Category: Hottest Show

Gary Simmons at Metro Pictures Gallery

LA based artist Gary Simmons has returned to the subject of racist American pop culture imagery in a striking group of new paintings at the newly reopened Metro Pictures Gallery.  Here, in ‘Screaming into the Ether,’ 1920s & 30s Looney Tunes character Bosko loses his characteristic portly belly as he releases a full-bodied cry that dominates the gallery in this eight foot-tall canvas.  Partially erased by Simmons’ hand the figure nevertheless exerts a powerful presence.  (Open by appointment in Chelsea through Sept 19th).

Gary Simmons, Screaming Into The Ether, oil and cold wax on canvas, 96 ¼ x 72 ¼ inches, 2020.

Andrea Bowers in ‘Ecofeminism(s)’ at Thomas Erben Gallery

‘Ecofeminism(s)’ at Thomas Erben Gallery, curated by Monika Fabijanska, is not only one of the first but one of the best shows recently opened to the public.  Featuring iconic projects like Helene Aylon’s ‘Earth Ambulance,’ for which she transformed a truck into an ambulance for earth picked up at military bases, mines and nuclear reactors, and Cecilia Vicuna’s delicate assemblages of natural objects that convey fragility and connectedness, the exhibition presents important projects from the 70s and 80s alongside more recent work.  Here, Andrea Bowers extends the continuum to the present and adds a note of urgency by flashing the word ‘real’ on and off in this neon sign. (On view in Chelsea through July.  No appointment is necessary but visitors numbers are limited and masks are required.

Andrea Bowers, Climate Change is Real (Multiple), neon, MDO, paint, 20 ¾ x 57 inches, ed of 3 with 2 Aps, 2017.

 

Loie Hollowell at pacegallery.com

Loie Hollowell’s abstracted portraits made during and after her first pregnancy inspired the curving organic forms showcased in her Fall ’19 show at Pace Gallery and pictured here.  Recent drawings now on view in an on-line show at pacegallery.com “…convey the uneven roundness of my body,” explains the artist.  Created around the time of her recent second pregnancy during quarantine this spring, the new work follows the changes of her morphing body and the bond between infant and mother.  (On view through July 14th).

Loie Hollowell, Postpartum Plumb Line, oil paint, acrylic medium, sawdust and high density foam on linen mounted on panel, 72 x 54 x 3.5 inches, 2019.

Leidy Churchman at Matthew Marks Gallery

The “…in-between between everything” is New York-based painter Leidy Churchman’s focus in paintings once again on view at Chelsea’s reopened Matthew Marks Gallery.  Developed from Churchman’s own spiritual study and their concept of trans experience as inbetweenness, the new work features images that invite multiple interpretation, as in ‘Karma Kagyu & Essex Street,’ a vibrantly colored temple scene made transcendent by a screen of dots resembling snow or flashing light.  (On view through July 31st).

Leidy Churchman, Karma Kagyu & Essex Street (Yellow Studio)(Devotion), oil on linen, 79 x 102 inches, 2020.

Omar Rodriguez-Graham at Marc Straus Gallery

Shape and color appear to explode from Omar Rodriguez-Graham’s paintings, once again on view at newly reopened Marc Straus Gallery on the Lower East Side.  Based on Renaissance or Baroque paintings by artists from Tiepolo to Ricci which the artist turns into digital abstract compositions then paints on canvas attached to shaped supports, the artist marries historical work with a distinctly contemporary sense of energy and movement.  (On view through July 31st).

Omar Rodriguez-Graham, La Anciana de las 3 Navajas, oil and acrylic on linen mounted on panel, 78.7 x 72.8 inches, 2020.