Washington DC-based artist Jonathan Monaghan’s ‘Pavilion’ births giant contemporary Faberge eggs with surfaces composed of luxury goods and upholstery, demonstrating how money begets money. (At Bitforms on the LES through May 3rd).
Jonathan Monaghan, The Pavilion, animated HD film, 3 min, seamless loop, 2014.
Inspired by ceramic traditions from Islamic Fritware to Wedgewood figurines, New York artist Francesca DiMattio irreverently combines them all in towering ceramics that recall totemic human figures. (At Salon94 Bowery on the Lower East Side through May 7th).
Francesca DiMattio, (foreground) Fetish Sculpture, glaze on porcelain and stoneware, 87 x 20 x 20 inches, 2015. (background) Chandelabra II, glaze and luster on porcelain and stoneware, epoxy, steel frame, 120 x 96 x 96 inches, 2015.
One day while cleaning, artist Pieter Schoolwerth exclaimed in frustration, ‘This vacuum sucks!’ This unintended truism launched the idea for a show – can a vacuum do anything other than suck? Schoolwerth’s paintings and installation at Miguel Abreu Gallery show humans sucked into another dimension, speaking from the void and holding a vacuum hose like a mic. (Through May 3rd).
Pieter Schoolwerth, installation view of ‘Your Vacuum Blows, which Sucks,’ at Miguel Abreu Gallery, March 2015.
For creepy, nothing quiet matches young French artist Renaud Jerez’s bug-eyed, chicken-footed, PVC skeleton at James Fuentes Gallery on the Lower East Side. Similar sculptures in the New Museum’s Triennial, cobbled together and slightly burnt characters, suggest post-apocalyptic survivors. (Through April 26th).
Renaud Jerez, TJS 1, burnt PVC pipe, aluminum, cotton, string, satellite cable, web cams, duct tape, plastic tubing, polyester and denim clothing with rubber feet, 79 x 29.5 x 32 inches, unique, 2015.
Liu Wei’s three sculptures of fortress-like cities made of carved books, are high on towers of bedrock that appear to be splitting apart, suggesting both destruction and crystalline growth. (At Lehmann Maupin on the Lower East Side through April 18th).
Liu Wei, Library II-II, books, wood, iron, and hardware, 2013.
