Mary Heilmann’s red and black ceramic sculpture ‘Curl’ seems to defy its title with its angular panels, yet each segment dynamically spins around a central core like a step on a spiral staircase seen from above. Each tile evokes a riser with three treads or a chunky version of the Egyptian deity Isis’ throne in Constructivist colors that make a bold statement. (On view at Gladstone Gallery’s 24th Street Chelsea location through July 26th).
Mary Heilmann, Maricopa Highway, acrylic on canvas, 42 x 42 x 1 ½ inches, 2015.
Mary Heilmann’s two acrylic on paper pieces, both titled ‘Negative Space,’ in David Zwirner Gallery’s summer ‘Paintings on Paper’ group exhibition look like sections of the gallery wall coming forward into the viewer’s space and casting impossibly dark shadows behind, a clever illusion created with simple means. (In Chelsea through August 15th).
Mary Heilmann, Negative Space One, 11 ½ x 11 ½ inches (left) and Negative Space Two, 12 x 15 inches, both are acrylic on handmade paper, 2014.
‘It’s Always Summer on the Inside’ at Anton Kern Gallery features some pretty dark fare, from the Coke logo emblazoned with the word ‘blood’ to one of Joyce Pensato’s sinister Batman paintings, making Mary Heilmann’s ‘Mojave Mirage,’ a blessed burst of candy-colored happiness. Her signature technique of adding extra canvas to the conventional rectangular shape works a treat as the sands of a flat desertscape suddenly swoop and swirl. (Through Aug 17th.)
