Tag: matthew marks

Charles Ray at Matthew Marks Gallery

In a gallery titled ‘the repair annex,’ two new sculptures by Charles Ray depict mechanics absorbed in their work.  A man squats in a pose reminiscent of Ray’s own kneeling self-portrait from a few years back but also suggesting supplication or rapt attention to a task.  Ray’s meticulous renderings, here in painted steel, can take years to realize and the attention to detail and smooth finish give the piece an elegance and preciousness that connect this subject less to an autobody shop and more to an art history of heroic bodies.  (On view at Matthew Marks Gallery‘s 526 West 22nd Street location in Chelsea through June 16th).

Charles Ray, Mechanic 1 and Mechanic 2 (detail), painted steel, mechanic 2: 21 x 14 ½ x 18 ¾ inches, 2018.

Thomas Demand at Matthew Marks Gallery

Thomas Demand’s meticulous paper sculptures from his ‘Dailies’ series pay homage to ordinary objects that were encountered, considered extraordinary for a moment, photographed, then forgotten.  After reconstructing a scene shot on his phone as a paper sculpture, Demand prints the image as a vivid dye transfer print.  Positioned on Demand’s wall of anonymous lockers, the banal becomes something wondrous again. (On view in Chelsea at Matthew Marks Gallery through April 7th). 

Thomas Demand, Daily #30, framed dye transfer print, 26 ½ x 21 ½ inches, 2017 over Locker, UV print on nonwoven wallpaper, dimensions variable, 2017.

Katharina Fritsch at Matthew Marks Gallery

Katharina Fritsch’s latest large-scale sculptures of familiar objects blown up to huge proportions and presented in strikingly vibrant colors are as enigmatic and enticing as ever at Matthew Marks Gallery. We immediately confront our mortality in the first gallery, with a skull and egg acting as a reminder of death and a symbol of life about to start. (On view through Dec 22nd).

Katharina Fritsch, installation view of ‘Katharina Fritsch’ at Matthew Marks Gallery, Nov 2017. Schadel/Skull, polyester, paint, 2017 in the background and Ei/Egg, plastic, paint, 2017 in the foreground.

Gary Hume at Matthew Marks Gallery

Three leaves drift down towards the earth in glossy, saturated tones that evoke candy more than autumn colors. Part of an exhibition that considers Gary Hume’s aging mother’s fading memory, the artist’s signature fields of saturated color here suggest absence but not darkness. (At Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea through Dec 22nd).

Gary Hume, Three Leaves, enamel paint on paper mounted in artist’s frame, 75 x 55 ¾ inches, 2016 – 17.

Robert Strini in ‘So I traveled a great deal…’ at Matthew Marks Gallery

Though abstract, Robert Strini’s wooden sculptures resemble aliens or instruments or perhaps an instrument for an otherworldly creature. From the mid 70s, they mark a particularly fruitful chapter in Strini’s career after his move away from ceramics and before he expanded into bronze and multi-media works. (In Chelsea at Matthew Marks Gallery through August 18th).

Robert Strini, foreground: Sheridan Piece, wood, 42 ¾ x 94 x 59 inches, 1974 and rear: Goolagong, laminated wood, 58 x 98 x 133 inches, 1975.