Tom Friedman, master of the surprisingly crafted object (e.g. an accident victim made from paper, a huge star made from tiny toothpicks) doesn’t disappoint in his latest solo show at Luhring Augustine’s Bushwick space. A standout is ‘Moot,’ a guitar, microphone with stand and stool created entirely from Styrofoam and paint. (Through August 22nd).
Tom Friedman, Moot, paint and Styrofoam, 2014.
Traditional Japanese Ikebana becomes art in the hands of New York artist Carissa Rodriguez (who memorably showed a Cartier clock owned by FDR at the Whitney Biennial this spring). In Anton Kern Gallery’s treasure-chest of a summer group exhibition, she saddles this gorgeous arrangement with the title ‘I Will Cook Myself Tomorrow,’ making it a kind of pre-memorial. (In Chelsea through August 22nd).
Center: Carissa Rodriquez, I Will Cook Myself Tomorrow,’ unique seasonal Ikebana arrangement, Sogetsu suiban vessel and custom pedestal, variable dimensions, 2012. To the left: ‘Blue Shelf’ by David Korty. To the right: ‘Vase (prototype) and paper bouquet,’ Marc Camille Chaimowicz.
This boy of summer doesn’t have a care in the world, despite having failed to take a swing at the ball whizzing in front of him. He’s as cheerful as a clothing model on a catalogue shoot yet his odd proportions make this painting by Daniel Heidkamp an engaging mix of familiar and strange. (At Jack Hanley Gallery through August 22nd).
Daniel Heidkamp, Town League Slugger, oil on linen, 36 x 30 inches, 2014.
One of Matthew Ronay’s previous shows at Andrea Rosen Gallery involved entering a large, curtain-enclosed space filled with natural forms – trees, totems – that referred to transcendent experiences. In Rosen’s smaller Gallery II space, Ronay showcases his own journey in meditative daily drawings like this one. (In Chelsea through Aug 22nd).
Matthew Ronay, 12.16.13, gouache on 140lb arches watercolor paper, 15 x 11 inches, 2013.
Andrew Edlin Gallery’s riotous group show ‘Purple States’ stands out among summer group shows for its energy. It includes this fanciful yellow, ceramic birdcage by Elisabeth Kley resting on patterns of her creation while a nearby, a friendly saint by legendary folk artist and minister Howard Finster stands and gestures. (In Chelsea through August 22nd).
Elisabeth Kley, Large Yellow Birdcage, glazed ceramic, 2014 on Patterned Scrolls, ink on Japanese paper, 2014. Next to: paint on wood figure, St John, 1999 by Howard Finster. Shooting stars by Howard Finster, mixed media, 1983 is behind.
With its gothic title, ‘Bloodflames Revisited,’ and catwalk running above a straw-covered floor, this is one of the more unusual shows on view in Chelsea at the moment. The setting is just right for Deborah Kass’ enthusiastic but ambiguous-feeling rainbow painting reading ‘Daddy, I would love to dance.’ (At Paul Kasmin Gallery through August 15th).
Deborah Kass, Daddy, acrylic on canvas, 2008.
If Dunkin’ Donuts used this image by Beth Galton in their advertising, I’d buy. Would you? (Though it is reminiscent of the anti-obesity ads on the subway…) (At Aperture Foundation in Chelsea through August 15th.)
Beth Galton, Coffee and Donut; from the series Cut Food, 2012.
Japanese collaborative digital artist group teamLab are making a huge splash on the New York art scene this summer with their exhibition, ‘Ultra Subjective Space.’ A seven screen installation featuring animated mythological crows in impossibly complicated flight patterns, an endlessly blossoming outcropping, a digital waterfall and more make this stunning show one to remember. (In Chelsea at Pace Gallery through August 15th, 2014).
Awol Erizku’s ‘Heads’ is a trip down memory lane, a tribute to the art of self-styling and a reminder that vanity involving hair isn’t just a female domain. (At Hasted Kraeutler, Chelsea, through August 15th).
Awol Erizku, Heads, grid of nine archival pigment prints in custom white frames, 2013.
Looking to sniff out some good summer group shows on the Lower East Side? These comic noses in rough clay by Danish artist Ditte Gantriis at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery are worth checking out; they bring to mind iconic character types and how quickly we interpret them. (Through August 15th).
Ditte Gantriis, Untitled, white sculpture clay, 11 ½ x 5 x 5 inches, 2014.
Brooklyn-based artist Elisa Lendvay’s totemic objects stand out in Asya Geisberg Gallery’s dystopic summer group show as tools for navigating a hostile environment. They bring to mind masks or divining rods without revealing any intended purpose, allowing us to invent our own uses. (Through Aug 15th).
Elisa Lendvay, (top) Inverted Pocket, papier mache, silver leaf, acrylic paint, 12 x 7 x 2.5,” 2012, (middle) Code, bamboo, papier mache, silver leaf, acrylic paint, wire, 16.5 x 18 x 2,” (bottom) Skate, wood, wire, plastic, papier mache, acrylic paint and medium, 17.5 x 11 x 1.25,” 2013.
Friedman Benda’s summer group exhibition, featuring contemporary Japanese art seen through a post-Fukushima Daiichi lens includes traditional architecture upended and mirrored by Takahiro Iwasaki and a mind-bending interactive installation by Kazuki Umezawa for which looking into an iPad at a digital print produces surprising results. (In Chelsea through August 8th).
