Tony Cragg at Lisson Gallery

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Protesters and police clash in a blaze of color in British sculptor Tony Cragg’s 1987 piece ‘Riot’ a sculptural installation running the length of one of Lisson Gallery’s Chelsea spaces.  Forty years ago, Cragg made a name for himself with artworks and installations composed of found plastic elements, a material that lacked the associations carried by more traditional media like bronze, marble or wood.  Inspired by social unrest in ‘80s Britain, Cragg employs a modern material, fragmented and formerly discarded, to illustrate conflict between citizen and state. (On view in Chelsea through April 15th).

Tony Cragg, detail of installation of Riot, 1987 at Lisson Gallery in Chelsea, March ’23.

Helen Frankenthaler at Gagosian Gallery

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Helen Frankenthaler’s abstract paintings allude to landscapes and moods; a showcase of the artist’s work from the ‘90s at Gagosian Gallery conveys the pleasures of colors and feelings observed in nature.  Pioneer of an influential staining technique in mid-century American abstraction, Frankenthaler here adds an overt, textured brushstroke that emphasizes the surface of the canvas.  Appearing to hover over aqua-toned pools of color and an underlying dark depth, the long orange mark sets in play a complicated and shifting illusion of depth. (On view through April 15th on 24th Street in Chelsea).

Helen Frankenthaler, Poseidon, acrylic on canvas, 70 ¾ x 100 inches, 1990.

Gerhard Richter at David Zwirner Gallery

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Though they were finished over five years ago, 91 year old German artist Gerhard Richter’s ‘final paintings’ from 2016-17 at David Zwirner Gallery feel current; together with smaller-scale work on paper, the paintings have been a ‘must-see’ since opening in mid-March.  Richter’s muscular painting process involved scraping layers of paint from the surface of his paintings with a large self-designed squeegee.  Never sure of what his technique would yield, Richter surrendered at least part of a painting’s outcome to chance; the resulting images embody movement, resisting the static quality of a finished piece. (On view in Chelsea through April 29th).

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting), oil on canvas, 78 ¾ x 98 3/8 inches, 2016.

Josephine Halvorson at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

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Josephine Halvorson can turn the most mundane roadside object, from discarded refuse to aged signage, into an object worthy of contemplation.  In her latest solo show at Sikkema Jenkins & Co titled ‘Unforgotten,’ the Massachusetts-based painter zeros in on remnants from the past, including a tumbleweed, a neglected work bulletin board and this rusted disconnect box.  A pleasingly symmetrical pattern of circular holes coexists with bullet holes, both of which let the late day sunlight pass through to create bright ovals of orange light.  The umber tones in the box and the landscape contrast a cloudless blue sky, adding beauty to a setting that few would value.  (On view in Chelsea through April 22nd).

Josephine Halvorson, Disconnect Box, acrylic gouache on panel, 32 x 26 inches, 2022.

Albert Oehlen at Gagosian Gallery

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German painter Albert Oehlen’s continuously morphing style has been associated with ‘bad painting’ and a sense of being “on the way to becoming something else,” two qualities which linked him in his mind to another celebrated and influential artist, Paul McCarthy who he has invited to show with him now at Gagosian Gallery.  Oehlen’s new work features a recurring abstracted form resembling a corporate logo, a modified pi symbol or, in proximity to the figurative sculpture by McCarthy, a squat torso with two long legs.  Seen in various color combinations and even as a cast aluminum sculpture, the form merges with or boldly erupts from fields of gestural abstraction.  Here, the ambiguous shape appears defaced by paint, a suggestion that the medium still has power to shake things up.  (On view in Chelsea through April 22nd).

Albert Oehlen, Omega Man 15, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2021.