Mikey Yates in ‘The Midnight Hour’ at The Hole

Young Kansas City based artist Mikey Yates, whose ‘Summer Walker’ is a standout at The Hole’s current night-themed group exhibition, paints tranquil scenes that include a family making art together at the dining room table and women chatting at night on a rooftop.  Such scenes – whether populated by solitary people or multiple individuals – argue the pleasures and importance of domestic life.  Though the individual in this painting walks alongside a highway in relative isolation, light from the streetlamp, a yellow hydrant and glowing neon sign in the distance create a sense of well-being and purpose.  (On view through Feb 18th).

Mikey Yates, Summer Walker, oil, acrylic and oil stick on canvas, 40 x 30 inches, 2022.

Carolyn Salas at The Hole NYC

A pair of long white legs tiptoe toward a hanging curtain on the right side of Carolyn Salas’ laser-cut aluminum sculpture ‘Gone’ at The Hole as if making a quick and quiet exit.  Behind, assorted disembodied heads, legs and vases suggest a crowded domestic environment from which our protagonist is slipping away to find her own space.  (On view in Tribeca through Dec 31st).

Carolyn Salas, Gone, 2022, powder-coated aluminum 3/8?, 102 x 144 inches.

Ahn Tae Won in Universes 5 at The Hole NYC

Korean artist Ahn Tae Won wanted to take something everyday and make it surreal; he happened upon a cat meme and was inspired to create this quirky in-the-round sculpture titled ‘Hiro is Everywhere,’ a standout in The Hole’s summer group show in Tribeca curated by Sasa Bogojev.  Appearing to be digital yet obviously a 3-D manifestation, this intriguingly odd sculpture speaks to the unknowability of cats. (On view through Aug 5th).

Ahn Tae Won, Hiro is Everywhere, acrylic on resin, 2022.

Vickie Vainionpää at The Hole NYC

Citing the “mysterious and utterly sensual paintability of CGI,” Montreal-based artist Vickie Vainionpää combines digital and traditional art-making with her hand-painted renderings of alluring, digitally-generated forms.  A new body of oil on canvas paintings and an immersive video at The Hole in Tribeca from her continuing ‘Soft Body Dynamics’ series feature thick, undulating tubes of color winding through space.  Like reflective mylar party balloons, the upper squiggle feels celebratory while the lower, intestine-like duct is slightly visceral though the palette brings cotton candy to mind.  (On view through June 18th).

Vickie Vainionpää, Soft Body Dynamics 73, oil on canvas, 58 x 48 inches, 2022.

Jingze Du in ‘Density Betrays Us’ at The Hole

Jingze Du’s distorted figures recall staticky interference on an old black and white tv monitor, prompting viewers to consider what mediates the images we consume.  Though painting in oil on canvas, Du’s animals, famous actors and sports stars reference digital manipulation. Du cites Kayne West’s vocal distortions and the shifting skull in Hans Holbein’s famous 16th century painting ‘The Ambassadors’ as further sources of inspiration.  In this painting at The Hole’s new Tribeca location, Du does strange and captivating things with Brad Pitt’s classic squint.  (On view through Aug 8th).

Jingze Du, Brad, oil on canvas, 23.5 x 20 inches, 2021.