In a 1979 collaboration with Pierre Cardin, Lebanese artist Huguette Caland created these and other caftans that continue her focus on the female form. In the foreground, ‘Tete-a-tete,’ represents the melding of two bodies as one. (At Chelsea’s Lombard Freid Gallery through Dec 20th).
Huguette Caland, Tete-a-tete, thread on fabric, 73 x 19 x 12 inches, 1971.
Xaviera Simmons is known for her portraits in America landscapes, but in ‘Landscape (2 Women)’ from 2007, her models contend with an urban environment consisting of a dramatic red wall that sends out conflicting associations that include love, anger, danger and a sense of urgency. Simmons past series have sometimes featured subjects with skirts pulled over heads and assortments of objects hung around the waist like visual essays on identity; here, however, the womens’ differently aged bodies and their relationship are left to speak for themselves. (Included in tête-à-tête, curated by Mickalene Thomas at Yancey Richardson Gallery through Aug 24th.)
