The title of Swiss New Yorker Olaf Breuning’s ‘The Humans’ in City Hall Park showcases human character types in a series of six figures, from a fulsome female to a kingly clown, while also inviting real live humans to pose or clown for the camera in what’s turned out to be a major magnet for picture takers. (Through December 13th).
Olaf Breuning, ‘The Humans,’ marble, bronze, 2007.
Anyone ready to harvest squash from their garden in the coming weeks will appreciate British artist Sarah Lucas’ mother of all zucchini at City Hall Park, one of two gigantic cast concrete sculptures titled ‘Florian’ and ‘Kevin’ that summarize excess in vegetable form. (Through December 13th).
Sarah Lucas, Florian and Kevin, cast concrete, 2013.
New Yorkers used to seeing abandoned and decrepit bikes are likely to get a kick out of Polish artist Alicja Kwade’s twisted racer in City Hall Park. Like her curving wooden door that we saw on Lower East Side tours last Feb/March, she took the original apart, reformed it and pieced it back together to create an object of whimsy and wonder. (Through December 13th).
Alicja Kwade, Journey without Arrival (Raleigh), stainless steel, aluminum, rubber, plastic components, 2012/13.
British sculptor Gary Webb mixes high and low references with his 22’ high aluminum sculpture ‘Buzzing It Down’ at City Hall Park, which nods equally to elegant modernism a la Brancusi’s Endless Column and plastic preschool linking toys. (Through December 13th).
Gary Webb, ‘Buzzing it Down,’ cast aluminum, paint, 2012.
In a more intimately-scaled followup to Swiss-American artist Ugo Rondinone’s powerful installation of stone characters at Paula Cooper Gallery this spring, the artist revives his recurring clown figure as a performer at City Hall Park. Even asleep, this character is imposing and mysterious with his colorful nylon costume, collar of feathers and thick shawl. (Through December 13th).
Ugo Rondinone, dog days are over, performance, 1996/2013.
It’s going to be hard to appreciate major late 20th century minimalist Daniel Buren’s characteristic indoor painted installations after seeing his gorgeous pavilion in City Hall Park, which allows visitors to literally walk into fields of color and interact with spaces projected by the sun onto the ground and pavilion floor. (Through December 13th).
Daniel Buren, Suncatcher, powder-coated steel, glass, vinyl, 2013.
LA sculptor Evan Holloway uses one of art history’s most iconic artworks, a 4.5 inch high fertility goddess from approximately 22-24,000 BC, as decorative inspiration for a huge, slender bronze ring in City Hall Park. The shifts between a tiny but fulsome female on a huge but slim ring are provocative and amusing; you’ll also get a rare glimpse of the sculpture’s back view. (Through December 13th).
Evan Holloway, ‘Willendorf Wheel,’ bronze, 2013.
One of the city’s best exhibitions of the moment isn’t in a gallery…the Public Art Fund’s exhibition ‘Lightness of Being’ at City Hall Park brings together an outstanding array of sculpture that surprises with its materials, sizes or concepts. This week, we’ll check it out, starting with this distorted tractor by Australian-American artist James Angus, which not only looks odd in its über urban environment, but is given another twist by digital distortions in the manufacturing process. (Through December 13th).
James Angus, ‘John Deere Model D,’ painted steel, painted cast iron, 2013.
Brooklyn-based artist Orly Genger is known for sculpture and installations involving knitting, but she outdoes herself in Madison Square Park with an installation made by knotting 1.4 million feet of nautical rope collected on the East coast and arranged in undulating waves around the park’s trees. (Though Sept 8th).
Orly Genger, ‘Red, Yellow and Blue,’ installation view at Madison Square Park, nautical rope & paint, July 2013.
The roughly cut blocks of Allyson Vieira’s sculptures resemble the caryatids of Greek architecture but in an updated, futuristic way. We enjoyed versions made with drywall at Laurel Gitlen Gallery on last March’s Lower East Side tour, but it’s perfect to see them outdoors in proximity to a Greek-style façade at Brooklyn’s Metro Tech Center. (Through Sept 16th).
Allyson Vieira, ‘Weight Bearing V, Weight Bearing VI, Weight Bearing VII,’ 2012.
As New York galleries take a break in the final weeks of summer, New York Art Tours heads to the city’s parks and public places to enjoy our lively public art scene. Here’s a sculpture that several of you mentioned when we toured Jeff Koons’ show of giant balloon dog sculptures this spring. Koons’ ‘Balloon Flower’ outside of 7 WTC in downtown Manhattan is a hit with kids on this sunny summer day.
Jeff Koons, Balloon Flower, mirror polish stainless steel with transparent color, installation view in park of 7 WTC, July 2013.
Jennifer Cohen’s ‘White Line’ is as poised as a ballerina en pointe, but its meaning is given an extra charge by being included in Yancey Richardson Gallery’s summer group show titled, ‘Desire,’ which showcases work by female artists adopting a female gaze. (In Chelsea through August 23rd).
Jennifer Cohen, White Line, bronze, copper tubing, plaster and paper pulp, 2013.
Jackie Gendel’s bathers cast hard stares or fall into melancholy sleep, their prone bodies acting as stand-ins for dunes under a darkening sky. (At Chelsea’s Morgan Lehman Gallery through Aug 23rd).
Jackie Gendel, At the Beach, water dispersed pigment and vinyl on canvas, 2013.
