Celebrated Cuban artist Roberto Diago presents wall-mounted works in corrugated sheet metal that look like weather-beaten modernist abstractions with a distinctly Cuban twist revealed in the title, ‘Variaciones de Oggun,’ a nod to the Latin American deity Oggun, who is associated with metal work. (At Magnan Metz in Chelsea through April 9th).
Though one of Alexander Calder’s better-known mobiles hangs above, it’s this sheet metal llama that catches the eye at Paul Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea. Included in an exhibition which partially recreates a groundbreaking show of New York art curated by Henry Geldzahler in 1969, its flat monochrome links it to surrounding minimal abstractions by Warhol, Noland, Flavin and more. (Through March 8th).
Alexander Calder, Moon Faced Llama (blue and red), painted sheet metal, 1971.
Famed creator of the mobile and stabile, Alexander Calder, used light and shadow to envision scaled up versions of his sculpture. In an inspired display technique, Upper East Side gallery Venus Over Manhattan does the same, keeping the gallery dark so that maquettes cast dramatic shadows and the pieces take a step beyond Calder. (Through Dec 21st).
Alexander Calder, Morning Cobweb (intermediate maquette), sheet metal, bolts and paint, 1967.
Charlotte Posenenske permanently gave up art making for sociology in 1968, just a year after creating the plans for this modular sheet metal sculpture that could be configured in a variety of ways. Here, the piece resembles a ventilation shaft that questions the necessity of use value in art while fetishising industrial design. (At Miguel Abreu Gallery on the Lower East Side through Aug 17th).
Charlotte Posenenske, Series D Vierkantrohre (Square Tubes), sheet steel, dimensions and configuration variable, 1967/2009.
