Faces from the past materialize on young New York artist Kristina Lee’s canvas, evoking different character types from an elongated Emily Dickinson-like woman at the rear to the thoughtful girl sleuth in front of her. Other individuals provoke contemplation with their more ambiguous natures and odd features. (At Thierry Goldberg Gallery on the Lower East Side through April 2nd).
It’ll be no problem to ‘Please recycle this bag,’ in this case, as artwork. Yoonmi Nam’s plastic carrier bags are in fact lithographs on gampi paper containing not plastic food containers but glazed slipcast porcelain. They subvert the notion of disposability powerfully. (At the International Print Center’s ‘New Prints 2017/Winter’ exhibition through April 1st).
This ‘Front Door Still Life’ by New York painter Hope Gangloff updates the still life genre with invigorating blasts of color. A timepiece and flowers nod to traditional Dutch still life reminders of the brevity of life while keys and a canister of Chinese tea speak of going places and a Reagan stamp on one piece of mail references the politics of the day. (At Chelsea’s Susan Inglett Gallery through April 22nd).
Sascha Braunig’s surreal image suggests a mannequin coming to life and questioning its captivity to an unseen source on the back left. Thin grey sheets standing in for arms seem to occupy another dimension, offering the hopeful possibility that this mildly struggling figure will slip away by unexpected means. (At Foxy Production on the Lower East Side through April 2nd).
Some buttons are photographed, some are real; the fun is picking out which is which. For his recent body of work, Brazilian photographer Vik Muniz creates such skilled illusions that what might be a gimmick in the hands of others instead prompts real pleasure in physically interacting with artwork up close and in person. (At Chelsea’s Sikkema Jenkins & Co. through April 1st).
