Tag: ladder

Nicole Eisenman at Hauser & Wirth Gallery

Things don’t look good for this couple, whose lives have literally come crashing together in this monumental painting by Nicole Eisenman at Chelsea’s Hauser and Wirth Gallery.  Though the flying cyclist and tumbling cat rescuer look as if they’re going to be injured, their faces are impassive, lacking even a hint of regret or fear and the title – Destiny Riding Her Bike – reveals that resistance would be useless.  In a profile article in The New Yorker, Eisenman connected the scene to their own romantic partnership; swirling patterns and intense colors in the landscape speak to the intensity of this couple’s relationship.  (On view through July 29th).

Nicole Eisenman, Destiny Riding Her Bike, oil on canvas, 127 x 105 inches, 2020.

Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner Gallery

The line to enter Yayoi Kusama’s latest mirror-lined infinity room at David Zwirner Gallery stretches around the block, but you can walk right up to her infinity mirror, ‘Ladder to Heaven.’  Look up and visitors are presented with an endless (theoretical) climb or, conversely, a bottomless descent, suggesting that our fate is in our own hands.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 14th).

Yayoi Kusama, Ladder to Heaven, steel, LED lights, mirrored glass, honeycomb aluminum, and plastic, 154 xx 59 inches, 2019.

Adam McEwan at Petzel Gallery

With oppressive systems as his theme, British artist Adam McEwan presents sculptures of supercomputers that move data, a rendition of airport security trays and this walk-in sculpture of the letter ‘K.’ The letter stands in for Kafka and a character in ‘The Trial’ as well as a hieroglyph for an open hand. The most convincing way to understand the mood of the piece, however, is to climb the terrifyingly steep stairs. (At Petzel Gallery through April 30th).

Adam McEwan, Staircase, wood, steel, 18’ – 10” x 12’ – 11 5/8” x 3’ – 10 1/4,” 2016.
Adam McEwan, Staircase, wood, steel, 18’ – 10” x 12’ – 11 5/8” x 3’ – 10 1/4,” 2016.

Willard Boepple at Lori Bookstein Fine Art

Willard Boepple’s 1981 stainless steel tower is a standout in Lori Bookstein Fine Art’s ‘Heavy Metal’ show for suggesting but denying utility with steps that look as if they’ve survived a hurricane or a cubist rendering. (Through June 29th).  

Willard Boepple, Stephanie, stainless steel, 1981.