Tag: still life

Kate Pincus-Whitney at Fredericks & Freiser Gallery

Tilted upwards to better show off a wealth of books, foods and household objects, young LA artist Kate Pincus-Whitney’s tablescapes at Fredericks & Freiser Gallery are a way of processing the world and even portraying people in it.  Both personal (Pincus Whitney cites her upbringing in the kitchen by her mother and grandmother as influential) and linked to wider cultural histories (this painting’s soup can nods to Warhol), the artist’s energetic canvases revel in the color and abundance of food and ideas.  (On view in Chelsea through March 20th).

Kate Pincus-Whitney, Feast in the Neon Jungle: Rose of Jericho, Acrylic and Polycolor on Canvas, 24 x 30 inches, 2020

Jane Freilicher at Kasmin Gallery

Brilliant yellow flowers dematerialize in the hazy afternoon light in Jane Freilicher’s vibrant still life from 1967, now on view at Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea.  Fifteen paintings from the ‘50s to the ‘00s, demonstrate an “…air of just coming into being, of tentativeness that is the lifeblood of art,” as John Ashberry, Freilicher’s long-time friend, put it.  (On view through March 13th).

Jane Freilcher, Goldenrod and Landscape, oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches, 1967.

Beth Lipman at Nohra Haime Gallery

Enticing to the eye but lacking color, Beth Lipman’s glass sculptures at Nohra Haime Gallery replicate sumptuous still life arrangements but deny the satisfaction of seeing them clearly.   Created from black or clear glass, the details of the sculptures can be hard to discern.  The effect is deliberate, intended to provoke low-level frustration that might prompt viewers to question the desire to consume. (On view in Chelsea through Jan 16th).

Beth Lipman, detail of Scale and Gazing Ball, glass, wood, metal, paint, adhesive, 64 x 42 x 32 inches, 2020.

Hilary Pecis in ‘Dwelling is the Light’ at timothytaylor.com

West coast light and the pleasures of color define Hilary Pecis’ recent work at Rachel Uffner Gallery and Timothy Taylor Gallery’s current on-line show ‘Dwelling is the Light.’  Working from a photo archive that includes the homes of friends and family, Pecis creates vibrant portraits that leave out actual individuals but make you wish you could meet the characters who’ve created such sunny environments.  (On view at timothytaylor.com through May 15th).

Hilary Pecis, Morning, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40 inches, 2019.

Christina Nicodema at Hollis Taggart Contemporary

It’s hard to look away from New York artist Christina Nicodema’s vividly colored paintings, packed with brightly plumed birds, a dramatic mandrill baring its teeth and piles of edibles designed to entice.  Like a contemporary interpretation of traditional Dutch genre painting, the images bring together plants and creatures from different environments in a celebration of excess, but Nicodema’s addition of porcelain, a painted egg and a cake dangerously ablaze with candles hints at the costs of luxury and human desires.  (On view at Hollis Taggart Contemporary through Feb 22nd).

Christina Nicodema, detail from The Tower of Babel, Mandrill, oil and archival ink on canvas, 55 x 55 inches, 2019.