The sobriety and simplicity of Imran Qureshi’s Roof Garden installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a sharp contrast to previous Met roof projects (like the Starn brothers’ climbable bamboo labyrinth in 2010). Partly in response to deadly bombings in Lahore, Qureshi paints the roof’s floor and walls with blood-red paint splatters and beautifully rendered floral motifs. (At the Met through Nov 3rd.)
Imran Qureshi, installation view of ‘The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi,’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2013.
A dark geometric shape appears to do battle with two biomorphic entities in Elizabeth Murray’s 1982 canvas at Chelsea’s Cheim & Read Gallery. Part of an exhibition showcasing abstract painting in the 80s, its attention-grabbing drama and size (over ten feet tall) excite the imagination. (Through Aug 30th).
Elizabeth Murray, Sentimental Education, oil on canvas, 127 x 96 inches, 1982.
Known for crafting historical art and furnishings as if they’d been partly destroyed, Brooklyn artist Valerie Hegarty has astoundingly transformed several rooms in the Brooklyn Museum’s Cane Acres Plantation Dining Room to look as if disaster has struck, turning a gentile space into a riot of gunshot holes, destroyed food and flapping crows. (In the 4th floor Period Rooms at the Brooklyn Museum through Dec 1st).
Valerie Hegarty, installation view of ‘Valerie Hegarty: Alternative Histories’ at the Brooklyn Museum, July 2013.
Bruce High Quality Foundation (an anonymous collective of Brooklyn artists) show off their light-hearted but ambitious practice at the Brooklyn Museum, including these vitrines housing crudely recreated selections from the Met’s Greek and Roman galleries. The installation recalls the age-old student practice of perfecting one’s art by copying in museums though these renditions of the Met’s ancient masterpieces are decidedly folksy and imperfect. (Through Sept 22nd).
‘The Greek and Roman Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,’ Play dough, cardboard, wood, acrylic, polystyrene foam, 2013.
Working to music (including like Patti Griffin’s ‘One Big Love,’ after which the series was titled) and restricting her painting to shaped surfaces like this draped rag, New York artist Leslie Wayne explains that she was seeking to capture the ‘eureka moment,’ when inspiration takes over and a piece ‘works.’ (At Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery through Aug 17th).
Leslie Wayne, One Big Love #63 (Paint/Rag #5), oil on panel, 2011.
Anne Chu lifts her chubby cherub straight out of 18th century Rococo painting, then gives it a makeover. Decorative splashes of paint and a flag bearing an indistinct face question this putti’s celestial purpose. (At Chelsea’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery through Aug 16th).
Anne Chu, Putti with Flag, ceramic, stone, fabric, metal, 2001.
For many artists, being offered an exhibition in a Chelsea gallery would feel like winning the lottery. For his first show at Andrew Edlin’s Chelsea gallery, New York artist David Jelinek takes the daring step of filling the space not with his own creations but with a symbol of hope aroused and then dashed – a scattering of discarded losing lottery tickets strewn on the gallery floor. (Through Aug 17th).
David Jelinek, installation view of ‘Money Down,’ at Andrew Edlin Gallery, July 2013.
Charlotte Posenenske permanently gave up art making for sociology in 1968, just a year after creating the plans for this modular sheet metal sculpture that could be configured in a variety of ways. Here, the piece resembles a ventilation shaft that questions the necessity of use value in art while fetishising industrial design. (At Miguel Abreu Gallery on the Lower East Side through Aug 17th).
Charlotte Posenenske, Series D Vierkantrohre (Square Tubes), sheet steel, dimensions and configuration variable, 1967/2009.
If it isn’t obvious that New York artist Aric Obrosey’s paper artwork ‘Hand Production Lines’ involves a lot of work, hand cut motifs repeated to form lace-like chains come together to depict a giant work glove. Created for the Museum of Art and Design’s ’09-’10 exhibition featuring cut paper artworks, the piece involves a mind boggling amount of detail and took nine months to complete. (At McKenzie Fine Art on the Lower East Side through Aug 17th).
Aric Obrosey, Hand Production Lines, cut paper, 41 ½ x 59 ½ inches, 2009. Photo courtesy of McKenzie Fine Art.
Viewers have to look at just the right angle down a long, thick piece of Plexiglas to spy Hank Willis Thomas’ minstrel, a photo of a man painted half black and half white, then literally doubled by the material. Like similar characters photographed by the artist, a seemingly clear cover obstructs a clear view, a metaphor for how perceptions of race can obscure identity. (At Jack Shainman Gallery’s 24th Street space through Aug 17th).
Hank Willis Thomas, ‘Invisible Man,’ Plexi block and a digital c-print on aluminum, 2013.
Further to yesterday’s post, another standout at Matthew Marks Gallery is this quilt by legendary (and pseudonymous) quilter Rosie Lee Tompkins. Titled ‘Three Sixes,’ it follows Tompkins’ practice of making her quilts as a prayer for a loved one; in this case commemorating three relatives’ birthdays that involve the number six. (At Matthew Marks Gallery’s 522 W. 22nd St space through Aug 16th).
Rosie Lee Tompkins, Three Sixes, polyester double-knit, polyester knit, broadcloth, ottoman, poplin, wool jersey with muslin backing, 1987.
American folk tradition inspired Matthew Marks Gallery’s summer group show ‘Roving Signs,’ which includes this editioned sculpture by Rachel Harrison that conjures apple picking over Apple Macs and can-do crafting over mass consumption. (At Matthew Marks Gallery’s 522 W. 22nd St space through Aug 16th).
