Portraiture is about decoding the identity of a sitter and the relationship between sitter and artist. Ruby Sky Stiler’s figure group at the entrance to her current solo show at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery flummoxes familiar, easy-to-read relationships as it positions a petite, female artist as the active member of this assembly. Pared down to silhouettes of spare geometric forms, including a single circular shape that identifies the artist as a woman, the nude figures recall yet crucially differ from Cezanne’s, Renoir’s or Matisse’s bathers and myriad scenes of male artists in their studios with nude female subjects. (On view in Tribeca through Oct 30th. Masks required.)
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Ruby Sky Stiler at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery
If Ruby Sky Stiler’s latest sculptures at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery seem less curvy than usual, it’s because her latest work departs from the powerful, sometimes monumental female figures she’s known for, zeroing in on dads and kids instead. The subject of men with their children is so rare in contemporary art that it’s initially hard to grasp that the bigger figures aren’t women. Odder still is each group’s repose – wouldn’t these kids be playing soccer with dad or at least a card game? Stiler shatters stereotypical gender roles with aplomb. (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 7th.)
Ruby Sky Stiler at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery
Ruby Sky Stiler, Head, stained Baltic birch, 36 x 24 x 13 inches and Wave Head, stained Baltic birch, 46 x 30 x 15 ½ inches, 2015.
Ruby Sky Stiler at Nichelle Beauchene Gallery
Brooklyn-based artist Ruby Sky Stiler takes the seated nude to a new level with her ten-foot tall female figure. Carved from foam, its stepped form nevertheless suggests weighty ancient architecture embellished with images of power-wielding women. (At Nichelle Beauchene on the Lower East Side through Oct 6th)
Ruby Sky Stiler, Seated Woman, foam, acrylic resin, thermal adhesive, 2013.