This ‘Front Door Still Life’ by New York painter Hope Gangloff updates the still life genre with invigorating blasts of color. A timepiece and flowers nod to traditional Dutch still life reminders of the brevity of life while keys and a canister of Chinese tea speak of going places and a Reagan stamp on one piece of mail references the politics of the day. (At Chelsea’s Susan Inglett Gallery through April 22nd).
Sascha Braunig’s surreal image suggests a mannequin coming to life and questioning its captivity to an unseen source on the back left. Thin grey sheets standing in for arms seem to occupy another dimension, offering the hopeful possibility that this mildly struggling figure will slip away by unexpected means. (At Foxy Production on the Lower East Side through April 2nd).
Some buttons are photographed, some are real; the fun is picking out which is which. For his recent body of work, Brazilian photographer Vik Muniz creates such skilled illusions that what might be a gimmick in the hands of others instead prompts real pleasure in physically interacting with artwork up close and in person. (At Chelsea’s Sikkema Jenkins & Co. through April 1st).
150 drawings of writers, artists, intellectuals and cultural leaders by Mexico City-based artist Pedro Reyes fill the expansive walls of Lisson Gallery’s 24th Street location. These and large stone sculptures carved from Mexican volcanic stone are art as ‘sanctuary,’ explained Reyes in a recent interview, adding, “…These are the things we are fighting for.” (On view through April 15th).
Daily for the past twenty years, New York artist Yuji Agematsu has walked the city streets collecting refuse and reforming it into artful accumulations and arrangements. Here, he has allowed lollipops to melt and deteriorate before arresting them in precise moments of decay that still recall the joy of a freshly unwrapped piece of candy while fast forwarding to the end of that pleasure. (At Miguel Abreu Gallery through April 2nd).
