In the mid to late 19th century, property developers in Tribeca could style their buildings by selecting decorative elements from catalogues of cast-iron components. Contemporary artist Milano Chow’s drawings of fictional building facades – made precise with the aid of a drafting tool – at Tribeca’s Chapter NY recall such foundry publications as well as architectural elevations, dollhouses, and images from art and architecture history books. In contrast to practical illustrations, however, Chow adds intriguing details – partly drawn curtains, figures peeping out from windows and dramatically lit shop windows – to each scene. Here, a figure standing recessed in a dramatically columned house exudes mystery, as if appearing in the opening scene of a detective story. (On view in Tribeca through May 4th).
Philip Guston at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
In the late 60s, abstract artist Philip Guston stopped painting, then restarted his practice by building a new, figurative artistic vocabulary. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly installed mezzanine gallery features solitary painted objects – a lightbulb, a shoe – on small canvases that demonstrate how the artist weighed up the meaning and import of everyday objects that he would later repeat. This untitled painting shows a partial view of the artist himself, apparently painted over and covering another image. Wide-eyed and looking straight at the viewer, Guston is only partially visible, but his wary stare speaks volumes about his desire to communicate. (On view on the Upper East Side in the Met’s ‘Philip Guston: The Panel Paintings, 1968-72 which includes work from Musa Guston Mayer’s promised gift.)
Barbara Takenaga at DC Moore Gallery
Abstract painter Barbara Takenaga stakes out new territory in recent works at DC Moore Gallery in Chelsea, introducing compositions dominated by curvy organic shapes (recalling bodies by Gladys Nilsson) and bordered by bright red contour lines. The 12 foot long ‘Two for Bontecou’ features a fragmented circular object with a void at center a la sculptor Lee Bontecou, and appears to combine deliberately rendered forms with Takenaga’s signature change-driven mark-making. Here, in ‘Red Turnout,’ a multi-colored form snakes up from below while a signature explosion of white marks covers the canvas, contributing to this painting’s dynamic impact. (On view through April 27th in Chelsea).
Cal Lane at C24 Gallery
Cal Lane’s steel sculptures of lacy underwear – incongruous in their industrial material vs subject matter – are real attention grabbers but take a back seat to altered found materials in the artist’s mini-retrospective at C24 Gallery in Chelsea. Though they appear light and whimsical, these shovels from 2016 recall steel sculptural panels commissioned by the MTA for Knickerbocker Ave station which were inspired by the area’s architecture. The wheelbarrow is one of the show’s best pieces for pushing the material, achieving a surprising delicacy via intricate patterning. (On view through May 10th).
Sarah Crowner at Luhring Augustine Gallery
Barbara Hepworth’s pierced organic abstractions, Henry Moore’s curvilinear reclining figures and the undulating forms of Chinese scholar stones come to mind when viewing Sarah Crowner’s attractive new bronze sculptures at Luhring Augustine Gallery’s Tribeca space. Reflecting Crowner’s vibrant paintings, which have fittingly vivid titles like ‘Red Oranges Over Orange with Curve,’ or ‘Violets Over Reds,’ the sculptures are enhanced by and enhance their environment. (On view through May 4th).