Lee Ufan continues his decades-long practice of bringing basic natural and man-made materials into new relationships with the viewer with his latest work at Chelsea’s Pace Gallery. Here (foreground), a piece subtitled ‘the cane of titan’ draws mythical Greek giants into the mix, proposing that we’ve stumbled upon an astonishing yet casually placed artifact. (Through June 27th).
Lee Ufan, Relatum – the cane of titan, steel and stone, 2015.
When Japanese pop art icon Yayoi Kusama last showed at David Zwirner Gallery, audiences waited on line for hours to enter a mirrored chamber. Two years later, the octogenarian artist is reviving another crowd pleaser, a version of her 2002 ‘obliteration room,’ in the form of a mini-suburban home that viewers will cover with stickers supplied by the gallery. (In Chelsea through June 13th).
Yayoi Kusama, installation view of ‘The obliteration room,’ furniture, white paint, dot stickers, dimensions variable, 2002 – present.
How much uniqueness is possible in uniform, corporate culture? Japanese artist Tomoko Sawada makes herself surprisingly malleable in photos that mimic job application ID photos. The master of disguise works wonders within narrow parameters…which one would you hire? (At Pace MacGill on 57th Street through April 25th).
Tomoko Sawada, Recruit/Grey, one hundred chromogenic prints hinged to board each image and paper, 2 x 1 5/8 inches mount, 27 3/8 x 23 ½ inches, 2006.
Hands down, one of the hottest shows of the season in Chelsea is Takashi Murakami’s current solo at Gagosian Gallery, featuring towering demons guarding an ancient Japanese sacred gate crafted by Japanese artisans. After Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Murakami watched the nation turn to things spiritual…with this show, he makes a response by offering up his own quasi-religion. (Through Jan 17th).
Installation view of Takashi Murakami’s ‘In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow,’ Gagosian Gallery, Nov 2014.
Friedman Benda’s summer group exhibition, featuring contemporary Japanese art seen through a post-Fukushima Daiichi lens includes traditional architecture upended and mirrored by Takahiro Iwasaki and a mind-bending interactive installation by Kazuki Umezawa for which looking into an iPad at a digital print produces surprising results. (In Chelsea through August 8th).
Foreground: Takahiro Iwasaki, Reflection Models, wood, monofilament, 2014. Background: Kazuki Umezawa, AR image core involving all, digital print on tarpaulin sheet, 2 iPads, 2013.
