A couple in a rowboat would seem to be tame subject matter for rebellious rocker and prolific writer Billy Childish, but the man’s missing face and this painting’s line-driven style channels provocative Nordic expressionism a la Munch. (At Lehmann Maupin’s Chelesa location through April 20th).
Billy Childish, Rowers (version y)(Oyster Catchers, Thames Estuary 1932), oil and charcoal on linen, 2012.
This gruesome, one-eyed, blue cigarette bedecked creature with perfect teeth could be the patron deity of Bali-based Ashley Bickerton’s portraits of crazed hedonists. At over seven feet high, the sheer profusion of color and ornament – from her bottle cap necklace to paint-smeared coral – is impressive. (At Lehmann Maupin’s Lower East Side location through April 20th)
Ashley Bickerton, White Head I, acrylic, digital print and plastic laminate on wood, 2012.
Isolated on the tarmac, Jamaican airport workers in young Jamaican-American artist Paul Anthony Smith’s paintings occupy a world of their own; though their jackets lend them a kind of authority (traffic cops come to mind), one with a hand to his mouth could either be thoughtful or confused while the younger man exudes relaxed self confidence despite his featureless face. (At Chelsea’s ZieherSmith through April 20th).
Paul Anthony Smith.
There’s something subtly odd about Darren Almond’s recent series of landscape photos, which seem not-so-extraordinary at first glance. The series’ ‘Fullmoon’ title gives the game away, however, revealing that each of the photos in this show has been taken in the light of a full moon. Verdant landscapes and smooth water surfaces are an eye-pleasing surprise, but the ephemeral beauty of these cherry blossoms is a delight. (At Matthew Marks’ 522 West 22nd Street space through April 20th).
Darren Almond, ‘Fullmoon@Sakura Hanami,’ c-print mounted to aluminum in artist’s frame, 2006.
Ordered by his doctors to avoid stress by taking a hiatus from painting, Chinese art superstar Zhang Xiaogang took up bronze casting instead. Pace Gallery presents these stoic young characters who take up Xiaogang’s long meditation on individual vs collective identity. (At Pace Gallery, 508-510 West 25th Street through April 27th).
Zhang Xiaogang, Young Man, painted bronze, 2013.
