Discover Chelsea’s newest gallery and more this Saturday (11am – 1pm) on Merrily’s first group gallery tour of the year! Iconic European artist Dieter Roth merged art and life to the point of exhibiting impressive chunks of his studio floor that bear the traces of decades of art making. Email merrily to reserve your spot: merrily@newyorkarttours.com. (If you’ve toured with Merrily before, take 25% off your ticket price!)
‘Nets’ by young, Maine-based painter Sascha Braunig blurs the boundaries between her subject and his/her background, begging the question of where this individual’s boundaries lie. Is (s)he real or virtual? What effects have applied? And where might we meet such a person? (At Chelsea’s Foxy Production, through Feb 9th).
German-Swiss-Icelandic artist Dieter Roth (1930 – 1998) used natural materials like chocolate, cheese, bananas, sausages and rabbit dung to make sculptures and images that would blossom with new life as they aged. Here, assistants create chocolate casts of Roth’s famous chocolate or sugar self-portrait busts, as seen on the pallet. (At Chelsea’s Hauser & Wirth through April 13th).
Boasting ‘one of the largest column-free spaces for exhibiting art in the city,’ Hauser & Wirth’s spectacular new Chelsea location even has an impressive entrance. Work no. 1461 by British conceptual art titan Martin Creed is a permanent installation consisting of 2-inch wide adhesive tapes whose vivid colors lend visitors the energy to climb the stairs. Check back tomorrow for a peek upstairs.
In the late 60s, when the avant-garde sidelined painting for Minimalism, Performance and Conceptual art, Daniel Buren forged ahead with ‘painting’ that jettisoned aesthetic concerns. He hit on a formula that he’s used ever since, using vertical stripes 8.7cm in width in site specific installations that force reconsideration of their space. Petzel’s new 18th Street gallery space has barely had time to be considered (this is only the 2nd show there), but Buren’s work has never looked more attractive.