Jack Whitten at Hauser & Wirth

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

Pain and promise are embodied in one of the most beautiful and sobering artworks in Hauser & Wirth’s exhibition of late artist Jack Whitten’s paintings from the ‘90s.  A tribute to the children killed in the 1995 mass shooting, ‘Mask III:  For the Children of Dunblane, Scotland’ memorializes lost lives in a blaze of color created with chips of acrylic paint fashioned together in Whitten’s signature collage-like technique.  Honoring the dead and acting as witness, Whitten galvanizes his audience to resist what’s wrong and unify for higher purpose.  (On view through Jan 23rd).

Jack Whitten, Mask III: For the Children of Dunblane, Scotland, acrylic and recycled glass on canvas, 1996.

Barbara Takenaga at DCMoore Gallery

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

Both chance paint pours and deliberate, meticulous mark-making comprise Barbara Takenaga’s otherworldly abstractions at DC Moore Gallery.  New, profuse forms suggest fireworks displays or the wonders of unseen life under a microscope.  This small detail of a larger canvas sets paint swirls against hanging strings of beaded forms, two elements that would seem incompatible but which instead offer unexpected depth and an apparent glimpse into a mysterious world.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 23rd.  Masks and social distancing required).

Barbara Takenaga, (detail of) Pearly, acrylic on linen, 20 x 16 inches, 2020.

Alex Gardner at The Hole NYC

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

With their black skin highlighted blue and featureless faces, Alex Gardner’s characters evade racial identification and offer no way to read their expressions.  In this painting at The Hole NYC, only hands supporting a foot are visible, but the title ‘Cheer Stunt’ brings to mind a group performance full of suspense and excitement.   Backlighting suggests a digital space or perhaps a stadium at night while alternatively, smooth, stylized hands and foot could be part of a new sculptural monument.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Dec 27th. Masks and social distancing required).

Alex Gardner, Cheer Stunt, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2020.

Nina Chanel Abney at Jack Shainman Gallery

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

Nina Chanel Abney describes her new paintings at Jack Shainman Gallery as picturing ‘Black autonomy’ in scenes of ‘care, cultivation and collective leisure.’  Individuals farm, fish, ride bikes and race boats, sometimes without clothing, in scenes that question what utopia is.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 23rd).

Nina Chanel Abney, Plenty of Fish, acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 48 x 48 inches.

Julio Le Parc at Perrotin Gallery

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

To Argentinian-French artist Julio Le Parc, the individual’s experience of his work is everything.  From inventing games that could be played on the street to constructing installations of moving lights, Le Parc has experimented with ways to draw in his audience and heighten their perceptions of the world around them.  Here, at Perrotin Gallery, hanging aluminum shapes reflect the gallery and visitors, bringing both into the experience of the sculpture.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Dec 23rd.  Masks and social distancing are required).

Julio Le Parc, Continuel mobile en diagonal, Inox steel, coated steel cable, aluminium, 118 1/8 × 118 1/8 × 118 1/8 inch, 2020.