Kennedy Yanko at Deitch Projects

A quote from John Cage at the entrance to Kennedy Yanko’s show at Deitch Projects declares that silence doesn’t exist; even if nothing at all can be heard, the sounds of the body’s systems functioning will advance themselves.  Yanko’s new sculptures likewise assert the aesthetic potential of humble materials: dried sheets of paint and found metal.  In their contrast between smooth and rough surfaces and complementary colors like the green and purple, sculptures like ‘An Ode to Hugs’ (pictured here) are driven by Yanko’s intuitive method and for her, the ‘livingness of her medium.’ (On view in SoHo through April 22nd).

Kennedy Yanko, An Ode to Hugs, paint skin, metal, 97 x 94 x 42.5 inches, 2023

Christopher Payne at Benrubi Gallery

Toothbrushes hang in neat rows, labeled with the names of patients at a now-closed psychiatric hospital in Poughkeepsie in this arresting photograph by Christopher Payne. Payne traveled to hospitals around the country over several years, creating a moving document of life in a bygone era. (At Chelsea’s Benrubi Gallery through March 26th).

Christopher Payne, Patient Toothbrushes, Hudson River State Hospital, Poughkeepsie, New York, digital chromogenic print, 20 x 30 inches, 2005.
Christopher Payne, Patient Toothbrushes, Hudson River State Hospital, Poughkeepsie, New York, digital chromogenic print, 20 x 30 inches, 2005.