Wael Shawky at Lisson Gallery

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

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky talks of crafting history as a medium, referencing existing texts, historical paintings, poems and more to conjure a new creative product. His latest show at Lisson Gallery takes inspiration from histories of the Arabian peninsula from the 17th century to the present, particularly considering the rapid development of the region’s cities.  Here, a glass structure and a giant palm tree act like beacons atop two hills, situated on a larger blue/green structure alluding to traditional thick-walled Najd architecture in a striking installation alive with opaque allusions.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 19th).

Wael Shawky, The Gulf Project Camp: Glass Sculpture #1, glass, 29 ½ x 31 ½ x 78 5/8 inches, 2019.

Wuru-Natasha Ogunji at Fridman Gallery

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Inspired by women’s lives in her parent’s native Nigeria, US born artist Wuru-Natasha Ogunji’s considers the daily task of carrying water in her video, ‘Will I still carry water when I am a dead woman?’ Featuring several masked women walking the residential streets of Lagos dragging gold-colored water containers, viewers witness the toll exacted on the bodies of the exhausted and drenched participants. (On view at Fridman Gallery through Oct 12th).

Wuru-Natasha Ogunji, still from ‘Will I still carry water when I am a dead woman?, single-channel digital video, 11 min, 57sec, 2013.

The Haas Brothers at Marianne Boesky Gallery

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The Haas Brother’s zany show of comical, beaded sculpture at Chelsea’s Marianne Boesky Gallery announces the duo’s foray into the fine art world.  Having made a hit in the design community for the past decade with otherworldly furnishings, the twins collaborated on the new work with collaborators, Monkeybiz, to present an assortment of odd creatures and eccentric plant-life in a brilliantly painted, eye-popping setting.  (On view through Oct 26th).

Haas Brothers, Green Latifah, glass beads, wire, mixed fiber stuffing, 38 x 36 ½ x 30 ½ inches, 2019.

Vija Celmins at Matthew Marks Gallery

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Vija Celmins’ once described her relationship to the ocean, which she has rendered again and again in paint, graphite and prints, as akin to wrestling something huge into a tiny 2-D space.  This woodcut from 2000, created with one of printmaking’s oldest techniques, captures a particular view of the water’s surface that looks as if it could have been made yesterday or hundreds of years ago.  (On view in Chelsea at Matthew Marks Gallery through Oct 26th).

Vija Celmins, Ocean, wood engraving on Zerkall paper, 20 ¾ x 17 ¼ inches, 2000.

Jeppe Hein at 303 Gallery

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

Though Berlin-based Danish artist Jeppe Hein has installed his trademark polished stainless steel panels in large outdoor spaces (notably at Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2015), 303 Gallery’s tiny back space seems uniquely suited to host an intense experience of reality for visitors who see themselves and Hein’s striped paintings cut together in thin strips.  Hein has explained that his stripe paintings represent breathing in and out which sounds meditative, but in this installation is geared to quicken the senses.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 19th).

Jeppe Hein, Intersecting Circles, high polished stainless steel, 87 3/8 x 85 x 70 inches, 2019.