Ruth Root’s untitled abstraction, created on fabric and Plexiglas dominates Jack Hanley Gallery’s group exhibition ‘The Congregation.’ With its unlikely form, as suggestive of a living creature as an eccentric chair, and mix of wonky hand-created forms and slick pattern, it’s hard to settle on one set of meanings for this wonderfully shape-shifting piece. (On the Lower East Side through Oct 9th).
Black canvases, some formerly used as studio rags, hang from wires in David Zwirner Gallery’s Chelsea space in Oscar Murillo’s new installation, dividing the gallery into sections like a make-shift field hospital. Even more ominous are sculptures inspired by morgue tables and a huge torn canvas featuring a bank note. Both are a far cry from the artist’s last show – for which he created a chocolate factory in the gallery. (Through Oct 22nd).
LA sculptor Peter Shire’s ‘Scorpion’ strikes a fencing pose, but something about the red ball on top of this exaggerated tea-pot shape tones down the menace. Behind it, other sculptures reveal Shire’s involvement with the Memphis design group in the 80s and his own sense of humor in a deeply enjoyable survey of the artist’s work from the 70s to the present. (At Derek Eller Gallery on the Lower East Side through Oct 9th).
Twice a day for ten minutes, gallery staff at Lehmann Maupin Gallery switch on this magical instrument, constructed by Brazilian street art twins OSGEMEOS. The gallery fills with an eerie melody in keeping with the dream-like setting constructed by the duo, transporting visitors far away from the everyday. (In Chelsea through Oct 22nd).
Titled ‘Curves,’ Bayne Peterson’s solo show of wood and metal sculpture at Kristen Lorello channels sensuous forms of the mid-20th century modernists (Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore) in dizzying color. At front left, ‘Apollo’ shares a name with the Roman god of music, appropriately, as the sculpture recalls a giant ear resting on a receiver. (On the Lower East Side through Oct 16th).
