Osgemeos at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

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Known for imagining idiosyncratic characters from dreamed up worlds, Brazilian street-artist twins Osgemeos are back at Lehmann Maupin Gallery with paintings and two installations that fill the gallery with vivid color and sound from a built-in DJ booth.  Pictured here, the gallery’s west wall houses a mystical architectural construction presided over by a nude man whose body has split in two to reveal a glowing inner self.  To either side, a celestial goddess holds a planet in her hand while a man whose head in encircled by flower petals smiles serenely.  In the sky, two heads circled by colorful lights – one of which is emerging from a UFO – light up the already bright skies over an installation that delights and entertains.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 16th).

Osgemeos, installation view of ‘Cultivating Dreams,’ at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, June 2024.

Diamond Stingily at 52 Walker

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Diamond Stingily’s ‘Entryway’ sculptures, two of which are on view in her current solo show at 52 Walker, feature a well-worn front door, held upright in the gallery space and supporting a baseball bat.  Inspired by her grandmother’s practice of keeping a bat against the door for protection, Stingily rejects narratives of victimization in favor of female agency.  In other work, the artist sets closets into the gallery wall, their familiar louvered doors signaling the intimate space of the bedroom.  Open to reveal a collection of bats, a stack of bricks or a row of identical white shirts, the objects inside and accompanying articles from the newspaper-lined closet walls touch on a variety of topics, several to do with the exploitation or protection of female bodies.  (On view through Sept 14th in Tribeca).

Diamond Stingily, Entryway (City), door, bat and hardware, overall dimensions variable – as installed: 82 x 33 ½ x 83 inches, 2024.

Yu-Wen Wu in ‘Mother Lode: Material and Memory’ at James Cohan Gallery

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Nature supplies materials and inspiration to the artists in James Cohan Gallery’s 2-venue summer group show ‘Mother Lode: Material and Memory,’ an engaging and diverse exhibition that elicits sensitive regard for the environment.  Yu-Wen Wu’s ‘Acculturation III,’ composed of 143 gilded tea leaves arranged in a grid on the wall, is a standout in the show, and ruminates on the artist’s experience after she arrived from Taiwan to the US as a child.  Using tea – a material related to her family life in both locations – in arrangements that individually recall letters or collectively resemble an instructional diagram, Wu’s piece speaks to both similarity and uniqueness of each segment of tea branch, all encased in a precious material that testifies to the value of individual and group. (On view through June 26th).

Yu-Wen Wu, Acculturation III, 143 gilded tea leaves, metal pins, 10 x 96 inches 2022 – 24.
Yu-Wen Wu, (detail of) Acculturation III, 143 gilded tea leaves, metal pins, 10 x 96 inches 2022 – 24.

Virginia Overton at Bortolami Gallery

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Known for repurposing industrial and scrap materials into bold sculptural installations, Virginia Overton’s powerful show at Bortolami Gallery features new work generated from large-scale, deconstructed outdoor signage.  Overton’s evocative material aestheticizes objects that were once functional while alluding to continuous urban change and the desire to remember the past. Upstairs, as part of a group show, three of Overton’s Skylight Gem (NYC) sculptures dangle from the ceiling and rest on the floor.  Similar to the pieces Overton installed at the Delta Terminal at LaGuardia airport, the sculptures are at once iconic New York emblems, both present in today’s landscape and nostalgic as they point to past lives lived under the skylights.  (On view through Aug 30th).

Virginia Overton, Skylight Gem (NYC) coated copper, wired glass, electrical components, (suspended) 36 x 36 x 18 inches and (floor) 35 x 35 x 26 inches, 2024.

Will Ryman in ‘Dog Days of Summer’ at Timothy Taylor Gallery

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Dogs take the stage in Timothy Taylor’s summer group show ‘Dog Days of Summer,’ an exhibition featuring canine-themed artworks by over 50 artists.  A few animals play supporting roles to humans, but the majority star in their own performance as they wisely look at to sea (Sean Landers), raise a stream-lined muzzle to pluck fruit from a table (Justin Liam O’Brien) or pose with a haloed head while barking (Peter Saul).  Here, Will Ryman’s stainless-steel dog shines like a precious object as it raises its elegant head in an expressive howl.  (On view through Aug 23rd).

Will Ryman, Sitting Dog, stainless steel, 12 x 9 x 20 inches, 2020.