Rachel Harrison, Apple Multiple, artificial fruit and sewing pins, 2008.
Berlin-based artist Simon Fujiwara created this gender-reversing picture as part of a meandering investigation into a now-lost photo of his globe trotting, show-girl mother in the arms of a stranger on a beach in Beirut. With very little information to go on, Fujiwara goes on, casting actors to reconstruct the old photo while musing on family history. (At Chelsea’s Andrea Rosen Gallery through Aug 9th).
Detail from Simon Fujiwara’s exhibition ‘Studio Pieta (King Kong Komplex),’ at Andrea Rosen Gallery, July 2013.
In his latest solo show at Chelsea’s Luhring Augustine Gallery, British artist William Daniels continues to walk the line between abstraction and representation in new paintings for which he constructed, photographed, then painted arches made of aluminum foil. (Through Aug 16th).
William Daniels, Untitled, 42 3/8 x 41 ¾ inches, oil on board, 2013.
On two cold, grey sheets of lead, Spanish-born artist Carlos Vega depicts a tree bearing lively fruit represented by used postage stamps – icons drawn from a diverse array of cultures and times. (At Jack Shainman’s 20th St location through Aug 17th).
Carlos Vega, detail of ‘Ivory Tower,’ stamps and oil paint on lead, 2012.
Is this vacationer’s vacant stare an expression of total relaxation or haunting anxiety? Sketchy hands and underdeveloped legs put the focus on this man’s shadowy head and torso in ‘Another Side of Bad Blake,’ a drama wrapped in a portrait by Brooklyn painter Daniel Heidkamp. (At Chelsea’s Morgan Lehman Gallery through Aug 23rd.)
Daniel Heidkamp, ‘Another Side of Bad Blake,’ oil on canvas, 2012.
British artist Brian Griffith’s teddy bear tent is hands down one of the most fun sculptures on view in Chelsea right now. You can’t go inside the tent and weenie roasts aren’t allowed, but the piece does suggest a very imaginative band of travelers. (At David Zwirner Gallery‘s 525 W. 19th Street location through Aug 9th).
Brian Griffiths, The Body and Ground (Or Your Brittle Smile), canvas, scenic acrylic paint, rope, webbing, fiberglass pole, metal poles, vintage travel souvenir patches, net fabric, tarpaulin, duct tape, tread, string, sand, and fixings, 2010.
Brooklyn-based artist Virginia Overton combines the city and country in her untitled project next to Chelsea’s High Line park by parking a pickup truck with a bricked in bed and a scene of flying ducks in the back window on the top of an Edison ParkFast stack. (Next to the High Line at West 20th Street through Aug 8).
Virginia Overton, Untitled, pickup truck, bricks, 2012.
Used archery targets, repaired flea market antiques, still life paintings and more inform LA-based artist Ricky Swallow’s practice of putting everyday objects through a series of transformations. Here, bronze vessels cast from cardboard and applied with what looks like a ceramic glaze conjure lily pads and Aladdin’s lamp. (At Chelsea’s Casey Kaplan Gallery through Aug 2nd).
Ricky Swallow, Staggered Vessel with Rings, patinated bronze, 2013.
I saw a dog enthusiastically enjoying this sculpture at Barbara Gladstone Gallery with its owner…that is, until it was scared away when the animatronic creature raised its head in response to a periodic drip coming from an easy-to-miss fake ventilation shaft. This piece by LA-based artist Piero Golia suggests that even a faux dog’s powers of perception are to be reckoned with. (At Chelsea’s Barbara Gladstone Gallery, 24th St space, through Aug 2nd).
Piero Golia, The Dog and the Drip, animatronic dog, solenoids and sync device, 2013.
Australia-based artist Simryn Gill found a nine-volume set of books by Mahatma Gandhi in a library sale and transformed them into spheres. But like a book, the sculptures are intended to be held, prompting their audience to consider their subject in a new way. (At Tracy Williams, Ltd. through Aug 9th).
Simryn Gill, 9 Volumes from The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, paper, glue, 2008.
The artists in Lu Magnus Gallery’s summer group show ‘On the Grid’ mediate between technology and the handmade: Anoka Faruqee’s (background) pattern paintings look computer generated but are determined by intuitive hand painting, while Michael DeLucia’s (foreground) creates his patterned, wood sculptures on a screen, then brings them into reality. (On the Lower East Side through Aug 2nd).
Foreground: Michael Delucia, Double beam, plywood and construction enamel, 2013. background: Anoka Faruqee, Dusk, acrylic on linen, 2010.
Known for immersive environments including four conjoined Airstream trailers in his last solo show at 303 Gallery, British artist Mike Nelson has explained that his work is ‘ritualistic and votive.’ This minimalist, totemic character suggests the ease with which he transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. (At David Zwirner Gallery’s 525 W. 19th Street location through Aug 9th).
Mike Nelson, Amnezi Skalk Kask, wood, plastic helmet and bones, 2012.
Sam Falls has a different take on beauty and the urban environment with his two huge (15 feet long) hangings created by putting abandoned tires on colored canvases and leaving them outside to age for several months. (At Chelsea’s Metro Pictures through Aug 2nd).
