Tag: monochrome

Fred Wilson at Pace Gallery

Fred Wilson seems to bait his viewers by draining his show at Pace Gallery of color, presenting two austere bronzes in black and white, monochromatic flags from African and African diasporic countries, and more. The oversimplified dichotomy between black and white clashes with the variety of cultures represented by the sculpture and flags, encouraging a more nuanced engagement with racial difference. (In Chelsea through October 18th).

Fred Wilson, The Mete of the Muse, bronze with black patina and bronze with white paint, 2006.

Not Vital at Sperone Westwater

Globe-trotting Swiss artist Not Vital fills Sperone Westwater’s Lower East Side gallery with stainless steel heads that echo the austere, clean line of the gallery’s architecture. As much as the reflective material draws the viewer in, however, the uniform, monochromatic surface repels investigation into the character of these heads, which were partly inspired by huge Buddha the artist encountered in his travels. (Through October 4th).

Not Vital, installation view of ‘Everton’ at Sperone Westwater Gallery, September 2014.

Tomoo Gokita at Mary Boone Gallery

Japanese artist Tomoo Gokita’s stark black and white portraits of anonymous women (sometimes accompanied by male companions with zig-zag patterned heads) belies their ambiguous identities.  ‘Sham Marriage’ deliciously includes a hand-like shape pointing off-stage.  (At Chelsea’s Mary Boone Gallery through March 1st.)  

Tomoo Gokita, Sham Marriage, 90” x 72,” acrylic gouache, charcoal, gesso/linen, 2013.

Frank Nitsche at Leo Koenig Gallery

Berlin-based artist Frank Nitsche’s recent pared-down, monochrome abstractions reduce the urban world to minimal forms, a stark contrast to a column containing drink cans and plastered in stickers collected during his travels. (At Chelsea’s Leo Koenig Gallery through July 20th)  

Frank Nitsche, KAY-25, oil on canvas, 2013 & GNL, mixed media installation, 2013 (column seen in detail).