Claudia Wieser at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Berlin-based artist Claudia Wieser takes the 1976 BBC drama ‘I, Claudius’ as inspiration for a gorgeous exhibition featuring wallpaper printed with towering busts from antiquity and a series of refined painted vessels atop a large ceramic tiled pedestal.  Rather than tell a story or suggest particular meanings, Wieser evokes elegance and opulence using low-brow materials like wood and mirror-polished steel, perhaps a parallel to politically corrupt Roman rulers whose culture non-the-less produced prized artwork.  (On view at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea through April 14th).

Claudia Wieser, installation view of ‘Chapter’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery, March 2018.

Larry Bamburg at Simone Subal Gallery

A 300 lb piece of talc was the basis of this large sculpture by Larry Bamburg, who bridged the natural and manmade by adding a similarly colored soap, then bathroom tiles to the stone, creating a conversation between materials whose properties converge yet remain distinct. (At Simone Subal on the Lower East Side through March 20th).

Larry Bamburg, Talcto Tile PL’d to MDO, talc, ceramic and plaster tiles, planitesine, medium density overlay (MDO) plywood, 70 3/10 x 43 ½ x 54 ½ inches, 2016.
Larry Bamburg, Talcto Tile PL’d to MDO, talc, ceramic and plaster tiles, planitesine, medium density overlay (MDO) plywood, 70 3/10 x 43 ½ x 54 ½ inches, 2016.