ektor garcia in ‘garcia, Raina, Shore, Tossin’ at Luhring Augustine

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

ektor garcia’s ‘portal (guadalajara)’ connects not only to his upbringing by female relatives who supported the family in Mexico and the U.S. with their skill at crochet but also to the earth in its warm, terracotta color.  In another piece, a long slim panel of oxidized copper lined with crochet artificial sinew speaks to the building value of minerals derived from the land and its feminized embellishment while his ‘chainmale’ glazed ceramics resemble metal links but are crafted from a more fragile material.  (On view in ‘garcia, Raina, Shore, Tossin’ at Luhring Augustine Gallery in Chelsea through August 16th).

ektor garcia, portal (Guadalajara), crochet leather cord, copper tubing, suede, dimensions variable, 2018.

Joani Tremblay in ‘Plastic Garden’ at Asya Geisberg Gallery

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

The peachy tones of the rock formation in this painting by Canadian artist Joani Tremblay resemble spray-tanned flesh as much as sedimentary stone, questioning Mother Nature’s ‘natural’ qualities.  Included in Asya Geisberg Gallery’s ‘Plastic Garden’ summer group show, this painting’s houseplants further signal that the view is seen through an ‘arranged’ human lens.  (On view in Chelsea through August 16th).

Joani Tremblay, A Room of One’s Own, oil on linen, 36 h x 32 x inches, 2018.

Mel Ziegler at Galerie Perrotin

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

Fifteen years of collected memorabilia from Mt Rushmore yielded the material for artist Mel Ziegler’s one thousand digitally printed portraits of the monument’s four presidents, currently filling the ground floor of Galerie Perrotin on the Lower East Side.  Though repetition and systemization are key, the degradation of each image – suggesting they were lifted from cheaply made or tiny reproductions – leaves the most lasting impression.  Despite the scale of the effort in the original Rushmore or Ziegler’s redo, there’s no guarantee that a burnished image will be handed down to posterity.  (On view through Aug 16th).

Mel Ziegler, detail installation view of ‘1000 Portraits,’ inkjet on canvas, dimensions variable, each canvas 8 x 10 inches, 2018.

Gladys Nilsson in ’36 Works on Paper’ at Garth Greenan Gallery

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Critic John Yau hits the nail on head when he describes Gladys Nilsson’s ability to ‘keep the viewer looking in ways that are both pleasurable and challenging.’  In her 1984 watercolor ‘Lightly There,’ Nilsson sets up a seemingly flirtatious engagement between two masculine and feminine characters against a backdrop of folks high-mindedly going about their business, noses to the air.  Extra-long limbs – oddly allowing the man on the left to reach between his legs to pick up a tiny passenger – are just the beginning of the eccentric proportions and asymmetries of bodies, hair and facial features that lend Nilsson’s characters their intrigue and bait us to question what’s going on.  (On view in ’36 Works on Paper’ at Garth Greenan Gallery in Chelsea through August 9th).

Gladys Nilsson, Lightly There, watercolor on paper, 23 x 30 inches, 1984.

Y. G. Srimati at Jack Shainman Gallery

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Late Indian artist Y. G. Srimati’s traditional Bharatanatyam dancer captivatingly demonstrates control and dynamism in this large-scale watercolor from 1963.  Trained in dance and other arts, Srimati once led devotional singing for Mahatma Gandhi and participated in India’s struggle for independence.  Adapting British-led art instruction to Indian painting tradition, Srimati pictured rural life and spiritual figures, developing her own uniquely Indian idiom.  (On view through August 9th at Jack Shainman Gallery in Chelsea).

Y. G. Srimati, Bartha Natyam Dancer, watercolor, 76 x 47 inches, 1963.