Tag: politics

Kaloki Nyamai at James Cohan Gallery

Nairobi-based artist Kaloki Nyamai’s New York solo debut at James Cohan Gallery introduces an artist who uses acrylic paint, stitching and photo transfer to create complex surfaces that suggest complicated histories.  This painting’s title, ‘The one who stole my heart,’ features a figure leaning back into a man whose outward-looking eyes connect with our gaze.  In contrast to the couple’s intimate, relaxed moment, partially visible figures in the background raise their arms in what could be celebration or protest.  Elsewhere, photo transfers contrast happy moments of communal activity with news articles about political unrest as Nyamai juxtaposes the lives of individuals with larger social happenings.  (On view through May 4th).

Kaloki Nyamai, Ula wosiee ngoo yakwa II (The one who stole my heart), mixed media, acrylic, collage stitching on canvas, 2024.
Kaloki Nyamai, (detail) Ula wosiee ngoo yakwa II (The one who stole my heart), mixed media, acrylic, collage stitching on canvas, 2024.

Catherine Opie at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is the largest national wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River, a draw for hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and an area of interest for mining companies.  The wetland recently drew iconic photographer Catherine Opie to shoot images now on view at Lehmann Maupin Gallery that expand her career-long exploration of US places and communities of people.  Threatened not just by limited environmental protections but also by climate change, the Swamp is counterpoint to the oft repeated notion of ‘draining the swamp’ from Opie’s perspective.  (On view in Chelsea through Sept 26th.  No appointment is necessary but social distancing and masks are required.)

Catherine Opie, detail of Untitled #1 (Swamps), pigment print, 40 x 60 inches, 2019.

Melanie Baker at Cristin Tierney

The man in the foreground of this huge charcoal, graphite and pastel drawing by Melanie Baker leans forward conspiratorially, his own identity concealed as he shields the figure before him from view.  Ironically framed on each side by lit sconces, the two shadowy figures seem to have paused in the halls of power to engage in an intense and private discussion that Baker invites us to question.  (On view on the Lower East Side at Cristin Tierney through Feb 22nd).

Melanie Baker, Pomp and Sycophants, charcoal, graphite, and pastel on paper mounted on Dibond, 72 x 120 inches, 2019.

Mitch Epstein at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

‘Property Rights,’ Mitch Epstein’s latest photography series focuses on contested land in the U.S., from protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock to the conflict between immigration activists and self-organized patrols along the southern border.  Though each location is defined by its tensions, Epstein’s photos are marked by their calmness and sensitivity to the experience of everyday people navigating the impact of larger forces on their lives.  (On view at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. in Chelsea through Oct 5th).

Mitch Epstein, Border Wall, Nogales, Arizona 2017, chromogenic print, 25.125 x 33.5 inches, 2017.

Nina Chanel Abney at Jack Shainman Gallery & Mary Boone Gallery

Nina Chanel Abney’s electrifying new paintings take gun violence, racial conflict, and protests turned violent as subject matter. Their dynamic jumble of forms echoes the constant stream of alarming news supplied 24/7 by the media. (Nina Chanel Abney is showing new work at Jack Shainman Gallery’s 20th Street location through Dec 20th and Mary Boone Gallery’s 24th Street location through Dec 22nd).

Nina Chanel Abney, detail of Untitled, acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 5 panels, 96 1/8 x 60 15/16 x 1 15/16, 2017.