London-based artist Raqib Shaw turns the martyrdom of Sebastian into high drama in this painting of the saint bound with flowering vines and besieged by a cloud of beastly cherubs. Even the blood-red poppies are as threatening as they are beautiful. (At Pace Gallery through Jan 11th. Check website for holiday season opening hours.)
Raqib Shaw, St Sebastian of the Poppies, oil, acrylic, glitter and rhinestones on Birch wood, 60,” 2011-12.
Brooklyn and Austin-based artist Jeff Williams both makes and unmakes his sculpture, applying muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide to decay the steel slats of this cutting board, sourced from an artist residency at Skowhegan. In the background, a giant steel clamp pinches wooden beams in a crushing embrace. (At Jack Hanley Gallery through Dec 21st).
Jeff Williams, installation view of NEW/USED/WET/BROKEN at Jack Hanley Gallery, November 2013.
In the Chelsea tradition of bigger is better, New York based artist and designer KAWS presents two huge sculptures – each over 18 feet high – at Mary Boone Gallery that show his signature COMPANION figures in states of distress. The gallery has been packed with visitors…but many fans don’t necessarily make for a good show. Why do you think these works such a draw? (In Chelsea through Dec 21st).
KAWS, Along the Way, 216” x 176” x 120,” wood, 2013.
Brooklyn-based Korean sculptor Heejung Cho makes architecture into art with her series of city buildings constructed of wood at Chelsea’s Gallery Ho. The perspective suggests a city that goes on forever, but the absence of people or other evidence of life give it an eerie emptiness. (At Gallery Ho through Oct 19th).
Heejung Cho, Two Point Perspective, plywood, wood and stain, 2013.
Can a room full of benches inspire community-minded thinking? Francis Cape’s hand-crafted replicas of furniture from Shaker and other 19th century separatist communities, presented en masse at Chelsea’s Murray Guy Gallery, are objects whose value is rooted in their usefulness to many people – opposite of art as luxury commodity. (Through Aug 9th).
Francis Cape, installation view of Utopian Benches at Murray Guy Gallery, July 2013.
