Jacob Hashimoto at Miles McEnery Gallery

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At first glance, the entrance to Jacob Hashimoto’s installation at Miles McEnery Gallery appears to be blocked by a super abundance of paper and bamboo disks, his signature material.  No one pauses for a moment though, before climbing the gallery stairs and whipping out a phone to photograph the strings of shapes that form a cloud overhead.  Called ‘kites’ by the artist, the forms are heavier than the airborne toys but resemble them in their paper on frame structure, sense of lightness and potential for movement.  Austere in black and white tones that echo the gallery architecture, the installation is restrained yet exuberant, balanced yet dynamic.  (On view through Oct 21st).

Jacob Hashimoto, installation view of ‘The Disappointment Engine,’ at Miles McEnery Gallery, Sept 2023.

Nina Canell at 303 Gallery

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Swedish artist Nina Canell has explained that sculpture is ‘an encounter,’ meaning that the atmosphere created by a piece and its materials will drive interest.  In the artist’s first solo show at 303 Gallery in Chelsea, unusual works involving fossils and conveyors achieve this goal, prompting curiosity via strange juxtapositions.  In this piece titled ‘Mother of Dust,’ a moving conveyor belt dominates the gallery; positioned just above the belt, a broom pushes along a handful of pearls.  As large as the sculpture is, the interest is in the point at which broom and pearls meet and the constantly moving, changing pattern of pearls generated by the device.  Canell’s interest is in geology, time and the interventions of humans in nature; although humans are absent here, their presence is indicated by the broom’s work – a process that has been set in motion and left to play out as it will.  (On view through Oct 28th).

Nina Canell, Mother of Dust, pearls, broom, modified conveyor belt, 280 x 35 x 23 inches, 2023.

Jeffrey Gibson at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

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From its vibrant, patterned wall mural to the abundance of vivid paintings in saturated color, Jeffrey Gibson’s solo show at Sikkema, Jenkins & Co is one of the most eye-catching exhibitions in Chelsea. Titled ‘Superbloom,’ in reference to an especially bountiful appearance of wildflowers, the show features work in Gibson’s signature formats, including beaded punching bags, which invite admiration not violence, and patterned paintings recalling Native American design and bearing phrases taken from pop songs or various texts.  In this piece on painted elk hide titled and including the text SPIRIT AND MATTER, viewers encounter a central circular form recalling both a meditative diagram and a target.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 21st).

Jeffrey Gibson, SPIRIT AND MATTER, acrylic paint on elk hide inset in custom wood frame, 2023.

Laure Prouvost at Lisson Gallery

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When female octopi guard their eggs, they stop feeding themselves, dying as their babies mature.  Multimedia artist Laure Prouvost’s latest solo show at Lisson Gallery celebrates this selfless participation in the cycle of life and connects it with human nurturing via combined imagery of human breasts and octopus arms.  Huge cephalopod limbs emerge from a layer of sand scattered on the floor, inviting gallery visitors into a tactile underfoot experience while observing suction cups that occasionally resemble breasts or in one case, end in a breast-shaped lamp.  Prouvost’s surreal mix of animal and human bodies foregrounds the importance of touch, feeling and sensuous enjoyment.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 14th).

Laure Prouvost, installation view of ‘Laure Prouvost: Stranded By Your Side,’ at Lisson Gallery, Sept 2023.

Denzil Forrester at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Denzil Forrester’s vibrant club painting – one of his 1980s depictions of London’s reggae and dub scene – stands out at the entrance to the Met Museum’s newly rehung contemporary art galleries for its color and movement.  Featuring a DJ on the left and a dancer moving so energetically (s)he’s a blur on the right, the painting captures the way music and people have turned a place into a state of mind.

Dezil Forrester, Dub, oil on canvas, 1985.