Vik Muniz at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

Known for constructing replica of famous artworks from unlikely materials (a well-known image of Jackson Pollock rendered in drizzled chocolate, junk from a landfill arranged to resemble a Picasso painting), Vik Muniz’s latest exhibition at Chelsea’s Sikkema Jenkins & Co includes new images of American icons constructed from shredded US currency.  Sourced from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the bills are arranged to picture individuals including Harriet Tubman (whose image is scheduled to appear on the $20 bill staring in 2030) and the Lakota chief American Horse as well as images seen as representing the country, like the American eagle and this bison.  Once symbolic of the vast and fertile North American landscape, informed contemporary viewers might now see bison as victims of mass slaughter by European settlers. (On view in Chelsea through April 27th).

Vik Muniz, American Bison, after John James Audubon, Legal Tender, archival inkjet print, 40 x 49 ½ , 2024.
Vik Muniz, (detail) American Bison, after John James Audubon, Legal Tender, archival inkjet print, 40 x 49 ½ , 2024.

 

 

Mark Thomas Gibson at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

Mark Thomas Gibson’s new paintings at Sikkema Jenkins & Co feature hands, feet and legs but no full figures, a selective focus that ominously suggests multiple players unknown to us and perhaps to each other. White hands clasp in prayer, proffer a rope-bound fist or a broken wristwatch while a solitary Black hand holds a critical theory text by Achille Mbembe about democracy under threat.  All the while, menacing cartoonish whistles sound their warnings amid a leaking system of pipes in a cacophonous mele that seems about to explode. (On view through March 11th).

Mark Thomas Gibson, All A Go (Steampipes and Hands), ink on canvas, 66 1/8 x 86 ¼ inches, 2022.

Luiz Zerbini at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

So large it’s an immersive experience just to stand in front of it, Brazilian artist Luiz Zerbini’s painting ‘Dry River’ at Sikkema Jenkins & Co juxtaposes an organizing grid against abundant plant forms.  Drawing inspiration from diverse sources including Brazilian tower blocks and his own personal garden, Zerbini’s practice revels in the abundance of natural design while prompting viewers to consider how human planning does (or does not) coexist harmoniously. (On view in Chelsea through Oct 15th).

Luiz Zerbini, Dry River, acrylic on canvas, triptych: 118 1/8 x 236 ¼ inches, 2022.

New video featuring Maria Nepomuceno at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

If you enjoyed my recent post featuring Brazilian artist Maria Nepomuceno’s vibrant abstract sculpture, see more of this gorgeous exhibition in the video below.  With her repeated curving, organic forms, Nepomuceno aims to represent movement into our own inner depths as well as an expansion into the infinite.

Harold Edgerton at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

A cup shatters, a golfer swings and a bullet pierces balloons in photos by late scientist Harold Edgerton, who made time freeze with the aid of an electric strobescope. This image of three bursting balloons demonstrates three stages of destruction with arresting beauty. (At Sikkema Jenkins & Co through March 7th).

Harold Edgerton, Bullet Through Three Balloons, gelatin silver print, 30 x 48 inches, 1959, printed 1989.