Artistic collaborators McDermott & McGough isolate a moment of dawning terror on the face of Anne Francis in the Twilight Zone, then make it more jolting by painting it on the face of nine, one-foot square blocks. This marriage of Minimalism and Pop amuses (by resembling a giant Rubik’s cube) while its fractured state unsettles. (At Cheim & Read through Feb 23rd.)
McDermott & McGough, Just a Memory, 1967, 9 wooden cubes, 2012.
This tidy pile of tangerines looks good enough to eat, but beware – they’re plaster sculptures created by Margaret Lee, who has become known for her ultra life-like fruits and veg. Placed next a blue cushion on a wooden table, this minimal, three-dimensional still life offers the visual pleasure of an orderly arrangment. (At Murray Guy, Chelsea through Feb 23rd).
Margaret Lee, Tangerines and Bench, mixed media, 2013.
Constructed of discarded building materials, Song Dong’s ‘Doing Nothing’ mountains mark the replacement of China’s traditional historical obstacles (‘three big mountains’) of imperialism, feudalism and capitalism, by current concerns about education, health care and housing. Neon characters on the wall spelling out ‘doing’ and ‘nothing’ are subtle protests of slow progress. (At Pace Gallery, 534 and 510 West 25th Street through Feb 23rd).
Song Dong, Doing Nothing Mountains, installation view, window, glass, hinge, doorknob, handrail, lock, multi-layer board, socket, wire and paint, 2011-12.
On a trip to Russia, New York photographer Andy Freeberg was struck by the characterful older women who act as museum guards in the country’s major museums. In a fascinating series titled ‘Guardians,’ Freeberg captures the unposed women as their postures and expressions reflect or contrast the surrounding art. (At Andrea Meislin Gallery through March 2nd).
Andy Freeberg, Mikhail Nesterov’s Blessed St Sergius of Radonezh, Russian State Museum, archival pigment print, 2009.
Young New York artist Anna Plesset’s latest solo show at the Lower East Side gallery ‘Untitled,’ is a tour de force of trompe l’oeil illusion, with work that looks photocopied but is actually hand drawn and paintings of flowers made to look like paint flicked photos. But one of the show’s most remarkable paintings is easily missed – this minute self-portrait of the artist in a partly hidden pose. (Through Feb 24th).
Anna Plesset, ‘Self Portrait,’ oil on latex, 2013.
