Art & design merge in British artist Jonathan Trayte’s otherworldly habitat at Friedman Benda, where a chaise longue doubles as a lamp and a pink bedframe made out of pipes questions the use-value of sculpture. Here, an irresistible painted bronze, steel, foam and neon sculpture titled Kandi defies explanation while enticing with its organic forms and pink glow. (On view in Chelsea through July 27th).
Charlotte Moorman’s renown as a performing artist who bridged the worlds of fine art and music via her cello is represented by her neon instrument from 1989. (At Leslie Tonkonow Artworks and Projects in Chelsea through August 25th).
Mary Weatherford’s Casa Reef is a standout in Skarstedt Gallery’s excellent painting show in Chelsea, bringing to mind Yves Klein’s body prints, but in geometric blocks that suggest an underwater structure emerging from swirling white foam pushed by a (literal, neon) current. (In Chelsea through April 16th).
The neon color and curvy, wave-contoured form of Greg Bogin’s shaped canvas ‘Sunny disposition (oasis)’ is a summery-feeling merger of beach culture and minimal abstraction. Like Martin Puryear’s Phrygian cap sculptures which it resembles, it suggests freedom, but more of a sand-between-the-toes variety. (At Marlborough Gallery Chelsea through July 31st).
Greg Bogin, Sunny disposition (oasis), synthetic paint and urethane on canvas, 72 x 73 inches, 2014.
The dramatic centerpiece of Dale Chihuly’s show of recent work at Marlborough Gallery’s 57th Street space combines burnt logs, glass ‘reeds’ and neon light in a scenario that evokes nature but with overtly man-made objects and forms. Sapphire lights and the juxtaposition of sharp and round shapes both draw in and confound the eye. (Through April 11th).
Dale Chihuly, Sapphire Neon with Burned Logs and Neodymium Reeds, neon lights, burned wood and hand blown glass over stainless steel rods, 96 x 252, 180 inches, 2015.