Sam Falls, Untitled (Large Blue, Glassel Park Los Angeles, CA), & Untitled (Large Orange, Glassell Park, Los Angeles, CA), both pre-dyed canvas and metal grommets, 2013.
Can a room full of benches inspire community-minded thinking? Francis Cape’s hand-crafted replicas of furniture from Shaker and other 19th century separatist communities, presented en masse at Chelsea’s Murray Guy Gallery, are objects whose value is rooted in their usefulness to many people – opposite of art as luxury commodity. (Through Aug 9th).
Francis Cape, installation view of Utopian Benches at Murray Guy Gallery, July 2013.
At eighty-two years old, Alice Mackler is enjoying a career revival with this show at the Lower East Side gallery Kerry Schuss, inspiring nods to Matisse’s odalisques (Time Out) and William Steig cartoons (Gallerist NY). (Through July 26th).
Alice Mackler, Untitled, glazed earthenware, 2013.
Lucas Samaras’ pin-encrusted cube is a standout in Susan Inglett Gallery’s ‘Specific Objects’ show, an exhibition inspired by a pivotal 1965 Donald Judd essay that came to define minimalism. The piece’s shape is its subject matter, but the pins introduce an element of danger that give it a charge. (In Chelsea through July 26th).
Lucas Samaras, Untitled, pins on wood, 1964.
New York artist Matt Hoyt was a star of the last Whitney Biennial with his tiny, meticulously crafted sculptures that resemble archeological finds or rare natural specimens but which remain a pleasing puzzle. This assortment (‘group 93’) appears in Casey Kaplan Gallery’s summer group show ‘Mind is Outer Space.’ (In Chelsea through Aug 2nd).
Matt Hoyt, Untitled (Group 93), two wooden shelves with polyurethane supports containing 11 component objects comprised of all or some of the following: various putties, plastic, metal, clay, krazy glue, pastel, oil, tempera, acrylic, and spray paint, 2010-2013.
An exhibition of architect Renzo Piano’s work, including models, photos, diagrams and reference books on Piano’s buildings takes visitors to Chelsea’s Gagosian Gallery on an around the world tour of marvelous homes, museums and in this picture, the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center, built on a peninsula in New Caldonia. (through Aug 2nd).
Installation view of Jean-Marie Tjibaou table in ‘Renzo Piano Building Workshop’ at Gagosian Gallery, July 2013.
Can you really shop for art online? Artnet.com, the VIP art fair and other web-based art businesses question of how necessary it is to see art in person before buying. In a daring tongue-in-cheek gesture, Winkleman Gallery devotes its summer group show to a huge exhibition in every media by its gallery artists…with all work displayed online on a bank of monitors lining the gallery walls. (In Chelsea through August 2nd).
Installation view of ‘Show Me the JPEG’ at Winkleman Gallery, June 2013.
It would be amazing enough if this sculpture by Willie Cole was made of shoes. It’s rendered more permanent and pushes the materials a step further by being crafted of bronze. (At Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin Gallery through July).
Willie Cole, Shoonufu Female Figure, bronze, 2013.
Brooklyn-based Daniel Gordon presents one of his signature photo collages at Untitled Gallery on the Lower East Side, a selection of apples and pears that update Cezanne’s twisted perspectives on fruit by adding multiple digital perspectives against contemporary but dated background textiles. (Through July 26th).
Daniel Gordon, Pink Ladies and Pears, chromogenic print, 2012.
Disembodied hands snap photos at all angles from long tripods in ‘Truck Baby’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side. LA-based Samara Golden, known for disorderly installations of fantastical worlds, presents a more straightforward tableau here, in which anonymous hands record everything. (Through July 20th).
Samara Golden, installation view of ‘A Convocation of,’ foam, wood, acrylic, 2012 in ‘Truck Baby’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery.
Bayard’s mohair sculpture, hanging from the ceiling of the Lower East Side’s ‘On Stellar Rays,’ may look uncomfortably warm for this weather but it’s the most tactile object in a show that includes a flag painted in bacon fat and pigment by Michael Mahalchick, a meticulously constructed faux pile of twigs by Nathaniel Robinson and a sculpture painstakingly crafted by Susan Collis to look like an old discarded plank. (Through July 26th)
Installation view of ‘No Name’ at On Stellar Rays, June 2013.
At seven feet tall, Alex Israel’s shades are impressive. One coldly reflective lens propped against the wall in Metro Pictures’ summer group show ‘Noa, Noa’ seems designed less as sun protection than as proof of its wearer’s extreme fashionability. (In Chelsea through August 2nd).
Alex Israel, Lens, UV protective plastic, 2012-13.
Titled ‘Hereafter,’ LA-based artist Matthias Merkel Hess’s first New York solo show features a roomful of beautiful, handmade, ceramic objects that replicate everyday items…ones you might choose to be entombed with if you were buried in the ancient Egyptian manner. (At Salon 94 Freemans on the Lower East Side through August 9th).
Matthias Merkel Hess, installation view of ‘Hereafter’ at Salon 94, June 2013.
Taking Picasso’s 1937 anti-war masterpiece Guernica as inspiration, New York based French artist Anne-Lise Coste sets out in her recent freehand spray-paint paintings to question how to make an anti-war painting today. (At Eleven Rivington through August 9th).
Bogota-based artist Doris Salcedo continues to carefully craft sculpture that speaks to violence and oppression with what ‘A Flor de Piel,’ a blanket of treated, waxed and sewn rose petals which she refers to as this shroud or skin. (At Alexander and Bonin Gallery in Chelsea through July 26th).
