Tariq’s multi-colored shirt and the explosion of lines on the wall behind him – not to mention his colorful crown – merge a man and an abstract artwork in young Chicago-based artist Alex Bradley Cohen’s painted portrait. (In ‘Elaine, Let’s Get the Hell Out of Here’ at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery through Aug 18th).
Two types of chilis, lemongrass and an emergency blanket are some of the unconventional materials Myranda Gillies sourced from stores in her Brooklyn neighborhood to create this loomed work at Susan Inglett Gallery in Chelsea. Granddaughter of famed assemblage artist George Herms, Gillies shares the gallery with his sculpture, inviting a comparison between two artists whose materials are something to talk about. (On view through July 28th).
Working blind in the dark room, David Benjamin Sherry exposes cardboard templates, acetates printed with patterns, his own body and that of his dog, Wizard to light sensitive paper. The vibrantly colored results don’t bear a recognizable likeness of the artist, but they feel intensely personal nonetheless. (At Salon94 Bowery on the Lower East Side through July 27th).
Geometry rules this painting by Toronto-based painter Veronika Pausova, who alludes to domestic environments by picturing curtains, cupboards and flower vases in still life paintings that are both tranquil and tense. This standout from her current show at Simone Subal Gallery, titled ‘Neighbour,’ suggests a nosy neighbor twitching her stylish curtains or the reverse – a neighbor tantalizingly out of our view. (On the Lower East Side through July 28th).
John Williams eschews the cutting edge by repurposing old technology, using overhead projectors to create a series of bold sculptures that recall the experimental quality of Man Ray’s photograms with an extra measure of playful inventiveness. Here, car parts affixed to the gallery wall become hair and a smile, a projected straw is a nose and a slinky funnels light upward into a bright white eye. The other eye must be winking at us as we share the joke. (At Brennan and Griffin on the Lower East Side through July 21st. )
