Gerald Lovell’s grandmother’s photo albums were a key inspiration in the young Atlanta painter’s motivation to create portraits of family and friends. Calling such source photos of family and person history ‘saving moments,’ Lovell sets out to make depoliticized, ‘honest depictions of the people I’m around.’ (On view at PPOW Gallery’s new Tribeca location through Feb 20th. Masks and social distancing are required).
A giant yellow emoji pillow greets visitors to Misaki Kawai’s latest show at The Hole on the Bowery, signaling that the artist’s sense of humor is still lively. Her bright, fun, faux-naïve style comes across in text paintings and furry sculptures that invite touch (a sign on the wall and a dispenser of hand sanitizer confirm that this is allowed). Citing the notion of ‘heta-uma,’ or ‘bad but good,’ Kawai challenges notions of taste, but all in good fun. (On view through Feb 14th. Masks and social distancing are required.)
Twelve untitled light sculptures from 1995 by Dan Flavin transform the white cube into a bath of color at David Zwirner Gallery’s 19th Street Chelsea location. Spaced along two walls, the color configurations change with each sculpture, inviting visitors who walk from piece to piece to reconcile cool and soothing blues and greens with intense reds and yellows. (On view through Feb 20th. Masks and social distancing are required.)
A young Iranian art student captures and analyses the dreams of various American subjects in Shirin Neshat’s two channel film and photography exhibition ‘Land of Dreams,’ encouraging viewers to ponder the stories and psychology of her subjects. Here, an installation of over one hundred photographs pictures New Mexico residents along with personal info – names and birthdates – written in Farsi and drawings relating to their dreams. (On view at Gladstone Gallery through Feb 27th).
Joy arises from moments of hope in photos of Harlem rallies shot by Gordon Parks in 1963, now on view at Jack Shainman Gallery. Elsewhere, a protester’s sign reading ‘Policy brutality must go’ connects powerfully to today’s protests while iconic images from Parks’ series Segregation Story document the lives of Alabama families impacted by discrimination. (On view at Jack Shainman Gallery’s two Chelsea locations through Feb 20th).
