Painted in response to police violence this year, Peter Williams’ tongue-in-cheek superhero, ‘N-Word,’ clobbers injustice personified by ghoulish characters in his series ‘Common and Proper Nouns.’ Here, with a physique far from the super-hero norm, this likeable underdog triumphs over a crowd of zombies and two scared authority figures. (At Driscoll Babcock through Aug 14th).
Peter Williams, Common Thread, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches, 2015.
Dutch artist Erik Van Lieshout recreates newspaper protests of demonstrations between Dutch-nationalists and Muslim factions in Holland in vinyl and charcoal at Anton Kern Gallery. A provocateur who The Guardian recently called ‘The Ali G of Art’ for his disregard for social convention, Van Lieshout’s drawings impressively channel the aggression and adrenaline of street confrontation. (In Chelsea through Feb 28th).
Erik Van Lieshout, Untitled, charcoal, acrylic and vinyl on paper, 59 1/8 x 107 7/8 inches, 2014.
Bogota-based artist Doris Salcedo continues to carefully craft sculpture that speaks to violence and oppression with what ‘A Flor de Piel,’ a blanket of treated, waxed and sewn rose petals which she refers to as this shroud or skin. (At Alexander and Bonin Gallery in Chelsea through July 26th).
Doris Salcedo, A Flor de Piel, rose petals and thread, 2013.
