A cross section of a tree turns into a bosom in Kiki Smith’s bronze sculpture, ‘Sun,’ a highlight of new work at Pace Gallery that pulls human bodies into close contact with nature. This sculpture’s golden patina recalls gilded, divine bodies while revealing its origins in a majestically-sized tree that nurtures. (On view on 24th Street in Chelsea through March 30th).
In small doses, bark from the Ordeal tree (Erythrophleum guineense) is medicinal; in larger amounts, it’s fatal. This exercise in balance is at the heart of Sopheap Pich’s 17 foot long sculpture, ‘Ordeal,’ now on view at Tyler Rollins Fine Art in Chelsea. At exaggerated scale, the seed pod magnifies the ordeal of drinking water poisoned by the bark as a test of innocence, as defendants were once forced to do, and presents an object that can be used for good or ill. (On view through Dec 21st).
Studio portraits and landscape photography merge in Myoung Ho Lee’s series of trees in Mongolia and Korea, set against a white canvas backdrop. Lee digitally removes ropes and assistants, suggesting a less mediated encounter with a solitary and wonderful product of nature. (At Yossi Milo Gallery in Chelsea through Aug 25th).
The oldest and tallest tree in New York inspired Rachel Owens’ installation ‘Mother,’ for which she visited a Queens park to take casts of a c. 400 year old plant that may pre-date European settlement. Recreated in broken glass cast in resin, Owens marshals the vibrant colors of man-made materials to celebrate a remarkable survivor. (On view at Zieher Smith in Chelsea through April 15th).
A tree acts as a pedestal for a climbing figure and as a screen to stop us from seeing him or her in this painting by British artist Hurvin Anderson. To continue the theme of seeing and not seeing, the painting mimics the effect of both a photographic positive and negative, offering an ethereal image that considers the limits of perception. (At Michael Werner Gallery on the Upper East Side through Jan 14th).
