Virginia Overton at Bortolami Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Hottest ShowPosted on No Comments

Known for repurposing industrial and scrap materials into bold sculptural installations, Virginia Overton’s powerful show at Bortolami Gallery features new work generated from large-scale, deconstructed outdoor signage.  Overton’s evocative material aestheticizes objects that were once functional while alluding to continuous urban change and the desire to remember the past. Upstairs, as part of a group show, three of Overton’s Skylight Gem (NYC) sculptures dangle from the ceiling and rest on the floor.  Similar to the pieces Overton installed at the Delta Terminal at LaGuardia airport, the sculptures are at once iconic New York emblems, both present in today’s landscape and nostalgic as they point to past lives lived under the skylights.  (On view through Aug 30th).

Virginia Overton, Skylight Gem (NYC) coated copper, wired glass, electrical components, (suspended) 36 x 36 x 18 inches and (floor) 35 x 35 x 26 inches, 2024.

Will Ryman in ‘Dog Days of Summer’ at Timothy Taylor Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Hottest ShowPosted on No Comments

Dogs take the stage in Timothy Taylor’s summer group show ‘Dog Days of Summer,’ an exhibition featuring canine-themed artworks by over 50 artists.  A few animals play supporting roles to humans, but the majority star in their own performance as they wisely look at to sea (Sean Landers), raise a stream-lined muzzle to pluck fruit from a table (Justin Liam O’Brien) or pose with a haloed head while barking (Peter Saul).  Here, Will Ryman’s stainless-steel dog shines like a precious object as it raises its elegant head in an expressive howl.  (On view through Aug 23rd).

Will Ryman, Sitting Dog, stainless steel, 12 x 9 x 20 inches, 2020.

Leslie Wayne at Jack Shainman Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Hottest ShowPosted on No Comments

Known for fashioning sheets of oil paint into sculptural forms or collaging oil skins into 2-D works, Leslie Wayne turns her medium in a new direction with curiously-shaped canvases at Jack Shainman Gallery.  Tall, narrow panels 7 feet high and less than 2 feet wide with names like ‘Rush,’ ‘Summer Slope’ and ‘Low Tide,’ at times suggest core samples of the earth and are accompanied by another series of realist paintings featuring aerial views of the landscape set in special frames that mimic airplane windows.  Titled ‘This Land’ after Woody Guthrie’s classic folk song, the show was inspired by Wayne’s 2021 flight across the Western US and offers views of the landscape, distant or abstracted, that step away from divisions and conflict represented by place.  (On view in Chelsea through August 2nd).

Leslie Wayne, Summer Slope, oil on wood, 84 x 16 ¾ x 3 ½ inches, 2023.
Leslie Wayne, (detail of) Summer Slope, oil on wood, 84 x 16 ¾ x 3 ½ inches, 2023.

Stephen Shore at 303 Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Hottest ShowPosted on No Comments

Known for banal yet memorable photos like his 1973 image of a diner table set with pancakes, a glass of milk and a half cantaloupe, Stephen Shore’s images of rural and small-town America are now iconic documents of life in the later 20th century.  Shore’s latest body of work from his ‘Topographies’ series at 303 Gallery has been shot by drone, allowing him to pull away from his subjects and picture interactions between the built environment and nature.  In one image, a pipeline crosses a road in upstate New York creating an artful X on the landscape while in other scenes, crossroads dominate sparsely populated communities and single-lane roads stretch on into eternity in developments that represent the imposition of human will on the landscape.  Here, Shore juxtaposes majestic mountain views in Montana with a gleaming trailer in the foreground to consider contemporary fantasies of living on the land.  (On view in Chelsea through July 3rd).

Stephen Shore, Brisbin, Montana, July 30, 2020 45 30.659555N, 110 36.520175W, UV curable ink on Dibond aluminum, 24 x 32 inches, 2020 (printed 2024).

Beatriz Morales at Praxis Art

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Hottest ShowPosted on No Comments

Berlin and Mexico City-based artist Beatriz Morales’s monumental hanging fiber artwork ‘Quimera’ dominates Praxis Art’s Chelsea gallery like a living wall of color and undulating form.  The cascading agave fibers that give the artwork such dynamism nod to Mexico’s history with this material prior to the introduction of synthetics and are dyed with natural substances native to the country.  Described as ‘3D brushstrokes’ by the gallery, the fiber bunches join abstractions on the jute surface that suggest eyes, ancient wall paintings, maps and more.  (On view in Chelsea through July 5th).

Beatriz Morales, Quimera, agave fiber, natural dyes, ink, acrylic and cotton embroidery on jute, 106 ¼ x 192 7/8 inches, 2024.
Beatriz Morales, (detail of) Quimera, agave fiber, natural dyes, ink, acrylic and cotton embroidery on jute, 106 ¼ x 192 7/8 inches, 2024.