How would a rag rug inspire a ceramic sculpture? Francesca DiMattio’s huge porcelain and stoneware sculptures mimic the shaggy surface of a Moroccan boucherouite rug, a technique aided by her use of a garlic press to extrude clay. Mixing references to art history and decorative arts, DiMattio’s new work is a riotous assertion of history’s continued presence in today’s art and design. (On view on the Lower East Side at Salon94 Bowery through April 21st).
In this boldly textured, late-career work by the Spanish artist Josep Grau-Garriga, soothing blue color and thick nautical-like rope recall the sea. Part of a handsome exhibition that presents work from the last forty years of the artist’s life, including early work evoking political violence, this piece evokes summons both the tranquility of the beach and excitement of the sea. (At Salon94 Bowery on the Lower East Side through June 3rd).
Paintings of jungles, tropical fruit, and monkeys and sculptures of snakes and strange flora make ‘Tiger, Tiger’ at Salon94 Bowery one of the lushest shows open in New York this summer. Yutaka Sone’s folk-art inflected rattan and steel palm in the foreground sets the laid-back tone. (On the Lower East Side through August 21st).
Installation view of Tiger, Tiger at Salon94 Bowery, July 2015. (foreground: Yutaka Sone, Tropical Composition/Traveler’s Palm #1, rattan and steel, 143 x 165 x 24 inches, 2011.
Titled ‘Morning Glory,’ this installation of hand-cast acrylic light sculptures by visual artist and landscape designer Paula Hayes is devoid of actual plant life (vs the terrariums and gardens for which Hayes is known) but trapeze-like hangers cleverly suggest fast-growing vines. (At Salon94 Bowery through March 21st).
Paula Hayes, installation view of ‘Morning Glory,’ at Salon94 Bowery, Feb 2015.
Known for his computer-created virtual photos, New York artist Takeshi Murata’s latest solo show at Salon 94 Bowery includes this quirky character, whose dripped frame and the appearance of stickers suggest the touch of a human hand but whose red smiley face is all about mechanical distortion. (On the Lower East Side through Dec 21st).
Takeshi Murata, Jogger (Red), pigment print mounted to plexi with powdercoated unibody aluminum frame, 40 x 44 x 2 inches, 2014.
