Peter Voulkos at Burning in Water

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

Peter Voulkos’ influence is a constant presence in New York’s galleries if his actual rule-destroying ceramic sculptures are infrequently seen; Burning In Water’s current show of work from Voulkos’ ‘Stacks’ series manifests the artist’s deliberately imperfect forms.  Patched, split and tilting to the side, ‘Big Ed’ exemplifies the energy and expression Voulkos brought to his art.  Translation from the original ceramic to bronze adds durability to the dynamic.   (On view in Chelsea through Sept 21st).

Peter Voulkos, Big Ed (1/9), bronze, 40 x 27 x 28.5 inches, 1994.

Karl Lagerfeld in ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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

‘Camp:  Notes on Fashion’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art ends with a bang in a two-tiered gallery showcasing outrageous garments, from a wrapper resembling the contents of a TV dinner to a tiered ball gown of ruffled pink fabric that juts out from the shoulders and continues expanding as it descends to the ground.  Here, alongside earrings shaped like old-fashioned faucet handles, Karl Lagerfeld’s shower head necklace makes a clean break from tradition.  (On view on the Upper East Side through Sept 8th).

Karl Lagerfeld for Chloe, Necklace, autumn/winter, 1983-84, silver metal, pink, blue and clear crystals and pearl beads.

Carmen Herrera in City Hall Park

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Carmen Herrera’s longevity as an artist continues to amaze; the informational texts for her installation of boldly colored abstract sculptures at City Hall Park declare her age (104) in the first line before going on to comment on the artwork.  In the 50s and beyond, Herrera was in the center of New York’s art world and at its margins, making artwork in conversation with the developing language of abstraction but underappreciated because of her gender and lacking funding to realize her plans for boldly colored sculpture.  Installed in the park, her architectural forms are in the company of landmarks including City Hall and the Woolworth Building.  Here, they speak to Herrera’s personal and political concerns, from a piece memorializing her late brother to a sculpture constructed of two interlocking forms that nod to Cuban/American relations.  (On view downtown at City Hall Park via the Public Art Fund through Nov 8th).

Carmen Herrera, Amarillo Tres, 1971/2018.

Alicja Kwade at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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

Berlin-based Polish artist Alicja Kwade explains that the invitation to install a piece on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was like being asked to crown the summarized history of humanity in the galleries below.  In response, she created a steel framed structure that symbolizes human systems and which incorporates stones sourced from India, Finland, Italy, China and beyond.  From the roof, viewing the New York’s rising skyline is unavoidable; Kwade draws in the surroundings as part of her artwork, inviting visitors to consider neighboring buildings as symbols of capitalism, a structure that can be examined as readily as the ones she erects. (On view through Oct 27th).

Installation view of Alicja Kwade’s ‘Parapivot’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, summer 2019.

Hong Hao in ‘Turn of the Century: Photography in China’ at Chambers Fine Art

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

For over a decade, item by item, Beijing-based artist Hong Hao scanned his belongings for ‘My Things,’ a series of digitally constructed collages detailing his possessions, from the orderly spines of hundreds of books to more chaotic-seeming arrangements like this one that combine elements from different aspects of life.  The abundant objects in each image of the series speak to consumption, but Hong Hao explains that the act of scanning is meaningful as well as it ‘embodies a calm observation without any pre-judgement, a plain testimony, a relevant context for aesthetic exploration.’ (On view in ‘Turn of the Century:  Photography in China’ at Chambers Fine Art in Chelsea through August 31st.)

Hong Hao, My Things No. 3, scanned color photograph, edition 9/15, 2001-2002.