Lynda Benglis at 125 Newbury

Octogenarian artist and Process Art icon Lynda Benglis continues to explore organic abstraction in lively new works at 125 Newbury in Tribeca.  By placing sheets of abaca paper – from a type of banana tree native to the Philippines – on either side of forms made of bamboo reeds or aluminum wire, Benglis creates dynamic shapes that recall exoskeletons or chrysalises.  Titled ‘Skeletonizer,’ the show’s work references types of moths, appropriate to the dynamic sculptures that appear to climb the gallery walls. (Gallery opening hours change during the holidays. Check opening hours before visiting.  On view through Jan 13th).

Installation view of ‘Skeletonizer’ at 125 Newbury, Dec 2023.

Minako Iwamura in ‘Transcendence’ at JDJ Gallery

Work by sixteen artists in JDJ Gallery’s light-filled new Tribeca gallery space argues for the vitality and variety of abstract and near-abstract 2-D work by harnessing form, color and light to create alternative places and states.  Minako Iwamura’s selection of several small paintings on wood panel and larger works including Plexus (pictured here) speak to the New York-based artist’s interest in duality which she expresses by combining linear geometry and swelling, organic forms.  Alluding to the human form in their curving shapes yet transcending the corporeal with a network of thin, white lines that take the mind beyond the painting’s boundaries, Iwamura suggests a mind-expanding awakening. (On view through Jan 13th).

Minako Iwamura, Plexus, oil and white charcoal on cradled wood panel, 40 x 30 x 1.5 inches, 2023.

New video featuring Maria Nepomuceno at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

If you enjoyed my recent post featuring Brazilian artist Maria Nepomuceno’s vibrant abstract sculpture, see more of this gorgeous exhibition in the video below.  With her repeated curving, organic forms, Nepomuceno aims to represent movement into our own inner depths as well as an expansion into the infinite.