Foreground: Takahiro Iwasaki, Reflection Models, wood, monofilament, 2014. Background: Kazuki Umezawa, AR image core involving all, digital print on tarpaulin sheet, 2 iPads, 2013.
Split down the middle and at the sides, this cast body in aluminum by LA artist Naotaka Hiro, succinctly describes a divided psyche, even summoning an animal body. The cast negative space between the legs resembles a phallus but was created by absence, making this enigmatic artwork strikingly poignant. (At Flag Art Foundation in Chelsea through August 8th).
Naotaka Hiro, Four-Legged (Toe to Heel), aluminum, wood, 18 x 20 x 65 inches, 2014.
Brooklyn-based artist Alison Elizabeth Taylor’s more recent New York solo show in Fall ‘13 at Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery was a gratifying chance to witness her wizardry with wood veneer in 2-D scenes of natural destruction; but her contribution to the gallery’s excellent summer group show – a western home invaded by a storm tossed tree – is a knockout. (Seen in detail.) (Through August 8th).
Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Kitchen (detail), wood veneer, oil, acrylic, shellac, 92 x 116 inches, 2014.
‘Another Look at Detroit’ is one of the summer’s major exhibitions, showing at powerhouse galleries Marlborough Chelsea and Marianne Boesky Gallery, but it starts off with this initially underwhelming weed by New York sculptor Tony Matelli located near the entrance of Marlborough. Look closer, however, and this meticulously crafted, painted bronze plant becomes an object of wonder. (Through August 8th).
Tony Matelli, Weed #293, painted bronze, 11 x 9 x 13 inches, 2014.
Made with a camera obscura, George Woodman’s photo ‘Grapes, a Mexican Bride, and a Classical Harvest’ uses old technology to create a scene that evokes nostalgia for different eras of history. (At Jeff Bailey Gallery through August 8th.)
George Woodman, Grapes, a Mexican Bride, and a Classical Harvest, gelatin silver print, 42 x 39.5 inches, 1999.
Art fairs draw private transactions and moments into the public eye, making them fertile subject matter for street-style photography. San Francisco artist Andy Freeberg’s series ‘Art Fare’ captures quirkily funny moments like this one, in which art handlers become part of the installation. (At Chelsea’s Andrea Meislin Gallery through August 8th).
Andy Freeberg, Anne de Villepoix, archival pigment print, 30 x 45 inches, 2011.
Mary Heilmann’s two acrylic on paper pieces, both titled ‘Negative Space,’ in David Zwirner Gallery’s summer ‘Paintings on Paper’ group exhibition look like sections of the gallery wall coming forward into the viewer’s space and casting impossibly dark shadows behind, a clever illusion created with simple means. (In Chelsea through August 15th).
Mary Heilmann, Negative Space One, 11 ½ x 11 ½ inches (left) and Negative Space Two, 12 x 15 inches, both are acrylic on handmade paper, 2014.
Portraits of Picasso’s women inspired Mickalene Thomas’ latest series at Chelsea’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery, including this rhinestone and acrylic collage. Exuberant eye-brows and lashes suggest exotic bird plumage while garish, fauve colors and many sharp angles hint at the sitter’s strong personality. (Through August 8th).
Mickalene Thomas, Carla, enamel, acrylic, oil paint, glitter, rhinestones, oil pastel, graphite and silk screen on wood panel, 96 x 72 inches, 2014.
Citibike stands abound in New York’s gallery areas, but are the bikes art? New York artist Dan Colen’s addition to Marlborough Gallery’s bike-themed group exhibition ‘Joyride’ could theoretically be taken out for a spin as a kind of performance or experiential art. In the background, Leo Fitzpatrick’s acrylic on canvas pieces offer a more cynical take on the pleasures of freewheeling about town, suggesting that Citibike users end their trips in the East River. (On the Lower East Side through August 3rd).
Foreground: Dan Colen, Title, x citibikes, 2014. Background: Leo Fitzpatrick, bikes in bag, bag in river, acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 2 pieces, each 22 x 14 inches, 2014.
Before her recent show at New York’s Wellin Museum of Art, artist Dannielle Tegeder observed the museum’s physical structure, translating it into bold, diagrammatic wall installations. Here, at Chelsea’s Lombard Fried Gallery, Tegeder’s mural is a subtle addition to the gallery’s all-white back courtyard, appearing to extend its space beyond the wall into a fictional geometric world. (Through July 31st).
Dannielle Tegeder, Ghost Evolutionary Drawing System with Artificial Life Structure, Classified Layered City, Constructivist Accidents, Invisible Machine Universe Plan, and Chemical Code Schema Map, acrylic spray paint, 25 x 9 feet, 2014.
Colorful grid patterns on canvas as ad hoc busy as a community noticeboard dot the walls of Franklin Evans’ eye-catching show at Chelsea’s Ameringer McEnery Yohe. But it’s the total overall effect of floors, ceilings and walls covered in vibrant colors, art historical references and wall texts that impresses in this ambitious exhibition. (Through August 1st).
Franklin Evans, installation view of ‘paintingassupermodel’ at Ameringer McEnery Yohe, Chelsea, June 2014.
Though it looks like the immortalization of a moment of passion, Jude Tallichet’s ‘Abandoned Clothes’ chronicles in cast bronze items of clothing dropped on the floor. From a jacket to pants with underwear and socks still inside, the installation’s solidly present objects underscore the mystery of what happened to the absent wearers. (At Robert Miller Gallery through August 1st).
