Known for medium-sized, uncannily still wooden figures, South African sculptor Claudette Schreuders explores the notion of doubling with new work at Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery. In response to the experience of social isolation over the last two years, Schreuders has been picturing the self as constant presence and company. Titled Accomplice, this piece considers how a lack of communication can lead to polarization and extreme thinking; however, at the same time, the hand gestures were inspired by a tender moment in a 14th century medieval church sculpture of Christ’s mother Mary greeting her relative, Elizabeth. (On view through April 2nd).
Peter Alexander at Pace Gallery
After an over two-decade hiatus from sculpture-making, late west coast Light and Space artist Peter Alexander came back strong, creating cast forms that appear to glow. Pace Gallery’s current show of these works from ’11 to ’20 features this eighteen-foot-long installation of urethane strips. Varying in width and color, the parallel pieces create an irregular rhythm that excites the senses. (On view through March 19th).
Elizabeth Glaessner at PPOW Gallery
Titled ‘Phantom Tail,’ Elizabeth Glaessner’s show of new painting at PPOW Gallery in Tribeca dissolves distinct separation between human and animal bodies in order to probe possible forgotten connections to nature. Searching for what the gallery identifies as “collective primordial knowledge,” Glaessner imagines creatures with long horse-like or spider-like legs and here, sphinxes with tails curling to meet their flying hair. Created using poured pigment and solvent, the washy figures elude definition, as if perceived in a fever-dream. (On view through March 19th).
Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio in The New Bend at Hauser & Wirth Gallery
Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio’s ‘Holbein En Crenshaw,’ a rubber cast of a tree on a LA street dominates ‘The New Bend,’ a standout show of textile-related work curated by Legacy Russell at Chelsea’s Hauser & Wirth Gallery. Layered imagery including a highway exit sign, distorted wheel-like shapes, and advertisements crowd together on one side of this hanging piece, recreating the bombardment of information pedestrians and motorists experience on city streets. On the other side, the rough texture of the cast tree with its burls and imperfections suggests the difficulties of urban life, even for plants. Aparicio explains that his intention is to connect beleaguered, non-native trees to the reception of migrant workers in California while also recognizing the rootedness of both in LA life. (On view through April 2nd.)
Sally Gall at Winston Wachter Gallery
At first glance, photos from Sally Gall’s Aerial series at Chelsea’s Winston Wachter Gallery create happy confusion; abstract shapes and vibrant colors lure us into trying to understand what’s being represented. After a longer look, what appeared to be sea life or flowers resolves into items seen from below on a clothes-line. Even after the ‘ah-ha’ moment of identification, Gall’s images continue to entice as colorful and complex abstractions. (On view in Chelsea through March 5th).