Doris Salcedo, A Flor de Piel, rose petals and thread, 2013.
Further to yesterday’s post, this late 4th – 2nd century BC Greek bronze is another reason to visit the Met sooner rather than later. On view in the Greek and Roman galleries through Sunday, this remarkably detailed depiction of a boxer fresh from a fight even includes copper inlay to convey cuts to the face and ear as well as an altered alloy under one eye to suggest bruising.
Boxer at Rest, Greek, Hellenistic period, late 4th – 2nd century B.C., bronze inlaid with copper. Lent by Republic of Italy, 2013.
If you’ve been thinking of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, do it this weekend, before this major 17th century Velazquez portrait on loan from the earthquake damaged Galleria Estense, Modena returns home. Exuding ‘arrogance and sensuality’ (according to the Met), the painting demonstrates Velazquez’s deft realism and stunning economy of means. (On view through July 14th).
Diego Velazquez, Portrait of Duke Francesco I d’Este, oil on canvas, 1638.
One of Chelsea’s more unusual looking shows of the moment involves innovative display of old information. Berlin-based artist Simon Denny’s latest solo show at Petzel Gallery takes the 2012 version of the annual DLD tech conference as its subject matter, displaying posters that summarize event highlights (last year’s news) in analogue (obsolete?) style.
Simon Denny, installation view of ‘All you need is data: the DLD Conference REDUX rerun,’ at Petzel Gallery, June, 2013.
An art student discovered a cache of tiny sculptures left on the sidewalk for the trash truck; thirty years later, they’re renowned as the work of the anonymous outsider artist known as the Philadelphia Wireman. Invisible Exports enlivens a selection of them by showing them alongside a huge Vik Muniz photo from his Pictures of Junk series. (On the Lower East Side through July 13).
London-based Brazilian artist Alexandre da Cunha’s cement-mixer turned art-object brings to mind ancient bells or a new archaeological find. Supported by a concrete square on a plinth on the concrete gallery floor, it points to the labor involved in art-making and exhibiting. (At the Lower East Side’s Simon Preston Gallery through August 4th).
Alexandre da Cunha, Full Catastrophe (drum XIV), cement mixer drum, concrete, wooden plinth, 2013.
Berlin-based artist Frank Nitsche’s recent pared-down, monochrome abstractions reduce the urban world to minimal forms, a stark contrast to a column containing drink cans and plastered in stickers collected during his travels. (At Chelsea’s Leo Koenig Gallery through July 20th)
Frank Nitsche, KAY-25, oil on canvas, 2013 & GNL, mixed media installation, 2013 (column seen in detail).
Francis Upritchard’s medieval-looking characters ride, run, lunge and more as they engage in slightly ludicrous one-sided combat. Their expressions read as aloof, nauseous or perhaps both, which seems fitting for such convincingly-executed weedy warriors. (At Chelsea’s Anton Kern Gallery through August 9th)
Francis Upritchard, installation view at Anton Kern Gallery featuring ‘Rider,’ modeling material, wire, fabric, leather and shell buttons, 2012.
Guatamala City-based artist Dario Escobar’s sculpture ‘Obverse & Reverse (Cloud 11)’ may look like a scientific model, but this mobile of inside-out soccer balls offers a new take on the sport as ‘the beautiful game.’ (At Josee Bienvenu Gallery through July 18th).
Dario Escobar, Obverse & Reverse (Cloud 11), latex, leather, string and steel, 2013.
Martin and Erik Demaine, a father and son sculpture-making duo both teaching at MIT, printed Graham Greene’s 1954 short story ‘The Destructors’ on paper, then cut, scored and combined separate sheets to create these dynamic forms. (At Chelsea’s Guided by Invoices through July 13th).
Erik and Martin Demaine, 0363, Language Series, Destructors III, elephant hide paper, 2013.
This vegetable-strewn Steinway grand piano was the standout in Tanya Bonakdar Gallery’s otherwise spare summer group show, ‘ambient.’ It’s abundance is a foil to the hauntingly minimal musical piece ‘Natura Morta’ by Italian avant-garde composer and artist Walter Marchetti which experimental musician Alex Waterman played in the show’s first week. (In Chelsea through July 26th).
Walter Marchetti, Natura Morta, Steinway and Sons concert grand piano, selection of produce, 10-page handwritten manuscript of Walter Marchetti’s ‘Natura Morta,’ 1988.
Diversity is the message in Zach Feuer Gallery’s ‘Jew York’ summer group show featuring artists of Jewish descent; one of the standout pieces is kinetic sculptor Jon Kessler’s creepy ‘Magnum Opus,’ a noisy box with a rotating iPad set to show distorted portraits of onlookers. Powered by a mechanical kid turning a crank, this mish mash of high-tech/low-tech and fakery repulses and amuses. (In Chelsea through July 26th).
Jon Kessler, Magnum Opus, mixed media, 2012.
British sisters Jane and Louise Wilson planted yardsticks in scenes from an H-bomb testing facility in the UK (at back) and a building at Chernobyl then photographed them, seemingly taking the measure of atomic energy as a destructive force. In the foreground, a yardstick sculpture references a 1924 Rodchenko sculpture while suggesting that precision hasn’t helped this listing structure. (At Chelsea’s 303 Gallery through August 2nd).
