Arturo Kameya at GRIMM Gallery

Titled ‘The UFOs,’ Peruvian artist Arturo Kameya’s new show at Tribeca’s GRIMM Gallery conveys an otherworldly atmosphere through dark-toned paintings (made more subdued by mixing paint with clay powder) that tell strange tales.  A man buried alive attracts the attention of news crews in one image while an ancient Peruvian mummy emerges from a cooler bag in another.  Even the everyday can seem bizarre as a roach sits up, eating from a tiny plate in one picture while in another, a shower-head/water heater dangerously mixes water and electricity.  Here, a planter cut and painted to resemble a swan seems to come to life to sip water from a leaky hose that has morphed into a fountain, blurring the lines between the real and man-made nature. (On view through May 6th).

Arturo Kameya, Swan Lake, acrylic and clay powder on canvas, 29 5/8 x 25 5/8 x 1 ½ inches, 2023.