Irish artist Genieve Figgis reaches back into history for characters to populate her paintings of cultured pastimes and leisure pursuits, but she seems to only partly resuscitate her ghoulish figures. Here, an 18th century social gathering includes crazed and casual guests. (At Half Gallery on the Upper East Side through Oct 25th).
Genieve Figgis, A Social Portrait, acrylic on canvas, 39.3 x 23.6 inches, 2014.
Slip on a hospital smock and you can test drive a ‘perfect baby’ model in Rachel Lee Hovnanian’s nursery/showroom at Leila Heller Gallery’s Chelsea location. Hovnanian’s dystopic vision looks ahead to a time when it’s possible to engineer perfect achievers; each baby comes with its own stellar future resume. (Through October 18th).
Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Perfect Baby Showroom, wallpaper, extension cords, baby dolls, metal, acrylic, wood, neon light, foam, cotton fabric, LED lights, cereal, dimensions variable, 2014.
Quoting from literature through the ages, two boys choir members trade insults in sweet, soaring voices as they move around Barbara Gladstone Gallery climbing and sitting on marble slabs. Human emotion, soon-to-change voices and eternal forces of nature are artist duo Allora & Calzadilla’s interests in the performance they’ve orchestrated. (Through October 11th).
Allora & Calzadilla, installation view of the performance ‘Fault Lines’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery, Sept 2014.
Early TV sitcoms, news shows, music videos and more inspired new sculpture and 2-D collage by New York artist Derrick Adams at Jack Tilton Gallery. His ‘Boxhead’ characters, like this girl, are colorful and attention-grabbing ciphers. (On the Upper East Side through October 18th).
Derrick Adams, Boxhead #3, mixed media 23 x 28 x 19 inches, 2014.
In a move bound to irk art-lovers who want to see hands-on art making, British conceptual artist Jonathan Monk riffed on Jeff Koons’ fabricated rabbit sculpture by copying it, slightly deflated in 2009. Now, he’s presenting a remake of that piece, but he worked from photos rather than actual measurements of the original, suggesting a tiny measure of creativity or freedom from exactitude. (At Chelsea’s Casey Kaplan Gallery through October 18th).
Jonathan Monk, A Copy of Deflated Sculpture No. 1, stainless steel, 40.5 x 23 x 15”, 2014.