Jane and Louise Wilson, installation view at 303 Gallery including ‘Altogether,’ Madeira wood, 2010.
Chinese artist Shi Zhiying’s oil paintings of vessels and stone carvings at Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery were inspired by her travels in China, Cambodia and India. Strong tonal contrast and a grisaille color scheme impart a somber restraint that speaks to the spiritual import of her subject matter. (Through July 26th).
Shi Zhiying, Rock Carving of Thousand Buddhas, oil on canvas, 2013.
Willard Boepple’s 1981 stainless steel tower is a standout in Lori Bookstein Fine Art’s ‘Heavy Metal’ show for suggesting but denying utility with steps that look as if they’ve survived a hurricane or a cubist rendering. (Through June 29th).
Willard Boepple, Stephanie, stainless steel, 1981.
Raymond Pettibon tends to make large installations of small drawings, so this huge drawing depicting a Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers game, located next to the High Line at 10th Avenue and 18th Street, is an eye-opener. The picture goes beyond baseball to hint at East Coast/West Coast rivalries (the Dodgers moved to LA) that extend to music and more. (Through July 1st).
Raymond Pettibon, No Title (Safe he called…), print on vinyl, 2010.
If you missed Alexandre Arrechea’s sculptures of iconic New York City buildings on the Park Avenue mall this spring, you have another chance to enjoy the Cuban artist’s playful take on the city’s architectural landmarks. Located at the northwest corner of Union Square, this vivid red steel sculpture reimagines The Sherry Netherland hotel as an ouroboros.
Alexandre Arrechea, Sherry Netherland, steel, 2013.
Summer’s here and so is the Chelsea gallery group show. One of the best so far is ‘Mixed Media Message’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery‘s 21st Street location, where curator Neville Wakefield assembles works that use unexpected materials, including Dylan Lynch’s acrylic on steel barrels, Tony Labat’s out-of-reach grill and Kaari Upson’s silicone mattresses. (Through August 2nd).
Chelsea’s ‘Jeff Koons moment’ draws to a close as this week at mega-galleries David Zwirner and Gagosian where Koons’ has shown his stainless steel balloon sculptures and new work inspired by antiquity. But this Hulk remains at Sonnabend Gallery through July, allowing one more chance to marvel at the meticulous detail of this bronze rendition of an inflatable toy.
Jeff Koons, Hulk (Friends), polychromed bronze, 2004-2012.
DNA testing and genealogical research led New-York based artist Laurel Nakadate to distant relations, who she photographed in thirty-one U.S. states over the last two years. A selection of seventeen photos on view at Chelsea’s Leslie Tonkonow Artworks and Projects, including this detail from a picture of ‘Tyler’ in Texas, were taken outside at night, setting an uncertain stage for a visit from a stranger. (through June 29th).
Laurel Nakadate, ‘Tyler, Texas #1’, from the Relations series, type-C print, 2013.
Paula Wilson’s slice of the city street, created in tapestry at Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum, is a stunner in Sikkema Jenkins’ current summer group show. Surprisingly erotic architectural details and graffiti are a lively and provocative contrast to boarded up buildings that look as if they’ve seen better days. (In Chelsea through July 12th.)
Paula Wilson, ‘Between Two,’ silkscreen pigment, acrylic, felt, paper, canvas, wood block prints, spray paint, steel rod, wood hangers, 2010.
A small selection of photographs in Chelsea’s Yancey Richardson Gallery‘s back gallery by Sebastiao Salgado treats visitors to photos like this image of The Brooks Range in Alaska, part of the artist’s Genesis series in which he traveled the planet photographing untouched landscapes and people living traditional lifestyles. (Through July 3rd).
Sebastiao Salgado, ‘The Brooks Range, Alaska,’ from the series Genesis, silver gelatin print, 2009.
New York photographer Arne Svenson intended to capture the ‘quiet…most human moments,’ when he used a telephoto lens to photograph his downtown Manhattan neighbors through their apartment windows. He also succeeded in creating a loud storm of protest when they learned about the project, works from which are currently on view at Chelsea’s Julie Saul Gallery. Did he overstep the bounds of privacy? What do you think? (Through June 29th).
Arne Svenson, Neighbors #4, pigment print, 2012.
Garth Weiser continues to pursue the possibilities for contemporary abstraction with sumptuous metallic paintings like this one (seen in detail). Weiser applies copper leaf over layers of acrylic, then cuts into the surface using a razor creating patterns with color and texture. (At Chelsea’s Casey Kaplan Gallery through June 22nd).
Garth Weiser, detail of ‘WNYC sustaining member Haiku,’ copper leaf, acrylic, and dimensional fabric paint on paper, 2013.
In one of the Lower East Side’s standout shows of the moment, Margaret Weber meticulously deconstructs large sections of commercial carpeting to create two monumental wall hangings and a floor piece, changing a drab, industrial product into an airy, handcrafted textile. (At Ramiken Crucible, through June 23rd).
Margaret Weber, Trading Comfort for Freedom, industrial carpet, 2012.
Mark Shetabi’s white, pleasingly symmetrical airport baggage carousel evokes James Turrell’s models for sky-viewing structures (recently exhibited at Pace Gallery). But while both artists conjure a powerful moment of waiting and wondering, Shetabi’s clever take on minimalist forms is more anxious than sublime. (At Chelsea’s Jeff Bailey Gallery though June 22nd).