Jude Tallichet, Untitled (Flung Suit Jacket), cast bronze (polished), 2012.
California-based ceramic artist Cheryl Ann Thomas uses the age-old technique of building a vessel from coils of clay, but Thomas’ coils are so fragile, her pots collapse in the kiln. The results are textile-like forms that seem to embody motion. (At Danese Corey through August 1st).
Cheryl Ann Thomas, Relics 300-303, porcelain, 21 x 24 x 27 inches, 2012.
New York photographer Brea Souders’ light-infused abstract and figurative images suggest damaged film and fleeting moments; here, a fog of peachy light drifts over a surprisingly life-like cast face, signaling both memories of someone gone and a memorial. (At Bruce Silverstein Gallery in Chelsea through August 1st).
Brea Souders, Rosie, archival inkjet print, 25 x 20 inches, 2012.
Massachusetts-based artist Sally Curcio builds magical worlds under protective bubbles using everyday materials from bathmats to barrettes. This enticing city of pretty towers and green parks – appropriately titled ‘Happy Place’ stands out in J. Cacciola Gallery’s summer group show. (In Chelsea through July 26th).
Sally Curcio, Happy Place, pins, beads, flocking, hairbrush, contact lens packaging, false eyelashes, fruit netting, barrettes, paperclips, curlers, ear buds, fabric, shuttlecock, lite brite pegs, tub mat, rubber grape, bubbles wand, perfume funnel, button, milk carton tabs, soup carton tab, olive oil spout, zip tie, plastic mesh, extruded polystyrene, acrylic paint, acrylic bubble, wood base, 12 x 12 x 6 inches, 2014.
It’s hard to tell if this enchanted scene is aided or threatened by the dark-faced spirit behind a frolicking young woman and two sprites. Titled ‘The 1%,’ this painting by New Yorker Inka Essenhigh suggests that their bliss is tenuous. (At Sargent’s Daughters through July 26th).
Inka Essenhigh, The 1 %, oil on canvas, 30 x 12 inches 2014.
Titled ‘Beach,’ these copper leaf covered Doritos by Brooklyn-based artist Brock Enright, along with ‘Night,’ ‘Secret 3,’ and ‘Winter’ up the wall, look like moths or jewelry – fragile emanations of junk food. (At Chelsea’s Mitchell-Innes & Nash through July 25th).
Brock Enright, Beach, Doritos, resin and copper leaf, 2 ¼ x 4 ¾ x 1 inch, 2014.
This ready-made painting/sculpture composed of truck doors hung on the wall by New York artist Gedi Sibony looks like it’s been around the block. Heavy use and the suggestion of censorship in the grey-painted areas give these otherwise mundane doors interest. (At Chelsea’s Barbara Gladstone Gallery through August 1st).
Gedi Sibony, The Revolving Rey, trailer, 109 x 94 ½ inches, 2014.
Known for painting distracted young women, Jocelyn Hobbie’s contribution to Fredericks & Freiser’s summer group exhibition his typical, but this time she’s engulfed in a sea of distracting patterns (she’s even eating a design) making the model one with her environment. (In Chelsea through July 24th).
Jocelyn Hobbie, Untitled, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches, 2014.
Minimalist art pioneer Carl Andre accompanies his current Dia:Beacon retrospective with a show of work from the past thirty years at Paula Cooper Gallery. Here, two sculptures use cedar beams as building blocks, making an additive sculpture of strong, industrial materials. (Through July 25th).
Carl Andre, 4 x 4 Cedar Solid, 16 Western red cedar units, each 36 x 12 x 12 inches, 2008 (foreground). Bar, Douglas Fir (36 unit row), each 12 x 12 x 36 inches, 1981 (background).
LA based artist Nancy Lupo’s sculptures thrive on odd juxtapositions, like this Rubbermaid BRUTE trash can studded with traditional and eco-friendly brands of toilet tissue. In the background, Babybel cheese wheels punctuate a bright yellow can. (At Laurel Gitlen on the Lower East Side through August 1st).
Nancy Lupo, (foreground) So Soft and Delicious, 32-gallon Rubbermaid BRUTE container in white, Cottonelle, Quilted Northern, Angel Soft Pretty Prints, 7th Generation and 365 toilet tissues, 26 x 26 x 24 inches, 2014.
Working on the model of conceptual artists like On Kawara who famously used the mail to deliver art content, Berlin-based British artist Jonathan Monk devised this weekly letter as an art work in which he tries to guess the name of the mother-in-law of the work’s owner. (At Casey Kaplan Gallery in Chelsea through August 1st).
Jonathan Monk, Guessing your mother-in-law’s name, letter from the artist every Friday until he guesses correctly, 2003.
Though hard to photograph, David Kennedy Cutler’s impressive sculptures – created by molding tall sheets of Plexi with a heat gun and his own body – are impossible to miss in Lisa Cooley Gallery’s summer group exhibition. While manifesting a ghostly, physical presence of their own, they also co-opt the gallery’s lighting and use the show’s other works as backdrop. (On the Lower East Side through August 1st).
David Kennedy Cutler, installation view at Lisa Cooley Gallery, July 2014. Plexiglas sculptures from the series, ‘No More Right Now Forever.’
Brooklyn painter Nikki Maloof stands out in Zach Feuer Gallery’s summer group painting exhibition with this tongue-in-cheek homage to the summer sun, which has tattooed her skin with burns and melded her blond hair with the saturated yellow sky. (In Chelsea through July 26th).
