character. (At Jack Shainman Gallery’s 24th Street location through Nov 16th).
Brad Kahlhamer, The Way They Looked The Way They Lived, ink spray paint, acrylic and ballpoint pen on cloth, 2013.
Working to music (including like Patti Griffin’s ‘One Big Love,’ after which the series was titled) and restricting her painting to shaped surfaces like this draped rag, New York artist Leslie Wayne explains that she was seeking to capture the ‘eureka moment,’ when inspiration takes over and a piece ‘works.’ (At Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery through Aug 17th).
Leslie Wayne, One Big Love #63 (Paint/Rag #5), oil on panel, 2011.
On two cold, grey sheets of lead, Spanish-born artist Carlos Vega depicts a tree bearing lively fruit represented by used postage stamps – icons drawn from a diverse array of cultures and times. (At Jack Shainman’s 20th St location through Aug 17th).
Carlos Vega, detail of ‘Ivory Tower,’ stamps and oil paint on lead, 2012.
Indian artist Tallur L.N.’s huge sculpture is a standout in Chelsea on two counts: it courts religious reflection and you can hit it. Visitors are invited to pick up one of several nearby hammers and pound a coin into a log supported by a giant Buddha sculpture while making a wish. I’ve heard of the audience being invited to complete an artwork, but a divinity? (At Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery through May 11th).
Tallur L.N., Chromathophobia, wooden log, granite and hammered coins, 2012.