Mark Shetabi, Carousel, wood, polystyrene, modeling paste, acrylic, linen, sandpaper, old T-shirt, and Plexiglas, 2013.
‘You get to have your cake and eat it, too,’ explains experimental film and video artist Leslie Thornton in respect to her three-channel video, ‘Luna.’ Digital effects morph her subject, Coney Island’s historic Parachute Jump, into vibrant, kaleidoscopic forms that evoke different 20th century time periods, prompting us to question what it is that conjures the mood of a particular era. (At Chelsea’s Winkleman Gallery through June 22nd).
Leslie Thornton, Luna, three-channel HD video, 12 minutes, 2013.
At over nine feet tall, New York-based Erin Shirreff’s hot-rolled steel sculpture ‘Drop (no. 3)’ is imposing without being overbearing. The elongated shapes, hung from a steel rod, derive from paper scraps created by the artist and turn leftovers into the monumental main attraction. (At Lisa Cooley Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 23rd).
Erin Shirreff, Drop (no. 3), raw hot-rolled steel, 2013.
Brendan Fowler will show his ‘crashed’ photographs, for which he meticulously merges framed photographs into what looks like the disastrous results of careless art shipping, in MoMA’s ‘New Photography’ showcase in Sept. In the meantime, his solo show on the LES at Untitled Gallery ups the ante in terms of destruction and obfuscation as Fowler covers the photos and their frames with purple or black silkscreens. (Through June 16th).
Brendan Fowler, Shipper in Jail – Something Something Adris Hoyos Something, silkscreen on archival inkjet prints, silkscreen on frames, plexi, 2013.
For a commission at the Eastern State Penitentiary, now a Philadelphia-area museum, renowned glass artist Judith Schaechter showed excess and austerity at battle in a gloriously colorful, somewhat comic update of Pieter Breughal’s 1559 painting ‘The Battle of Carnival and Lent.’ (At Claire Oliver Gallery in Chelsea, through July 6th).
Judith Schaechter, ‘The Battle of Carnival and Lent,’ stained glass lightbox, 2012.
Known for highly conceptual sculpture and installations using traditionally non-art materials, New York artist Gedi Sibony takes a step towards legibility in his latest show, which offers carpet painted with five images (an acorn, snowflake, seedling, sun and butterfly) that evoke the seasons. Before them a scuffed, arc-shaped form recalls an empty stage – a platform signifying the potential to communicate. (At Chelsea’s GreeneNaftali Gallery through June 15th.)
Gedi Sibony, foreground sculpture: The Porcelains, wood and mixed media, 2013. 3 wall panels: Ceaseless Episodes of Blossom, carpet, primer, 2013.
To her repertoire of vessel shapes and flat ceramic wall pieces, Betty Woodman adds carpets created from ceramic off-cuts she calls ‘bones’ in her latest solo show at Salon94 Freemans on the Lower East Side. She uses every available piece of gallery real estate (ceiling next?) to immerse visitors in colorful exuberance in both 2-D and 3-D space. (Through June 14th).
Betty Woodman, installation view at Salon94 Freemans of ‘Windows, Carpets and Other Paintings,’ May 2013.
Las Vegas-based artist Tim Bavington has painted geometric, abstract canvases which translate musical notes into lines of color for years. Recent paintings on view at Jack Shainman Gallery’s new 24th Street location were inspired by The Who’s Quadrophenia album and let loose from his usual grid in swirling flowers of color. Too much like computerized music visualizations? (Through June 29th)
Tim Bavington, 5:15, synthetic polymer on canvas, 2013.
Union recruiter and self-taught artist Ralph Fasanella’s socially conscious paintings – like this piece, which conflates scenes related to JFK’s assassination with civil rights protests – resonate, even in today’s apolitical art world. (At Chelsea’s Andrew Edlin Gallery through June 22nd).
Ralph Fasanella, American Tragedy (detail), oil on canvas, 1964.
Greek-Italian artist Jannis Kounellis returns to Chelsea’s Cheim and Read Gallery for his first New York solo show since ’06 with work that continues to contrast individuals with larger societal structures. Here, a train track and steel beams conjure wide transportation networks; unworn clothing and hanging overcoats stand in for the individuals who conceive of them, build, operate and are served by them. (Through June 22nd).
Jannis Kounellis, installation view at Cheim & Read Gallery, May 2013.
Kristin Jensen’s ‘Vase Faces,’ are inanimate objects that appear to come to life, but the effect is more humorous homeyness than horror. Ghostly but not spooky, chubby-cheeked visages seem to emerge and disappear on these simple vessels to charming effect. (At Nichelle Beauchene Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 9th).
Kristin Jensen, ‘Face Vases 1-4, with Prologue,’ porcelain with celadon glaze, 2013.
Exhibitions at three of Matthew Marks’ Chelsea galleries celebrate American art legend Ellsworth Kelly’s 90th birthday (which occurred earlier this week). The vibrant ‘Gold with Orange Reliefs’ is luxurious and organic, evoking lush fruits or a splendid sunrise. (Through June 29. This painting is at the 502 West 22nd Street location.)
Ellsworth Kelly, Gold with Orange Reliefs, oil and canvas and wood, three joined panels, 2013.
Andrew Kreps inaugurates its new space at 537 West 22nd (Petzel Gallery’s old spot) with a show by new gallery artist Christian Holstad, whose handcrafted objects (including trashcans, an abandoned stroller, a flock of chickens and bees like this one) invite mediation on the contemporary urban environment. (Through June 22nd).