Nikki Maloof, Burn, oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2013.
This arrestingly odd triptych by artist collaborators DAS INSTITUT presents a caricatured woman’s face in one image while giving the subterfuge away in the other two photos. Holding a donut decorated in the same pattern as her shirt, the model fixes us with an unnerving stare as if to question what part we play in making meaning from images. (At the Lower East Side’s On Stellar Rays through August 1st.)
DAS INSTITUT, When You See Me Again It Won’t Be Me (Green), 3 pigment prints, 19 ¼ x 42 ½ inches, 2014.
In 1960s south of France, a group of artists looking for alternatives to traditional ways of making art informally opted for abstract compositions favoring geometry and color. Canada Gallery on the Lower East Side showcases work that seduces with its handmade, colorful and rhythmic qualities. (Through July 20th).
Installation view of ‘Supports/Surfaces’ at Canada Gallery, June 2014.
Young Brooklyn artist Charles Harlan runs a chain link fence from David Zwirner Gallery’s ceiling to the floor, creating the suggestion of elegant modern design using industrial materials. (In Chelsea through July 25th).
Charles Harlan, Fence, chain link fence and vinyl slats, dimensions vary upon installation, 2014.
Group exhibitions allow art lovers to pack more into a gallery visit; this summer, few galleries offer more than Salon94 Bowery, which includes work by sixty artists in the beautifully presented ‘More Material,’ organized by London-based fashion designer Duro Olowu. Here, Olowu’s gorgeously patterned capes stand next to Stanley Whitney’s red, blue and green oil painting and Ajay Kurian’s ghee and gold dust abstractions. (On the Lower East Side through August 1st).
Installation view of ‘More Material at Salon94 Bowery, July, 2014.
A FedEx worker seems to have delivered more workers in Josh Klein’s recent sculpture at Untitled Gallery on the Lower East Side. The phrase ‘no sick days’ in the title suggests that actual human workers would be a liability. (Through August 1st).
Josh Klein, (foreground) No Sick Days (Fedex Worker’s Head with Fedex Cap), 3 3D-printed sculptures (two seen here) in plaster with inkjet ink and cyanoacrylate, cast urethane foam packing peanuts, vinyl, cardboard, MDF, 27 x 27 x 35 inches, 2014.
Kay Rosen’s wall installation ‘Monuments’ at Chelsea’s Sikkema Jenkins & Co is a size XXL love scene written entirely in two words, as a reclining nude ‘obelisk’ and upright phallic ‘obelisk’ tangle in a curvy ‘S.’ (through July 18th).
Kay Rosen, Monuments, latex paint on wall, dimensions variable, 2013.
German artist Florian Maier-Aichen blurs the boundaries between painting and photography in his latest series of abstract images, created by pouring paint, transferring images to transparent film, backing them with other paintings and ultimately photographing the final product for presentation as a photograph. (At Chelsea’s 303 Gallery through July 25th).
Florian Maier-Aichen, Untitled, c-print, 81 ½ x 64 ¾ inches, 2014.
Iconic appropriation artist Louise Lawler appropriates her own appropriations in her latest show at Chelsea’s Metro Pictures gallery with this black and white tracing of an earlier work, printed on vinyl and hung on an entire gallery wall. Drained of color and magnified, the Pollock above and tureen below seem less dissimilar. (Through July 25th).
Louise Lawler, Pollock and Tureen (traced), signed certificate, installation instructions, and PDF formatted file, dimensions variable, 1984/2013.
Using digital processes, Korean artist Kim Joon creates amazing conflations of human bodies, ‘tattooed’ with animal skins, logos and designs that touch on individual identities while creating anonymous abstract sculptures. (At Sundaram Tagore Gallery in Chelsea).
Kim Joon, Somebody 005, digital print, 2014.
Drawing on Japanese pop culture and a predilection for nature, Seattle-based Japanese artist Yumiko Kayukawa’s exhibition at Foley Gallery on the Lower East Side strikes a clever balance between irony and kitsch. (Through July 12th).
Yumiko Kayukawa, Ominugui (Cleaning), acrylic on linen, 22 x 18 inches, 2013.
Last summer, Sarah Sze transformed the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennial inside and out with a super abundance of very precisely arranged objects. In Chelsea, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery celebrates 20 years with a group exhibition that includes a piece by Sze from 1997, originally situated by a Greek harbor. Pills, nuts, soy sauce packets and other ephemera of everyday life look like a strangely contemporary votive offering. (Through August 1st).
Sarah Sze, Untitled (Thessaloniki), mixed media, 1997.
New York photographer Suzanne Opton creates a surprisingly intimate situation between gallery visitors and her subjects – soldiers who are back in the US after a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Reclining on a flat surface, their presence and vulnerability is palpable. (At Sikkema Jenkins & Co in Chelsea through July 18th).
Suzanne Opton, installation view at Sikkema Jenkins & Co, June 2014.
Late Austrian artist Franz West depicts Biblical characters Cain and Abel in a standoff in this typically pop-colored, messy abstract sculpture from 1986 at Chelsea’s Gagosian gallery. Using abjection and humor West makes their iconic conflict seem odd and not a little pathetic. (Through July 18th).
Franz West, Cain ova Incontro ad Abele, epoxy resin, lacquer, steel, 1986.
Scenes from different continents look oddly similar in Sze Tsung Leong’s mesmerizing ‘Horizons’ show at Chelsea’s Yossi Milo Gallery. Here, a photo of Havana rubs shoulders with a shot from Paris, linking two unlikely cities by their dense landscape and domed architecture. (Through July 11th).
