Roy Lichtenstein at Gagosian Gallery

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Created for the atrium of the theatrical management agency Creative Arts Agency’s IM Pei designed headquarters in 1989, Roy Lichtenstein’s Bauhaus Stairway Mural dominates a single cavernous room at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea.  Featuring the artist’s signature Benday dots and primary colors that imitate commercial printing techniques, the painting remakes Oscar Schlemmer’s famous 1932 painting of students at the Bauhaus, the famous pre-WWII German school of art and design.  Though the original was created in response to the Nazi closing of the school, Lichtenstein’s streamlined forms and bright colors on a huge scale suggest a more positive outlook on the upward movement of arts and ideas.  (On view through Dec 22nd).

Roy Lichtenstein, Bauhaus Stairway Mural, oil and magna on canvas, 26 x 5 ¾’ x 17’ x 11 ¾ inches, 1989.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby at David Zwirner Gallery

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In an oasis of plants and a richly colored and patterned domestic environment, LA-based artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby poses with her baby on lap, looking out to meet the viewer’s eye in a standout piece in her current solo show at David Zwirner Gallery.  As a self-portrait as artist and mother, Akunyili Crosby projects poise and confidence amid a superabundance of imagery from Nigerian media sources, a signature element in her work. Using transfers on paper (in addition to acrylic, colored pencil and collage) Akunyili Crosby assembles photos from the worlds of Nigerian music, fashion, sports, culture and more into collages.  Taking the form of plants, architecture and more, the artist fashions influence into images that speak to her identity as both a Nigerian and an American.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 28th).

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Still You Bloom in This Land of No Gardens, acrylic, colored pencil, collage, and transfers on paper, 2021.

Jacob Hashimoto at Miles McEnery Gallery

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At first glance, the entrance to Jacob Hashimoto’s installation at Miles McEnery Gallery appears to be blocked by a super abundance of paper and bamboo disks, his signature material.  No one pauses for a moment though, before climbing the gallery stairs and whipping out a phone to photograph the strings of shapes that form a cloud overhead.  Called ‘kites’ by the artist, the forms are heavier than the airborne toys but resemble them in their paper on frame structure, sense of lightness and potential for movement.  Austere in black and white tones that echo the gallery architecture, the installation is restrained yet exuberant, balanced yet dynamic.  (On view through Oct 21st).

Jacob Hashimoto, installation view of ‘The Disappointment Engine,’ at Miles McEnery Gallery, Sept 2023.

Nina Canell at 303 Gallery

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Swedish artist Nina Canell has explained that sculpture is ‘an encounter,’ meaning that the atmosphere created by a piece and its materials will drive interest.  In the artist’s first solo show at 303 Gallery in Chelsea, unusual works involving fossils and conveyors achieve this goal, prompting curiosity via strange juxtapositions.  In this piece titled ‘Mother of Dust,’ a moving conveyor belt dominates the gallery; positioned just above the belt, a broom pushes along a handful of pearls.  As large as the sculpture is, the interest is in the point at which broom and pearls meet and the constantly moving, changing pattern of pearls generated by the device.  Canell’s interest is in geology, time and the interventions of humans in nature; although humans are absent here, their presence is indicated by the broom’s work – a process that has been set in motion and left to play out as it will.  (On view through Oct 28th).

Nina Canell, Mother of Dust, pearls, broom, modified conveyor belt, 280 x 35 x 23 inches, 2023.

Jeffrey Gibson at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

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From its vibrant, patterned wall mural to the abundance of vivid paintings in saturated color, Jeffrey Gibson’s solo show at Sikkema, Jenkins & Co is one of the most eye-catching exhibitions in Chelsea. Titled ‘Superbloom,’ in reference to an especially bountiful appearance of wildflowers, the show features work in Gibson’s signature formats, including beaded punching bags, which invite admiration not violence, and patterned paintings recalling Native American design and bearing phrases taken from pop songs or various texts.  In this piece on painted elk hide titled and including the text SPIRIT AND MATTER, viewers encounter a central circular form recalling both a meditative diagram and a target.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 21st).

Jeffrey Gibson, SPIRIT AND MATTER, acrylic paint on elk hide inset in custom wood frame, 2023.