Christian Holstad, installation view of ‘Christian Holstad: The Book of Hours,’ at Andrew Kreps Gallery, May 2013.
The summer group shows have started in Chelsea with Marlborough Gallery’s ‘Endless Summer II/Still Bummin,’ a sprawling exhibition featuring Kaari Upson’s balcony railing, floppy as if melting off a building in the heat. Nestled in the gallery’s corner with a torn parade photo by Christian Marclay, both suggest summer traditions coming undone. (through June 15th).
Christian Marclay, Untitled (from the series ‘Fourth of July’) torn c-print, 2005. Kaari Upson, Balcony Railing, latex, 2013.
Toward the end of her short life, Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta imported sand and soil from locations important to her (Cuba, the Nile, etc.), to make sculpture that evokes organic materials, the female body and far-away locations. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through June 22nd).
Ana Mendieta, installation view of ‘Ana Mendieta: Late Works 1981-85,’ at Galerie Lelong, May 2013.
Public sculptures tend to depict moments of triumph, not regret. This makes Polish artist Goshka Macuga’s bronze rendition of Colin Powell, part of the High Line’s portrait exhibition ‘Busted,’ surprising and poignant as he shows the leader holding a vial of anthrax in his 2003 UN speech on weapons of mass destruction. (Through June 2014 at 22nd Street on the High Line.)
Goshka Macuga, ‘Colin Powell,’ bronze and concrete, 2009.
“I think that’s amazing, what people can do with the hands. It’s the same, and still they make it new,” says LA-based ceramic artist Shio Kusaka, regarding the tradition of ceramic making. No two of her vessels are alike, a point proved by 127 porcelain stoneware pots on show at Chelsea’s Anton Kern Gallery. (Through June 22nd.)
Shio Kusaka, installation view at Anton Kern Gallery, May 2013.
Known for digitally distorted, 3-D self-portraits, New York based artist Richard Dupont takes his artwork a step closer to painting by mounting this cast of an enlarged head and creating a ghostly portrait with disarming presence. (At Tracy Williams, Ltd. through June 28th.)
Richard Dupont, Untitled, cast pigmented resin and marble dust, 2013.
Japanese art star Yoshitomo Nara is back in New York with his trademark young, female characters, but they’ve matured and become decidedly less cute in his first show with Pace Gallery. This five and a half foot tall bronze sculpture has distorted features but a benevolent expression, suggesting she’s more supreme being than pouty kid. (Through June 29th).
Yoshitomo Nara, Setsuko the Cat, bronze, 2012.
Chadwick Rantanen’s new show, ‘Bins and Loops’ at the Lower East Side gallery ‘Essex Street’ pushes his materials like no other show up at the moment. Rantanen uses the hydrographic process, in which images are applied to produce surfaces via printed film, but stops short of applying the images, instead leaving them to float on the water’s surface in an abstract pattern that dramatically updates the idea of process art. (Through June 9th).
Chadwick Rantanen, ‘Bin,’ 11 polypropylene bin bottoms and 10 tops, hydrographic film, water, 2013.
Paul McCarthy continues to subvert classic fairy-tales with his ‘White Snow’ sculpture in black walnut at Chelsea’s Hauser & Wirth Gallery. Here, McCarthy explodes a kitschy figurine into a mirrored display of gaiety ten feet high. (Through June 1st).
Paul McCarthy, White Snow, Flower Girl, black walnut, 2012-13.
Jorge Macchi’s percussive sculpture ‘fan’ entices visitors into Chelsea’s Alexander & Bonin’s main gallery space, but once inside conveys danger as wobbling ceiling fan blades chip into the gallery walls. In a show devoted to mediations on time, it’s an ominous portent. (Through June 15th).
Jorge Macchi, ‘fan,’ metal ceiling fan, 2013.
Swiss conceptual artist Ugo Rondinone has converted Barbara Gladstone’s gallery into an elegant cave featuring plaster-covered walls and stacked stone anthropomorphs. Rondinone channels his own family’s past as cave dwellers to create this clan of simple bluestone characters whose titles (‘glad,’ ‘blessed,’ ‘shocked’) add to their surprising charm. (At Barbara Gladstone Gallery’s 21st Street Chelsea space through July 3rd. See their larger cousins at Rockefeller Center through July 4th).
Ugo Rondinone, ‘soul,’ installation view at Barbara Gladstone Gallery, May 2013.
Cuban artist Kcho grew up traveling between his home on an island off the coast of Cuba and the mainland, and boats – ‘keys’ to unlocking the ‘door’ of the sea – are a frequently recurring subject. This one is a standout in the Museum of Art & Design’s ‘Against the Grain’ group exhibition of cutting edge art & design made from wood. (Through Sept 15th).
Kcho (Alexis Leyva Machado), R.E.C. (Rectifying the Course), wood, 2006.
Brooklyn-based artist Dave McDermott’s ‘The Purgatorial Moment (with Piano)’ evokes dread or nostalgia, depending on how your childhood music lessons went. Floating blocks of color and the slanting line of a player’s back suggest a zone of intense concentration in a tiny house filled with the effort of music making. (At the Lower East Side’s Thierry Goldberg Gallery through June 2nd).
Dave McDermott, ‘The Purgatorial Moment (with Piano), oil, canvas, wax, 23K gold, yarn on panel, 2013.