Sze Tsung Leong, installation view of ‘Horizons,’ at Yossi Milo Gallery, June 2014. Right: La Habana Vieja II, 2010. Left: Quartier Latin, Paris, 2008.
In response to the disastrous 2008 Sichuan earthquake that killed thousands of school children in their shoddily constructed schools, Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei constructed this snake of backpacks as a memorial. Below, a pile of porcelain river crabs indirectly stands in for censorship and recalls a huge feast of crab initiated by Ai Wei Wei as a protest against limitations on free speech. (At the Brooklyn Museum through August 10th).
Ai Wei Wei, Snake Ceiling, backpacks, 2009. He Xie, 3,200 porcelain crabs, 2010.
Though gestural strokes dominate new ‘paintings’ by Barcelona-based artist Meyer Vaisman, all have been created with inkjet on industrial plywood with stretcher bars made to look like the back of a canvas. Though the work is abstract, the imagery is based on Vaisman’s signature. (At Eleven Rivington on the Lower East Side through July 3rd).
Meyer Vaisman, Artist’s Signature: llehctiM naoJ, 5773, AFGA UVI ink on popular plywood, 2014.
LA-based art star Sterling Ruby turns his signature, stalactite-like urethane sculptures into quasi-Greek columns with a backdrop painting recalling American quilting traditions, tie-dying, Color Field painting and the colors of the US flag. Grand themes abound in an ambitious show that treats icons of art and history with a provocative mix of reverence and distain. (At Hauser & Wirth Gallery through July 25th).
Sterling Ruby, (foreground) Pillars, PVC pipe, foam and urethane, (rear) FLAG (4791) bleached and dyed canvas and elastic, 2014.
An imaginary cabaret group spreads the word about the dangers of climate change as advertised by this wall of faux event posters by artist duo Kahn and Selesnick. Known for photographing outlandish scenarios, their imagination runs riot in this jam-packed show. (At Chelsea’s Yancey Richardson Gallery through July 3rd).
Kahn & Selesnick, installation view of ‘Truppe Fledermaus & the Carnival at the end of the World,’ Flashe and tempura paint on canvas and on paper, printed posters.
A mirror buried in a tangle of orange-blossomed plants turns this lush landscape by Arkansas-based artist and musician Stephanie Pierce into an enigmatic self-portrait. (At Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects on the Lower East Side through June 29th).
Stephanie Pierce, Cosmos, oil on canvas, 2013.
When Alabama-based artist Pinky M M Bass’s sister was suffering from cancer, the artist started stitching internal organs on photos as a means of processing what was going on insider her sister’s body. Here, foods hover around the shoulders of this figure, waiting to make their way into the digestive tract. (On view at Chelsea’s Robert Mann Gallery through August 15th.)
Pinky MM Bass, Contemplating My Internal Organs, 1999-2006, embroidery on gelatin silver print, with platinum hanging hardware and Plexiglas.
Shredded and twisted fabric create the bark on a 60-foot tall tree by renowned street artist Swoon that fills the Brooklyn Museum’s fifth floor rotunda. The tree anchors a stunning installation that features huge portraits of the artist’s friends and family along with rag-tag boats that once plied the waters in New York and Venice. (On view through August 24th).
Swoon, installation view of ‘Submerged Motherlands,’ at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, April – August, 2014.
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photographs of natural history dioramas – ongoing since the 70s – challenge viewers to find the line between real and represented. They also point out how the museum’s role in displaying these animals has changed in the face of habitat loss and endangerment. (On view at Pace Gallery through June 28th).
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Polar Bear, gelatin silver print, 47 x 58 3/4”, 1976.
Iconic ceramic artist Ken Price launched this series of monumental bronze composite sculptures late in his life, bringing a career of innovation to a close with suggestive, almost glowing forms. (At Chelsea’s Matthew Marks Gallery through June 28th).
Ken Price, installation view of ‘Large Sculptures’ at Matthew Marks Gallery, in the foreground: ‘Ceejay,’ painted bronze composite, 48 x 48 3/8 x 46 inches, 2011.
Dancer and visual artist Tony Orrico spent eight hours at PPOW Gallery in Chelsea creating this minimal work on paper – a record of his physical interaction with a vast sheet of paper made by chewing on each fold to leave a personal imprint on his material. (Through June 28th).
Tony Orrico, prepare the plane (P.P.O.W., New York, NY) 2014/2012, dental occlusion on archival bright white Neenah paper, 8:15:22 hours, 96 x 96 inches.
Bizarre scenarios like this exchange of processed meat in young Canadian photographer Elaine Stocki’s hand-colored silver gelatin prints make for captivating and strange images that run the gamut from obviously staged to apparently documentary. (At Chelsea’s Thomas Erben Gallery through June 28th).
Elaine Stocki, Meat Meet, hand-tinted silver gelatin print, 29.5 x 37.75 inches, 2013.
David Scanavino’s vibrantly colored institutional floor tiles, Michael DeLucia’s tire images, carved out of MDF by a computer-controlled router, and David Kennedy Cutler’s elongated arm, created with pictures of a real hand, bring together images generated in the computer and realized in three dimensions. (At Chelsea’s Derek Eller Gallery through June 28th).
