The oldest and tallest tree in New York inspired Rachel Owens’ installation ‘Mother,’ for which she visited a Queens park to take casts of a c. 400 year old plant that may pre-date European settlement. Recreated in broken glass cast in resin, Owens marshals the vibrant colors of man-made materials to celebrate a remarkable survivor. (On view at Zieher Smith in Chelsea through April 15th).
This huge clown by Italian designer Gaetano Pesce dominates Salon94’s lively new venture, Salon94 Design, promising good things to come. (On the Lower East Side through April 15th).
A rosebush and clusters of rebar suggest beauty and a nascent building project in Cuban-born artist Enrique Martinez Celaya’s ‘The Brave.’ The text at top reads, ‘…a dream that can keep us asleep all night,’ compounding the surreal quality of this simultaneously barren and lush scenario. (At Jack Shainman Gallery in Chelsea through April 22nd.)
Who she is or what she’s fighting for is unclear in young Munich-based artist Leonard Hurzlmeier’s ‘Rebellion,’ but it’s obvious that the subject is moving forward apace. Hurzlmeier’s bold paintings find fun in full-bodied female figures who engage the world head-on. (At Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side through April 23rd).
Marble moves in surprising directions in UK artist Kevin Francis Gray’s new sculpture, first executed in clay in London and then hand-carved with a team of master sculptors in Italy. Now at Pace Gallery in Chelsea, Gray’s seated nude bears abundant evidence of the artist’s hand and his desire to arrest a state of unfinish, perhaps destruction. (On view at Pace Gallery’s 24th Street address through April 22nd).
