Tag: Ocean

Jay DeFeo at Paula Cooper Gallery

After completing her iconic 2,000+ lb painting ‘The Rose,’ in 1966, Bay Area artist Jay DeFeo delved into photography, creating the 70 photographs, collages and photocopies now on view at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea.  Like ‘The Rose,’ DeFeo’s photographs feature complex textures, moody tonal contrasts and nature-related imagery in straight shots of mushrooms on a fallen tree or chemigrams – abstract images created in the darkroom.  Among the representational works, a single resting hand seen from the side or a section of an illuminated lampshade pictured from below against a black background convey stillness while this powerful shot of rushing water embodies nature’s dynamism and power.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 28th).

Jay DeFeo, Untitled, gelatin silver print, 6 x 8 7/8 inches, 1973.

Julia Felsenthal at JDJ Gallery

Julia Felsenthal is the first to acknowledge that many artists before her have painted the sea, while also observing that, even in her own production, each rendition is different.  The Brooklyn and Cape-Cod based writer and painter tempts viewers to stop in front of each of her small watercolor on gouache studies of sky and water at JDJ Gallery in Tribeca to appreciate the various effects of light, mist, cloud, sunrise, water depth and more.  Sublime in power yet compact in form, Felsenthal’s waterscapes speak to the endless beauty and fascination of the ocean.  (On view through July 21st).

Julia Felsenthal, Glinting Sea, watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 9 inches, 2022.

Angelo Filomeno at Chart Gallery

Angelo Filomeno’s latest works, now on view at Chart Gallery in his first New York solo show in seven years, lure visitors closer via bold color contrasts and a literal glow from his materials.  Appearing to be ‘painted with a sewing machine,’ as the New York Times once put it, the embroidered works on silk shantung resemble painting in presentation and scale but are marked by a richness of color and abundance of light afforded by their material.  Filomeno’s work never strays far from the theme of mortality; here, an iceberg illuminated by lightning brings our changing environment into focus.  (On view through June 18th).

Angelo Filomeno, Storm, embroidery on silk shantung stretched over cotton, 68 x 52 inches, 2022.

Vija Celmins at Matthew Marks Gallery

Vija Celmins’ once described her relationship to the ocean, which she has rendered again and again in paint, graphite and prints, as akin to wrestling something huge into a tiny 2-D space.  This woodcut from 2000, created with one of printmaking’s oldest techniques, captures a particular view of the water’s surface that looks as if it could have been made yesterday or hundreds of years ago.  (On view in Chelsea at Matthew Marks Gallery through Oct 26th).

Vija Celmins, Ocean, wood engraving on Zerkall paper, 20 ¾ x 17 ¼ inches, 2000.

Claire Sherman at DC Moore Gallery

Inspired by sublime landscapes she’s encountered on road trips, Claire Sherman pictures the majestic outdoors as studies in light and form. (At DC Moore Gallery through Nov 5th).

Claire Sherman, Island, oil on canvas, 102 x 84 inches, 2016.
Claire Sherman, Island, oil on canvas, 102 x 84 inches, 2016.