Visitors expecting more of Christian Marclay’s enormously popular video work will get a shock from his latest solo show – a selection of paintings in which silkscreened, Roy Lichtenstein-like cartoon text meets Abstract Expressionist splashes of color. (At Paula Cooper Gallery through Jan 18th. Check website for holiday season opening hours.)
Christian Marclay, Actions: Whaak Plop Plooch Sooosh (No 4), screenprint and acrylic on canvas, 2013.
Low lighting, almost black paintings, homemade lava lamps and furniture made of pretzel shapes give New York artist Catharine Ahearn’s solo show at Ramiken Crucible the feeling of a cartoonish robbers’ den in Bavaria. For sheer inventiveness, it’s a standout on the Lower East Side gallery scene. (Through Dec 22nd).
Catharine Ahearn, Couch, rebar, aquaresin, acrylic, salt, 2013; and Lamp, rebar, aquaresin, acrylic, salt, 2013.
In her latest show at LES gallery Reena Spaulings, Brooklyn-based artist K8 Hardy moves away from her signature subversive fashion photos toward sculpture made from found and scavenged materials. Her sense of fun remains, however, as seen with this intentionally (?) narcissistic mirror and a twerking stick figure. (Through Dec 22nd).
K8 Hardy, Twerk Team (foreground sculpture), wood liquid latex, acrylic paint, plastic tubing, synthetic fabric and (against wall) Kate, tinted glass mirror, 2013.
Brooklyn and Austin-based artist Jeff Williams both makes and unmakes his sculpture, applying muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide to decay the steel slats of this cutting board, sourced from an artist residency at Skowhegan. In the background, a giant steel clamp pinches wooden beams in a crushing embrace. (At Jack Hanley Gallery through Dec 21st).
Jeff Williams, installation view of NEW/USED/WET/BROKEN at Jack Hanley Gallery, November 2013.
Technology makes Shinichi Maruyama’s ‘Nudes’ series modest; by layering thousands of frames together, the New York-based Japanese photographer diverts attention from the body to the motion of a dancer. (At Bruce Silverstein Gallery through Dec 21st).
Shinichi Maruyama, Nude #8, archival pigment print, 2012.