David Kennedy Cutler, Michael DeLucia, David Scanavino, To Be Titled, plywood and high pressure laminate, injet on cotton sateen and aluminum, tree branch, wood, spray paint, permalac, VCT tile, floor wax, MDF, glue, 2014.
Tara Donovan does it again with two new sculptures at Chelsea’s Pace Gallery created in her signature style – multiplying an everyday object by millions to create a wondrous installation. Here, index cards suggest fairy chimneys or termite mounds to astonishing effect. (Through June 28th).
Tara Donovan, Untitled, styrene index cards, metal, wood, paint and glue, 12’ 5 1/2” x 22’ 4” x 22’ 11 1/2”, 2014.
Brooklyn-based artist Jayson Musson’s tongue-in-cheek recreation of ‘modern’ art from the comic strip Nancy for his show at Salon94 on the Lower East Side is perfectly timed to recent market interest in abstract painting. Playfully forcing the question of how we create value in art, the show amuses and provokes in equal measure. (Through June 20th).
Jayson Musson, installation view of ‘Exhibit of Abstract Art,’ Salon94 Bowery, May 2014.
Constructed from saddles and harnesses given to her by major Ab Exp sculptor David Smith, this striking assemblage by Nancy Grossman from 1965 suggests militaristic aggression and violence enacted on an individual’s body. (At Michael Rosenfeld Gallery through July 3rd.)
Nancy Grossman, For David Smith, mixed media assemblage on canvas mounted on plywood, 85 x 85 x 6 ¾ inches, 1965.
San Francisco-based abstract sculptor Vincent Fecteau’s untitled, wall-mounted clay sculpture resembles a super-sized, wadded up piece of paper at first glance; delicate green coloring, eye-grabbing negative space in the folds and a mysterious bar-like shape at the top encourage further looking, however. (At Matthew Marks Gallery through June 28th).
Vincent Fecteau, Untitled, resin clay, acrylic paint, 26 x 28 x 8 inches, 2014.
Korean artist Lee Bul’s ‘Via Negativa II’ appears to hover mirage-like above the gallery floor, a perfect intro to the disorienting experience of walking through Bul’s mirrored maze to an inner sanctum of lights that appears to extend into infinity. (At Lehmann Maupin Gallery‘s Lower East Side location through June 21st).
Lee Bul, installation view of Via Negativa II, polycarbonate sheet, aluminum frame, acrylic and polycarbonate mirrors, steel, stainless-steel, mirror, two way mirror, LED lighting, silkscreen ink, 275 x 500 x 700cm, 2014.
Many younger artists will cite the influence of Duane Hanson’s super realist sculptures, but it’s rare to see one in New York. It was a treat and a surprise to recently spot this life-like ‘Man with Handtruck’ in George Adams Gallery’s project room. (In Chelsea through June 14th).
Duane Hanson, Man with Handtruck, polyester and fiberglass, oil, mixed media, 66 x 30 x 41 inches, 1975.
Based on an 18th century print of Paris society at a Salon exhibition, Chicago-based Jose Lerma’s huge painting (seen here in detail), features a sardine-packed assortment of onlookers whose doubled features suggests a jittery, half-mad art audience. (At Chelsea’s Andrea Rosen Gallery through June 14th).
Jose Lerma, Parterre, acrylic on canvas, 108 x 192 inches, 2013-14.
Examples from Dutch designer Joris Laarman’s ‘Maker’ series, on display at Chelsea’s Friedman Benda Gallery, demonstrate the possibilities this celebrated young designer explores using digital fabrication. Here, resin and walnut undergo an attractive merger. (Through June 14th).
Joris Laarman, Maker Chair (Diagonal), resin and walnut, 31.5 x 23.62 x 25.59 inches, 2014.
London-based Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum is known for sculptures that question the sanctity and safety of home; here, it’s the visitor who must beware of a prickly welcome. (Spotted in Alexander and Bonin Gallery’s third floor viewing space, Chelsea).
Mona Hatoum, Doormat, stainless steel and nickel-plated pins, glue and canvas, 1 x 28 x 16 inches, 1996.
Just inside the front door of Chelsea’s Andrea Rosen Gallery, the drip from an air conditioner hits a hotplate, creating a arresting sound that sets the tone for a show full of magical occurrences and mysterious processes…(Through June 14th).
Mika Rottenberg, installation view of Tsss Tsss Tsss, air conditioner, plant, hotplate, frying pan, water, 2014.
Elaborate patterns made from stretched monofilament are the highlight of British artist Robert Currie’s New York solo debut at Chelsea’s Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery. Seeming to shift as visitors move, they embody an unexpected dynamism and astound at their intricate construction. (Through June 14th.)
Robert Currie, (detail view of) 40, 031 inches of black, red and yellow nylon monofilament, nylon monofilament, 27 1/8 x 51 ¼ x 11 inches, 2014.
Walton Ford is back at Chelsea’s Paul Kasmin Gallery with more of his signature large watercolors focusing on the fraught relationship throughout history between man and animal. Here, he recalls a medieval tale of a retreating poacher who scattered reflective balls to confuse a tigress. (Through June 21st).
Walton Ford, The Tigress, watercolor and gouache on paper, 60 x 120 inches, 2013.
Picassoid nudes brawl on the sidewalk while two Renaissance angels airlift a Henry Moore nude to safety in Canadian artist Kent Monkman’s hilarious contemporizing of iconic art historical types. (At Sargent’s Daughters on the Lower East Side through June 8th).
Kent Monkman, ‘Le Petit dejeuner sur l’herbe,’ acrylic on canvas, 2014.
