Haim Steinbach’s appropriated Lion King illustration takes over the office wall at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, pitting a powerful creature against box office power against the power of immersion in the color yellow. (In Chelsea through May 27th).
Sarah Sze’s installations have been characterized as organized chaos; her latest solo show aims to bring the mess and spontaneous decision-making of an artist’s studio into the gallery, yet the feeling of control is palpable. Torn paper, carefully spilled paint, and hanging sheets of plastic suggest a carefully arranged work in progress. (At Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 17th).
Sarah Sze, installation view at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Sept 2015.
In British sound artist Susan Philipsz’s new installation at Chelsea’s Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, boldly redacted FBI documents overlay quickly penciled archival scores by composer Hanns Eisler. An LA-based refugee from Nazi Germany, his branding as a communist prevented his scores from accompanying Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Circus.’ Here, wall-mounted documents like this one are joined by a 12-channel sound installation that plays selections from his film compositions, daring viewers to find a note of sedition. (Through Feb 14th).
Susan Philipsz, from the Part File Score series, digital print and silk screen print on canvas, 74 ½ x 59 x 1 2/3 inches, 2014.
In signature strong colors and geometric abstraction, Berlin-based artist Thomas Scheibitz’s new painting series riffs on the endless possibilities for creativity in the artist’s studio. Here, a small table seems to support a letter, a number, various experiments and a giraffe-like form also resembling an electrical plug that energizes the whole arrangement. (At Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea through Dec 20th).
Thomas Scheibitz, Studio Imaginaire, oil, vinyl, pigment marker on canvas, 114 1/5 x 70 7/8 inches, 2014.
‘The End of Signature’ by New York based Polish artist Agnieszka Kurant compiles hundreds of signatures into one long scrawl, appearing on the gallery wall in black coloring on a long, tube and replicated by this machine. Kurant’s piece bears witness, neither critically nor enthusiastically, to the increase of typed communication and digital signatures. (At Tanya Bonakdar Gallery through Oct 18th).
Agnieszka Kurant, detail of The End of Signature, glass tubing, water pump, black coloring and water, installed with autopen machine, pillar of paper and ink pens, 2014.
