British artist Alexandre Singh’s theatrical performance ‘The Humans’ – an elaborate tale of creation, then divine meddling in human fate – was called ‘one of the outstanding achievements’ of the Performa 13 performance art biennial this November. Metro Pictures in Chelsea gives us a close-up on the eccentric characters in the play with busts including Singh’s ‘Wife’ character. (At Metro Pictures through December 7th).
Alexandre Singh, Wife, bronze, 2013.
Yayoi Kusama’s star is still shining in New York, where her Whitney Museum show in 2012 attracted throngs, and now an exhibition including two more trademark ‘infinity rooms’ is drawing thousands of visitors a day to Chelsea’s David Zwirner Gallery. In this room, mirrors, low lights and polka-dotted tentacles coming from floor and ceiling create a hallucinatory effect. (Through Dec 21st).
Yayoi Kusama, Love is Calling, wood, metal, glass mirrors, tile, acrylic panel, rubber, blowers, lighting element, speakers, and sound, 2013.
For Brooklyn-based artist Eileen Quinlan, photography is not about passive recording. In a series of 24 images pinned directly to the wall, she degrades the surface of her negatives by both allowing the developing process to go awry and scratching with steel wool to create abstractions that emphasize the medium as a process. (At Miguel Abreu Gallery on the Lower East Side through Dec 8th).
Eileen Quinlan, installation view of ‘Curtains’ at Miguel Abreu Gallery, Nov 2013.
Circular forms – a seemingly simple conceptual starting point with endless variations – dominate Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco’s latest solo show at Marian Goodman Gallery. The most compelling are these river cobblestones, sold roadside in Mexico as a building material, but here carved with abstract patterns to conjure tactile ancient artifacts. (On 57th Street through Dec 21st).
Gabriel Orozco, (foreground) Untitled, carved river cobblestone from the Guerrero coast, Mexico, 2013.
In this conceptual artwork from 1990, New York artist Elaine Reichek pairs a source photo of a Native American teepee with her own knitted version of it, picturing a marginalized culture with a marginalized craft. Does the homey feel of knitted objects connect with the feelings conjured by this home? Reichek’s unassuming objects ask complicated questions. (At Zach Feuer Gallery through Dec 21st).
Elaine Reichek, Painted Blackfoot, knitted wool yarn and oil on gelatin silver print, 1990.