A pile of stock certificates slung on the gallery floor and a fake-aged panel emblazoned with logos by New York artist Mark Flood at Zach Feuer Gallery cynically (or efficiently?) offers collectors straightforward value, cutting out actual art objects as a middle man. (Through June 14th).
Mark Flood, installation view of ‘Mark Flood: Available NASDAQ Symbol’ at Zach Feuer Gallery, May 2014.
Brooklyn artist Blane De St Croix’s trips to the Arctic Circle have resulted in this huge (24 foot long) sculpture titled after the run-off of a melting glacier. It brings to mind a fossilized sea creature or a ship’s hull, turning a still-familiar form into a relic. (At Chelsea’s Fredericks Freiser Gallery through June 14th).
Blane De St. Croix, Dead Ice, mixed media, aqua resin, eco expoxy and recycled material, 288 x 132 x 84 inches, 2014.
Under a stunning sunrise, time runs out, nature takes its course and a masked figure keeps up appearances in this attractively simple yet hard-to-interpret painting by Brooklyn artist Jaya Howey. How it all fits together seems to be less important than noting how it’s all happening at once. (At Bureau on the Lower East Side through June 15th).
Jaya Howey, Opening Narrative with Frame Work 3, oil and acrylic on canvas, ceramic, epoxy, 119 x 94cm, 2014.
Keith Haring turned his signature energetic designs into a calligraphic abstraction in this untitled painting on a tarp (seen as a detail) from 1985, now on view at Barbara Gladstone Gallery. (In Chelsea through June 14th).
Keith Haring, detail of ‘Untitled,’ 60 x 60 inches, acrylic on muslin, 1985.
Beijing-based artist Jiang Pengyi suggests a dystopian quality to China’s rapid urban development with his ‘Unregistered City’ series now at Chelsea’s Klein Sun Gallery. Here, skyscrapers scaled down to toy-size are surrounded by dust and debris in an old, industrial-looking setting that suggests a bleak bigger picture. (Through June 21st).
Jiang Pengyi, Unregistered City No. 1, archival pigment print on cotton rag paper, 59 x 82 ¼ inches, 2008.
If you’re an artist who thinks your work might be improved by being destroyed, you might want to talk to New York based artist Lucas Ajemian. Ajemian has created this work – reminiscent of a reclining figure in a weathered fresco from a Roman villa – and the others in his latest solo show at Marlborough Gallery’s Lower East Side location by treating, then machine washing other artists’ paintings. (Through June 8th).
Lucas Ajemian, Laundered Painting (20 x 16) I, painting on canvas, 2014.
Though toppled, David Opdyke’s utility pole appears to be sprouting new growth, suggesting that man-made inventions can have a life of their own, or that (even old) technology is an unstoppable force. (At Magnan Metz Gallery through May 31st.)
David Opdyke, Secondary Growth Line Extension, reclaimed NJCP&L utility pole, Styrofoam, steel, resin, paint, glass insulator caps, 91 x 92 x 60 inches, 2014.
As part of her latest solo show titled ‘Divorce,’ New York artist Anicka Yi has installed two driers in the gallery. Open the doors, and a diffuser sprays a strong scent of fried foods blended with other odors to convey the repulsion of a foreign yet familiar smell left behind. (At 47 Canal through June 8th).
Anicka Yi, Washing Away of Wrongs, 2 stainless steel dryer doors, 2 fragrances, diffusers, plexiglass, 120 x 131 x 26.5 inches, 2014.
Moscow-born, NYC-based painter Sanya Kantarovsky’s latest paintings at Chelsea’s Casey Kaplan Gallery explore awkward and absurd relationships. This twisted dupe appears to be horrified as he willingly bends over to have his hand crushed by a green-booted figure. (Through June 21st).
Sanya Kantarovsky, L’appetit, oil, watercolor, pastel, oilstick on canvas, 47” x 35,” 2014.
Sam Moyer, known for working her canvases over with ink and bleach, pairs up weathered cloth (on top) with slabs of marble (below), making a knowing comparison between her own process art and nature’s rather slower processes. (At Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 8th).
Sam Moyer, Zola, stone, ink on canvas mounted to mdf panel, 80 x 69 x .75 inches, 2014.
Netherlands and Benin-based artist Meschac Gaba’s first solo show in the US includes these gaming tables, handmade in Benin, that allow visitors to take geopolitics into their own hands…at least as represented by foosball. (At Chelsea’s Tanya Bonakdar Gallery through June 7th).
Meschac Gaba, installation view at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (upstairs), May 2014.
French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster has long included clothing in her conceptual artworks; for her first show at Chelsea’s 303 Gallery, she displays items from her own wardrobe along with other ephemera (here, her drawing from 1981) as autobiography. (Through May 31st).
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, detail of the installation ‘euqinimod & costumes’ at 303 Gallery, May 2014.
Known for artwork inspired by and interacting with architecture, Brazilian artist Carlito Carvalhosa fills two rooms of Chelsea’s Sonnabend Gallery with an installation of fluorescent lights, telephone poles and glassware that suggests a field of ungainly plants or delicately balanced, deconstructed architecture.
Carlito Carvalhosa, Possibility Matters, Poles, glasses, fluorescent lights, dimensions variable, 2014.
Quasi-familiar characters from art history, made repulsive by acrid colors with Fauve-like contrasts create uneasy new paintings at Gagosian Gallery by British artist Glenn Brown. Here, an unknown gentleman’s jaundiced, spotchy skin and cloudy eyes signal moral or physical disease. (At Gagosian’s 21st Street location through June 21st).
