At over eight feet tall, this structure of welded aluminum tubes by Emil Lukas not only dominates Sperone Westwater’s small back gallery, it commandeers our vision. By leading our gaze toward a single point on the wall behind, it melds sculpture with the role of painting and drawing by creating one-point perspective. (On the Lower East Side through Feb 11th).
The huge portal dominating Daniel Heidkamp’s hotel room painting leads us into more than we might expect. From what looks to be one of the Maritime Hotel’s distinctive windows, Heidkamp shuffles the New York skyline and offers glimpses of a ballet rehearsal in a building that only exists in this painting. It feels surprisingly daring to rearrange New York’s built environment and particularly appropriate as construction booms in the city. (At Derek Eller Gallery through Feb 5th).
Roger White’s new oil paintings at Rachel Uffner Gallery approach the wondrous in the everyday – a mirror reflects light, an array of mushrooms grows from a bag – but the artist amps up the drama in this picture of fire on a river. Has there been a chemical spill? Is this a miracle? A sci-fi scene? This small, intriguingly moody canvas asks good questions. (On the Lower East Side through Feb 19th).
Karen Heagle’s sumptuous, gold leaved paintings of scavengers, predators and fallen prey are irresistible, even at their goriest moments. On a solitary drawing, the text ‘The Unwashed Masses’ hints that Heagle’s interests stray beyond the lifecycle of animals to reflect on humanity’s ‘natural’ inclination to violence. (At On Stellar Rays on the Lower East Side through Feb 19th).
Fit for a student or a teacher, this monumental painted shoe not only holds scissors, pens and other school supplies, it’s a history lesson all on its own, from the cave paintings to a digitally rendered portrait in green lines. Titled after Magritte’s Le Modele Rouge (a painting of boots that take on the appearance of bare feet), Henry Gunderson’s update is more practical than surreal, but no less fun to ponder. (At 247365 Gallery on the Lower East Side through Feb 5th).
