From behind a floating mass of car logos, a stoic figure represents the services of Mhofu Motor Spares in Zimbabwean artist Gareth Nyandoro’s work at Van Doren Waxter Gallery. Known for his cut paper technique – for which he scores, paints and peels layers from the material – Harare-based Nyandoro captures both the energy and the quieter moments of the city’s marketplaces and exchanges. (On view on the Lower East Side through Dec 21st).
‘Knight to Rook,’ the title of Jane Rosen’s latest solo show at Sears-Peyton Gallery, highlights the strategic placement of her totemic sculptures; here, a glass raptor perches before a stone fox, both suggesting the birds of prey and jackal of Egyptian mythology. Though the artist cites Giorgio Morandi’s vessel-based still lives as inspiration (particularly in a sculptural installation), Brancusi’s stylized, curving sculptures atop rough-hewn plinths come to mind, linking the finished product back to its origins in nature. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 15th).
Caravaggio’s 1602 oil painting ‘The Taking of Christ’ includes betrayal, surrender and alarm in one action-packed scene;’ New York artist Elise Ansel distills the drama in her oil painting, ‘Kiss,’ an abstraction that sketches the main characters as hovering areas of light. By exploring gesture, light and pattern, Ansel focuses attention on the feeling of the scene rather than the specifics, offering new ways to connect to the Old Masters. (On view at Danese Corey in Chelsea through Jan 5th).
In the shadow of Chelsea’s ultra-luxurious new residential buildings, Valerie Hegarty’s new sculptures and wall installations at Burning in Water are a poignant, contemporary vanitas, reminding us that what is fresh will soon be old. Here, the Brooklyn-based artist’s own subway stop is the inspiration for a paint and paper installation that nestles right into a pristine wall. (On view in Chelsea through Jan 5th).
Late sculptor Ken Price evoked bodies and nature in a humorous, accessible and endlessly colorful way for decades until his death in 2012. In a show of work from the ‘90s to 2010 at Matthew Marks Gallery, Price’s evocative forms continue to elicit puzzlement and delight in equal measure. (On view on 24th Street in Chelsea through Dec 22nd).
