Tag: sikkema jenkins

Marlene McCarty at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

Rue is a herb that can be used as a contraceptive and in high doses can kill; it’s one of the plants in Marlene McCarty’s installation ‘Into the Weeds: Sex and Death’ at Sikkema Jenkins & Co which presents plants with medicinal and/or lethal properties in a dumpster outside the gallery and a pile of dirt lit by grow lights inside.  Rue also features in one of the McCarty’s large drawings, positioned in front of The Vessel at Hudson Yards (a symbol of developer’s power and more recently, death by suicide), two Roman sandals and more.  Explained in detail through histories of each plant posted to the gallery website, McCarty’s point is to highlight flora’s power to undermine established order.  (On view through July 30th.  Masks and social distancing required).

Marlene McCarty, installation view of ‘Into the Weeds: Sex and Death’ at Sikkema Jenkins & Co, June, 2021.

Zipora Fried at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

Though her lined-based, labor-intensive drawings have been described as resisting language in favor of the emotional potential of color, Zipora Fried’s own words best describe the inspiration for her latest work.  She explains that the ‘sky and mud colored lizards, soft-toned cicada shells, sunsets echoing exploding worlds…,” the tides and sands of Lamu Island, Kenya prompted her vivid color choices.  Short repeated pencil strokes and tonal variety make each image appear to shimmer in an unfixed meditation on her experience of the island.  (On view in Chelsea at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. through Jan 18th).

Zipora Fried, To Those Who Know How to Laugh, colored pencil on archival museum board, 80 x 54 inches, 2019.

Vik Muniz at Sikkema, Jenkins & Co

After the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro was ravaged by fire in Sept 2018, renowned Rio and NY based artist Vik Muniz reached out to offer help.  The resulting series ‘Museum of Ashes,’ now on view at Sikkema Jenkins & Co in Chelsea, mourns the loss of artifacts that range from dinosaur fossils to Egyptian artifacts by recreating images of the objects created from their own ashes.  (On view through Nov 16th).

Vik Muniz, Sarcophagus of Sha-amun-en-su, 750 BC, Museum of Ashes, archival inkjet print, 40 x 30 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.

Terry Haggerty at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

It’s risky to take too long a look at Sikkema Jenkins & Co’s gallery wall – British abstract artist Terry Haggerty’s mural can literally upend your balance as his painted lines appear to twist and bend in space.  The optical surprises continue in painted wooden panels that invite us to try to make out the multiple viewpoints depicted in each piece.  Whether you walk away with a headache or invigorated by the effort of wrestling with your perceptions, the show is worth engaging.  (On view in Chelsea through June 30th).

Terry Haggerty, Untitled, acrylic on wall, dimensions variable, 2019.