Marco Maggi at Josee Bienvenu Gallery

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

It took a good part of the summer for Uruguayan artist Marco Maggi to install his immersive installation at Josee Bienvenu Gallery in Chelsea, yet it’s possible to visit the gallery and not even notice the artwork.  Maggi employed his signature technique of cutting tiny geometric shapes and strips from adhesive paper and adhering them to the wall in his latest show, but he keeps the gallery lights off, forcing viewers to employ flashlights to hunt for the work.  As the show’s subtitle, ‘From Obscurantism to Enlightenment’ suggests, Maggi wants viewers to enjoy the process of looking, slowing down and letting enlightenment unfold.  (On view through Nov 11th).

Marco Maggi, installation view of ‘Initialism (From Obscurantism to Enlightenment)’ at Josee Bienvenu Gallery, Oct, 2019.

Aliza Nisenbaum at Anton Kern Gallery

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Mexican born, Harlem-based activist and artist Aliza Nisenbaum’s new paintings at Anton Kern Gallery’s midtown gallery celebrate group activities in kaleidoscopic form and brilliant color.  From teaching English to immigrants in Queens in 2012 to various residences and projects, Nisenbaum has engaged individuals who become subjects for paintings that celebrate togetherness and diversity.  (On view through Nov 2nd).

Aliza Nisenbaum, Jenna and Moises, oil on linen, 64 x 57 inches, 2018.

Nam June Paik at James Cohan Gallery

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Despite their tiny size, monitors on twin coin-operated chairs from 1988 by Nam June Paik in the entryway of James Cohan Gallery’s Lower East Side location blast a stream of media content at visitors who can simultaneously watch the world go by on the busy street outside.  Resembling test patterns, the chairs’ upholstery invites viewers to submit themselves to media overload.  (On view through Oct 20th).

Nam June Paik, Music is Not Sound, video system, chairs, statuettes, other objects, 46 x 41 x 72 inches, 1988.

Loie Hollowell at Pace Gallery

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Inspired by her pregnancy and experience as a mother, Loie Hollowell’s new paintings make rich connections to art history while helping to launch Pace Gallery’s stunning new eight story building on West 25th Street.  Here, swelling curves (achieved in part by mounting foam on panel) reference an abundant female form in motion across the lower half of the canvas.  Recalling Picasso’s doubled Girl Before a Mirror and Duchamps’ blurred Nude Descending a Staircase, the painting’s cool colors and flashes of fierce red convey powerful fecundity and tranquil poise.  (On view through Oct 19th in Chelsea).

Loie Hollowell, Postpartum Plumb Line, oil paint, acrylic medium, sawdust and high density foam on linen mounted on panel, 72 x 54 x 3.5 inches, 2019.

JR at Galerie Perrotin

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

After famously taking his mobile photo studio to Times Square for his ‘Inside Out’ portrait project in 2013, French street artist JR hit New York’s streets again in Spring ’18 to make detailed photo collages championing the everyday New Yorker, now on view at Galerie Perrotin.   Titled ‘Chronicles of New York City,’ the project follows ‘Chronicles’ in Paris and San Francisco and is also currently featured in Brooklyn Museum’s Great Hall.  JR invited over a thousand New Yorkers to step into his truck turned studio to ‘present themselves as they’d like to be seen and remembered.’  The resulting collages bring the city’s citizens together in harmony and common purpose. (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 26th.)

JR, detail from ‘The Chronicles of New York City, Lightbox, USA, print on duratrans, led backlight, steel frame, 2018.