Former celebrity photographer David LaChapelle creates an uncomfortable memento mori for the jet set in his latest solo show at Paul Kasmin Gallery with ‘Still Life,’ a series begun after the National Wax Museum in Dublin was vandalized in 2009. Here, the Prince of Wales lies shattered in a box next to Heath Ledger & near Cameron Diaz. (Through Jan 19th).
‘Bye Bye Babylon,’ the title of Erik Parker’s latest solo show at Paul Kasmin Gallery, and his subject matter – edenic landscapes teeming with psychedelic flora – suggest he’s left the city for greener pastures. In fact, he’s still Brooklyn-based but uses the exotic locales he depicts to take a mental break from urban life. (Through October 13th). For more fuchsia skies and purple seas, check out Paul Kasmin’s website.
‘Dazzling’ is a good way to describe Alyson Shotz’s optically enticing sculpture whether it’s the shimmering curtain of Fresnel lenses she memorably installed in the Guggenheim’s atrium in ‘07 or a mirrored fence hidden in plain view in the fields at the Storm King Art Center. ‘Wavelength #2’ from 2008 continues Shotz’s interest in waveforms and uses dichroic acrylic to both transmit and reflect different wavelengths of light, creating a range of colors from a clear material. (‘Wavelength #2’ is at Paul Kasmin Gallery as part of ‘Sculpted Matter’ through August 17th.)