Known for meticulously hand-making sculptures inspired by his childhood drawings, German artist Martin Honert’s ‘Gang’ from 2002 accompanies new work at Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea. Do the cheeky boys with the shifty eyes exist just in the bigger boy’s imagination? Or is that bike really in danger of disappearing? (At Matthew Marks’ 502 West 22nd Street space through Oct 26th).
Martin Honert, Bande/Gang, steel, polyester and paint, 2002.
In a 200 year throw-back to the days when parts of Chelsea were Clement Clarke Moore’s apple orchard, Paul Kasmin Gallery has partnered with collector and real estate developer Michael Shvo to create an agrarian landscape on the recently closed Getty gas station on the corner of 24th Street and 10th Ave. Before the site is turned into a luxury condo, it will be populated by sheep sculpture by the late French artist Francois-Xavier Lalanne, making for one of the most head-turning exhibitions in Chelsea at the moment. (Through Oct 20th).
In the mid-80s, photographer Robert Polidori started photographing the palace of Versailles, focusing not on its opulence but on the realities presented by over 300 years of wear and tear. The story is told in the details, as in images like these details of well-used doorways, blown up into gorgeous, light suffused prints. (At Mary Boone Gallery, Chelsea through Oct 26th).
Robert Polidori, Door Detail, Attique du Midi, Versailles & Door Detail, Galerie Basse, Versailles, c-print, 2005/2013.
Brooklyn-based artist Derrick Adams’ grid of glittery men’s shirts and ties looks fabulous and conformist at the same time, recalling Fred Wilson’s early 90s guard uniforms that pointed out how uniformity leads to anonymity. A trophy-like chalice placed just out of reach on top of this wall-mounted sculpture seems to offer a lofty reward for someone who’ll step out from the crowd. (At Louis B. James on the Lower East Side, through Oct 19th).
Derrick Adams, He Him, They, Them, tempera, painted faux brick paneling, glitter, textured spray, 2008.
San Francisco-based artist Andrew Schoultz alters Morgan Lehman’s white cube gallery by papering the walls with sections replicating building bricks. It’s the perfect backdrop for pieces that picture natural and man-made disasters, including this acrylic and collage image of a tornado demolishing a red brick building. (At Chelsea’s Morgan Lehman Gallery through October 12th).
Andrew Schoultz, Tornado (Up in the Air), acrylic, collage, graphite, and string on wooden panel, 2013.