Jonas Woods at Anton Kern Gallery

Jonas Woods’ monumental painting of late basketball player Dwayne Schintzius offers a tragic figure for contemplation. After a promising start in college basketball, health problems thwarted Schintzius’ career before he died due to complications of leukemia in his early 40s. At over seven feet tall, with a mullet hairstyle as renowned as his sports skills, Schintzius was a particular type of American hero; Woods prompts us to ask what kind with his over nine-feet-tall canvas. (At Chelsea’s Anton Kern Gallery through Oct 22nd).

Jonas Woods, Dwayne Schintzius, oil and acrylic on canvas, 110 x 82 inches, 2016.
Jonas Woods, Dwayne Schintzius, oil and acrylic on canvas, 110 x 82 inches, 2016.

Sarah Cain at Galerie Lelong

Art audiences love experiential art (witness long lines at every Yayoi Kusama walk-in sculpture, the Rain Room, etc), so it’s somewhat surprising how few painters offer to envelop viewers in their work. Sarah Cain is not one of the reticent artists, however. Her installation, Dark Matter, at Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong covers the gallery floor in bold patterns on lino, competing with but also complimenting vibrant canvases that employ beads, pinwheels, string and more to take the composition off the canvas. (Through Oct 15th).

Sarah Cain, installation view of ‘Dark Matter,’ at Galerie Lelong, Sept 2016.
Sarah Cain, installation view of ‘Dark Matter,’ at Galerie Lelong, Sept 2016.

Lynn Katsafouros at Prince Street Gallery

Lynn Katsafouros updates the Byzantine icon with this painting of a saintly woman with a resigned stoic look, surrounded by tiny birds and wearing what could be an artist’s smock. (At Prince Street Gallery through Oct 1st).

Lynn Katsafouros, Portrait II, oil on linen, 26 x 32 inches, 2014.
Lynn Katsafouros, Portrait II, oil on linen, 26 x 32 inches, 2014.

Xu Zhen at James Cohan Gallery

Excessive squeezes of oil paint – created using pastry bags – on Xu Zhen’s canvases reach toward the viewer like living creatures, invoking coral or clusters of candy-colored undersea invertebrates. Produced by the artist’s ‘MadeIn Company’ and titled ‘Made in Heaven,’ the work nods to factory-like art production (referencing Jeff Koons’ ‘Made in Heaven’ photo series, for example) while offering a lush abstraction that looks good enough to eat. (At James Cohan Gallery through Oct 8th).

Xu Zhen, Under Heaven – 2808TV1512, oil on canvas, aluminum, 90 3/8 x 70 ¾ x 5 ½ inches, produced by MadeIn Company, 2014.
Xu Zhen, Under Heaven – 2808TV1512, oil on canvas, aluminum, 90 3/8 x 70 ¾ x 5 ½ inches, produced by MadeIn Company, 2014.

Gillian Wearing in ‘Public, Private, Secret’ at the International Center of Photography

Gillian Wearing’s now classic video of herself dancing uninhibitedly in a London shopping arcade in 1994 – causing discomfort with the idea of turning public into private space – is precedent setting in the International Center of Photography’s group show ‘Public, Private, Secret,’ which considers how identity is created both openly and in secret. (Through Jan 8, 2017).

Gillian Wearing, Dancing in Peckham, video, 25 min, 1994.
Gillian Wearing, Dancing in Peckham, video, 25 min, 1994.