This washed out figure is a faded but haunting recurring image in Andrew Kreps Gallery’s retrospective of work by San Francisco-based artist and graphic designer Robert Overby. Based on a 16th century Madonna by Albrecht Durer, Mary’s imposing, weirdly angled eye suggests an oddly provocative madness. (In Chelsea through Oct 31st).
Robert Overby, detail of ONE EYED-GRID, offset lithograph on paper on plywood, 18 ½ x 14 ¾ inches, 1975.
Inspired by a stone carving of the feathered dragon Quetzalcoatl, painter Philip Taaffe had the shape recreated in Spanish alabaster, which he then painted and printed. In the paper collage in the background, concentric circles give the illusion of a spiral echoing the coils of the serpent. (In Chelsea at Carolina Nitsch through Nov 7).
Philip Taaffe, Hodi Mihi, Cras Tibi (#2/8), hand carved Spanish alabaster, poppy seed oil, hand stamped and painted with oil paint, signed, numbered, dated below, 17 x 17 x 15 inches, 2015.
Sarah Sze’s installations have been characterized as organized chaos; her latest solo show aims to bring the mess and spontaneous decision-making of an artist’s studio into the gallery, yet the feeling of control is palpable. Torn paper, carefully spilled paint, and hanging sheets of plastic suggest a carefully arranged work in progress. (At Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 17th).
Sarah Sze, installation view at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Sept 2015.
Dana Schutz’s ‘Fight in an Elevator,’ the title piece for her show at Chelsea’s Petzel Gallery, recalls NFL player Ray Rice’s scandalous attack on his fiancée in a hotel elevator but levels the playing field as an abstracted man and woman give as good as they get in a futurist-inspired rumble. (Through October 24th).
Dana Schutz, Fight in an Elevator, oil on canvas, 96 x 90 inches, 2015.
Christian Marclay’s 24-hour video of collaged clock-related film clips from 2010 was so engaging that his subsequent photo projects and onomatopoeia paintings have sometimes seemed bland by comparison. The standout piece in his latest solo show at Chelsea’s Paula Cooper Gallery corrects that trend, however, by animating words from cartoons in an eye-popping immersive installation that, though soundless, communicates loudly. (Through Oct 17th).
Installation view of Christian Marclay’s ‘Surround Sounds,’ at Paula Cooper Gallery, September 2015.
