At the start of Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader’s 19 second video, Fall 1, the artist perches on a chair on a roof. As we watch with increasing unease, he leans over until he causes himself to tumble to the ground below. Absurd yet emotionally jolting, Ader’s video portrays the artist as dare devil willing to take risks and foretells his eventual disappearance at sea during the creation of another event-as-artwork. (At Metro Pictures in Chelsea through Aug 5th).
Press images of 1920s movie stars inspired Cindy Sherman’s latest body of work – photos of women who have aged out of the young starlet role but who still wear cupid lips, smoky eye shadow and wistful expressions. (At Metro Pictures in Chelsea through June 11th).
Flotsam from the digital world materializes in Olaf Breuning’s latest solo show at Chelsea’s Metro Pictures gallery, which is crowded with large wall-paper covered MDF panels that reference thought bubbles, emoticons, motivational slogans and more. (Through July 31st).
Olaf Breuning, installation view of ‘The Life,’ at Metro Pictures, June 2015.
Strange objects – a fish, emu egg shells, pills – in resin fill super-sized glasses scattered on the floor of Danish artist Nina Beier’s New York solo debut at Metro Pictures. In the foreground, a snake curls around a ruler, an enigmatic image inspired by stock photo images that suggests a nasty surprise for the incautious drinker. (Through May 23rd).
Nina Beier, Plunge, snake, ruler, resin, martini glass, 24 ¼ x 13 1/8 x 13 1/8 inches, 2015.
160 posters make up a 40-foot wall installation by New York artist Gary Simmons that commemorates historic boxing matches while blurring their memory with the artist’s signature ‘erased’ texts. (At Chelsea’s Metro Pictures through Dec 13th).
Gary Simmons, Untitled, ink jet posters on CDX plywood, installation dimensions variable, 2014.