Glenn Brown, Reproduction, oil on panel, 53 1/8 x 39 ¾ inches, 2014.
Would you be willing to promise that you’ll always do what you say you’re going to do? How about signing a contract to that effect? At three stations in conceptual artist Adrian Piper’s latest solo show at Elizabeth Dee Gallery in Chelsea, the artist asks visitors to do just that. Here, you can agree to ‘always be too expensive to buy.’ (Through May 31st).
Adrian Piper, installation view of ‘The Probable Trust Registry’ at Elizabeth Dee Gallery, May 2014.
LA based artist Ry Rocklen takes self-branding into actual product marketing with a tongue-in-cheek installation of the clothing in his wardrobe, cast in porcelain or copper plated. A graffiti-covered door is also preserved for the ages with copper, silver and gold leaf infill turning the banal into the beautiful. (At Untitled Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 15th).
Ry Rocklen, installation view at Untitled, foreground: To be Titled (Tagged Door), wood door, hardware, copper leaf, silver leaf and gold leaf, 2014. Shoes: copper plating, 2013-14. Wall: Porcelain casts of clothing, 2008-14.
Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen’s ‘Soft Harp’ is a standout in Paula Cooper Gallery’s current exhibition of music-themed visual art. Despite being hung out as if on a wash line or strung across a flagpole, the instrument retains its elegance and beauty. (In Chelsea through May 31st).
Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen, Soft Harp, Scale C, Harp Sail, wood, steel, aluminum, clothesline, feathers, latext paint, 1992.
David Zwirner Gallery revisits the 1980s in ‘No Problem,’ a group show that tracks the mutual influence of the Cologne and New York art scenes during this era. It includes Jenny Holzer’s inflammatory essays – in-your-face rants once plastered around New York and included in a show at Monika Spruth Galerie in Cologne in 1985. (In Chelsea through June 14th).
Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays, 1979-1982, offset posters on colored paper, 17 x 17 inches (each).
Just when he thinks he’s had enough of painting trees, Benjamin Butler – a Brooklynite transplanted to Vienna – finds a fresh approach to take or problem to solve as with ‘Green Forest,’ for which the merest suggestion of branches turns a pattern of stripes into a dense copse of trees. (At Klaus von Nichtssagend on the Lower East Side through June 8th).
Benjamin Butler, Green Forest, oil on linen, 23.6 x 19.7 inches 2013.
Named Hephaestus, after the god of fire and blacksmiths, this towering, skeletal sculpture by LA artist Matthew Monahan suggests that its power lies not in massive proportions but the ability to assemble an arresting totem from scrap. (At Anton Kern Gallery through June 28th).
Matthew Monahan, Hephaestus, patinated bronze, stainless steel, patinated rebar, 144 1/8 x 114 ¼ x 82 ¾ inches, 2013.
This 164-foot scroll by Vietnam-based artist Dinh Q Le depicts just one image – the immolation of a Buddhist monk in Saigon in 1963. Stretched out to great length, the scroll seems to add duration to the still photograph while connecting that event to current acts of extreme political protest. (At Chelsea’s PPOW Gallery through May 24th).
Dinh Q Le, The Scroll of Thich Quang Duc, 150 foot c-print scroll and gold lacquer box, 2013.
Shot in an architectural water feature in a Fort Worth park and displayed in Monya Rowe Gallery’s cramped, dusty basement, NJ-based artist Joe Pflieger’s abstract photo finds a perfectly atmospheric setting to evoke an aged, neglected monument. (On the Lower East Side through May 18th).
Joe Pflieger, Luxor, photo tex mounted on aluminum, 48 x 32 inches, 2014.
Exiled from Beirut and living in San Francisco and Paris, octogenarian artist Etal Adnan has devoted many paintings, including this soothing view, to consideration of Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais as it is constantly transformed by weather and light conditions. (At Callicoon Fine Arts on the Lower East Side through May 23rd).
Etel Adnan, Untitled, oil on canvas, 8 x 10 inches, 2012.
Brooklyn collage artist Fred Tomaselli’s first New York solo show since 2006 dazzles with images like this bird vs serpent standoff, set in a fiery swirl of red and orange under an improbably colorful night sky. The show also features New York Times front covers with photos altered to equally hallucinogenic effect. (At Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery through June 14th).
Fred Tomaselli, Penetrators (Large), photo-collage, acrylic, resin on wood panel, 72 x 72 inches, 2012.
Drawing on funeral books featuring deceased forebears demonstrating their social status through their dress, Thai artist Jakkai Siributr deocrates civil service and military uniforms with a super abundance of awards that also point to animism and Buddhism as cultural touchstones. (At Chelsea’s Tyler Rollins Fine Art through May 31st).
Jakkai Siributr, C-10, military uniform, embellished with objects, 22 x 17 x 8 inches, 2014.
If making abundant free chocolate to give to gallery visitors seems like a blatant ploy to get people talking about your artwork, you’d be reading Oscar Murillo’s latest show at Chelsea’s David Zwirner Gallery correctly. The young, London-based Columbian artist intends visitors to his candy factory – operated by visiting Columbian staffers – to take some to share, spreading the conversation about migration and commerce. (Through June 14th).
Oscar Murillo, installation view of ‘A Merchantile Novel’ at David Zwirner Gallery, April 2014.
