Teresita Fernandez at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

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From the caves of Cuba’s Vinales Valley to the Aurora Borealis, Teresita Fernandez’s elegant sculpture is inspired by the beauty of nature but questions mankind’s relationship with the land.  In ‘Soil Horizon,’ Fernandez’s current solo show at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, the artist titles several works – ‘Bardo,’ ‘Sky/Burial’ – after Buddhist concepts relating to the gap between lives.  A 24’ long concrete arch hints at a burial mound while thousands of ceramic cubes installed on the wall speak to a body’s dispersal after death.  A third piece in tiny ceramic tile suggests weather systems or other dynamic forces that create larger or small-scale impact on humans and the planet.  (On view through June 1st).

Teresita Fernandez, installation view of ‘Soil Horizon’ at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, May 2024.

Ernie Barnes at Ortuzar Projects

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Ernie Barnes’ ‘Room Ful’A Sistahs’ at Ortuzar Projects is a painting conveying a moment of joy, a highlight of the artist’s current solo exhibition featuring work from 1966 to 2000.  After a brief career in pro-football, the artist served as the AFL’s official artist and artist of the ’84 Olympic Games while creating iconic artworks like ‘Sugar Shack,’ which appeared as an album cover for Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You.’  Sports, dance, church and everyday life provide subject matter for dynamic paintings populated by lithe figures that move through the world with grace and beauty. (On view in Tribeca through June 15th).

Ernie Barnes, Room Ful’A Sistahs, acrylic on canvas, 25 7/8 x 37 ¾ inches, acrylic on canvas, 1994.

Kimsooja at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

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Titled ‘Meta-Painting,’ Korean artist Kimsooja’s exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery questions the essence of painting via an installation of unpainted panels and a light-absorbing black orb.  In one of the gallery’s main spaces, raw linen on stretchers hang from the ceiling while the artist’s signature bottari (a cloth bundle referencing the act of packing one’s belongings in bedclothing) rest nearby.  Kimsooja speaks of both panels and bundles as paintings, though they were not made with paint, much as Deductive Object – a welded steel oblong covered in paint that absorbs ambient light – has presence in its own gallery yet has boundaries that are difficult to perceive.  Linked to the Brahmanda stone of Indian origin, this mysterious object hints at profound mysteries of life. (On view through June 14th).

Kimsooja, Deductive Object, painted welded steel, mirror, wood, 72 x 43 ¼ x 43 ¼ inches, 2016.

Lucas Arruda at David Zwirner Gallery

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Lucas Arruda’s meditative paintings at David Zwirner Gallery fall into the rough categories of seascapes, jungle landscapes and monochromes with hovering rectangles of color.  Though ostensibly representational, landscapes like this untitled painting from the artist’s ongoing Deserto-Modelo series feature fields of hazy form that can bring to mind clouds, mist, fog, or other atmospheric conditions.  This canvas reverses the color arrangement in several of the show’s other paintings, positioning light colors toward the bottom of the composition, as if we’re glimpsing bright skies ahead whilst still under the dark of night or storm.  Peaceful and contemplative, Arruda’s paintings are a tonic for over-stimulated eyes.  (On view through June 15th).

Lucas Arruda, Untitled (from the Deserto-Modelo series), oil on canvas, 9 5/8 x 11 ¾ inches, 2022.

Lucy Puls at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

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The Latin words ‘Equulus Duo’ (two horses, in English) might bring an exalted equestrian sculpture to mind, while the designation ‘two horseys’ shrinks the words down to the speech of a small child. Both phrases are included in the title of Lucy Puls’ ‘Equulus Duo (Two Horseys),’ a sculpture of two ‘My Little Pony’ toys encased in resin and now on view in Tribeca in Puls’ mini retrospective at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery.  Sculpture from Puls’ ‘In Resin’ series elaborates on the passage of time and the vicissitudes of consumer culture by presenting once sought after consumer items – a mid 80s Mackintosh 512, a stack of vinyl singles – preserved as if in amber.  (On view in Tribeca through May 18th).

Lucy Puls, Equulus Duo (Two Horseys), resin, steel, toy horses, 6 ½h x 12w x 5d inches, 1993.