Titled ‘Morning Glory,’ this installation of hand-cast acrylic light sculptures by visual artist and landscape designer Paula Hayes is devoid of actual plant life (vs the terrariums and gardens for which Hayes is known) but trapeze-like hangers cleverly suggest fast-growing vines. (At Salon94 Bowery through March 21st).
Paula Hayes, installation view of ‘Morning Glory,’ at Salon94 Bowery, Feb 2015.
Isamu Noguchi’s red ‘Octetra’ sculpture from 1968 is a standout for color alone in Pace Gallery’s current exhibition of the 20th century modernist’s sculpture. Designed for a playground, it was inspired by Noguchi’s regard for his friend Buckminster Fuller’s notion of the tetrahedron as the primary building block of nature. (At Pace Gallery’s 508-510 West 25th Street location through March 21st).
Isamu Noguchi, Octetra, cement, paint, 8’ 7 ½ inches x 9’ 10” x 8’ 7,” 1968.
When a New York Times critic praised 18th century Spanish painter Luis Melendez’s intensely realist still life paintings at the National Gallery of Art in ’09, he was captivated by Melendez’s stunning ‘near-photographic verisimilitude.’ In her photographic homage to Melendez, New York photographer Paulette Tavormina closes the gap between painting and photo with assemblages of fruit, vegetables, meats and various kitchen items that extoll the beauty not only of Melendez’s work but of the bounty of the natural world. (At Robert Mann Gallery through March 21st).
Paulette Tavormina, Still Life with Jamon Iberico, after L. M., archival pigment print, 26 x 48 inches, 2014.
More than many vehicles, pick-up trucks seem loaded with sentimental value. Alone in Matthew Marks Gallery’s large 24th Street gallery, this machine-carved, solid stainless steel replica of a baled truck by Charles Ray feels like a monument to a memory. Ray’s exacting sculptural process – involving model making and scanning – took six years, giving the sculpture even more import. (Through April 18th).
Charles Ray, Baled Truck, solid stainless steel, 33 x 50 x 118 inches, 2014.
Referred to as ‘pressed flower’ sculptures, several crushed Fiat 500s are a colorful draw in designer Ron Arad’s first solo show at Paul Kasmin Gallery’s West 27th Street gallery, along with his gridded 3D car in the foreground. Fascinated by flattened objects (he has a collection which includes toys and soda cans), Arad likens the cars to action painting in sculptural form. (Through March 14th).
Ron Arad, installation view of ‘In Reverse’ at Paul Kasmin Gallery, Feb 2015.