Alison Elizabeth Taylor at James Cohan Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

A tiny, sideways glance from a woman playing the slots in Vegas red flags an internal conflict in Alison Elizabeth Taylor’s absorbing mixed media image at James Cohan Gallery. Constructed using marquetry and collaged photos, the materials themselves speak to a nature/culture divide made more acute by the way the outside world is visible through the casino walls and the subject wears animal patterned (and likely synthetic) clothes. (At James Cohan Gallery’s Lower East Side space through Dec 22nd).

Alison Elizabeth Taylor, detail of Sam’s Town, marquetry hybrid, 47 x 59 inches, 2016.

Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

As lines to visit Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms at David Zwirner Gallery stretch around the block, the octogenarian art star’s paintings and flower sculptures are ready to wow the eye without the wait. Both engulf the senses with exuberantly patterned, wildly colorful design. (On view through Dec 16th at David Zwirner Gallery’s 533 West 19th Street location.)

Yayoi Kusama, Installation view of ‘Festival of Life,’ David Zwirner Gallery, 533 West 19th Street, November 2017.

Ellen Harvey at Danese Corey

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Did you capture the perfect eclipse picture as the moon passed in front of the sun in parts of the U.S. last August? For the many whose cameras let them down, Ellen Harvey’s sculpture – a hand-engraved on rear-lit Plexiglas mirror rendition of an iPhone – not only yields a picture of the pivotal moment but also recalls the frustrated efforts of unprepared cell phone photographers last summer. (On view at Danese Corey Gallery in Chelsea through Dec 23rd).

Ellen Harvey, iPhone Eclipse, laser and hand-engraved rear-lit Plexiglas mirror, 6.125 x 3 x .625 inches, 2017.

Shirazeh Houshiary at Lisson Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Clouds of pigment abut clusters of hooked forms – the meeting point of lines which cover each canvas like a net – in Shirazeh Houshiary’s elegant new paintings at Lisson Gallery, suggesting areas of active organization amid nebulous clouds. (On view at Lisson Gallery’s 24th Street space through Dec 22nd).

Shirazeh Houshiary, detail of Rift, pigment and pencil on white Aquacryl on canvas and aluminum.

Jessica Jackson Hutchins at Marianne Boesky Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Features & Commissions, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

Jessica Jackson Hutchins’ work elicits appreciation of the uncharming extraordinary in life. ‘Cushion,’ from the artist’s latest solo show at Marianne Boesky Gallery, is no exception. Two misshapen figures intertwine on a couch cushion, enjoying a moment of tenderness and connection. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 22nd).

Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Cushion, ceramic, cushion, 26 ½ x 32 x 32 inches, 2017.