Saying goodbye must have felt easier in these gorgeous half-mourning dresses from 1902 in the Met’s ‘Death Becomes Her’ show at the Costume Institute. Unlike the black-bedecked Queen Victoria in the background, these ladies look primed to welcome the new. (Through Feb 1st).
Henriette Favre (French), Evening dress, mauve silk tulle, metal foil sequins, 1902. Probably French, Evening dress, black silk tulle, mauve silk chiffon, purple silvered gelatin sequins, 1902.
Slipping into a red dress has adventurous connotations completely suppressed by Cezanne’s portrait series of his wife, Hortense Fiquet, who sat for hours on end as her husband’s patient model. Cezanne’s famous line, ‘Only I understand how to paint a red,’ is put to the test in works that also create psychological intensity by disregarding traditional perspective. (‘Madame Cezanne’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through March 15th).
Paul Cezanne, Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair, oil on canvas, ca 1888-90.
At the beginning of his workday, British-born, Trinidad-based artist Chris Ofili experiments with watercolor and pencil drawings of his ‘Afromuses,’ imagined male and female characters that create a varied repertoire of inspirational characters. Seen here at Ofili’s New Museum exhibition, a selection of over 80 pieces showcases his quirky yet regal characters. (Through Jan 25th).
Chris Ofili, installation view of ‘Afromuses,’ at the New Museum, watercolor and pencil on paper, 1995-2005.
Late sculptor Louise Bourgeois harnessed the discomfort inherent in the idea of hanging for many sculptures over the decades of her long career. Cheim & Read Gallery gathers a stunning selection, including this polished bronze, titled ‘Arch of Hysteria.’ Conferring hysteria on a male figure and distorting the body into an impossibly uncomfortable arch creates odd tensions that give the piece its disarming impact. (In Chelsea through Jan 10th).
Louise Bourgeois, Arch of Hysteria, polished bronze, 33 x 40 x 23 inches, 1993.
Kara Walker’s monumental installation of an eroticized, African-American sphinx last summer at Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Factory was a run-away hit for its sheer size and painful exaggeration of an American stereotype. At Sikkema Jenkins in Chelsea, Walker presents work surrounding the project, including watercolors and the sphinx’s severed hand, preserved for the time being in its defiantly rude gesture. (Through Jan 17th.)
Kara Walker, installation view of Afterword at Sikkema Jenkins, Dec 2014.