Kristen Sanders at Asya Geisberg Gallery

by Merrily KerrDon't Miss, Hottest ShowPosted on Comments are Disabled

At what point in human development did we become self-aware? This question absorbs Kristen Sanders in new paintings featuring mask-like faces in pre-historic natural environments at Asya Geisberg Gallery in Chelsea.  Interested both in the initial development of human consciousness and its current potential for manifestation via AI, Sanders visages look as if they’ve been peeled from contemporary mannequins and abandoned in ancient shell-strewn, rocky coastal scenes.  In this haunting image of a floating head titled ‘Middle Paleo,’ long lines across the face could reference the first deliberate marks made in sand by protohumans (a Sanders preoccupation), drips of a strange liquid or slash marks.  The ambiguity is provocative, highlighting the figure’s artificiality and strangeness and acknowledging the difficulty of reconciling such vastly distant eras of human development.  (On view in Chelsea through July 8th).

Kristen Sanders, Middle Paleo, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 40 inches, 2022.

Sam Falls at 303 Gallery

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Known for making paintings by leaving canvases outside to weather under careful arrangements of plants and scattered, colorful pigments, Sam Falls’ ceramics at 303 Gallery offer a more direct appreciation of the flora he depicts.  While the canvas works feature silhouettes of plants (created as the natural material blocks the pigments from reaching the canvas), the ceramics include plant life which has been rolled into the clay and burnt out in the kiln.  Falls then applies glazes which flow and fade to suggest memories of the original natural material.  At the center of this piece is a photo taken on instant film (a technology that, like its subject, enjoyed a limited lifespan) of flowers in Central Park, which he returned to and harvested once dead to include in the ceramic form.  (On view in Chelsea through July 28th).

Sam Falls, The Pool, Central Park, NYC, Fujifilm FP-100C45 instant film, glazed ceramic and glass, 14 3/8 x 13 ¼ x 2 1/8 inches, 2023.

Chryssa at the Dia Foundation

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When she arrived in New York from Athens, young Greek artist Chryssa was so taken by Times Square that she was inspired to create assemblages from neon and signage that capture the color and excitement of street life.  Stocked with loans from MoMA, the Walker Art Center and other major museums, the artist’s first show in the US since the 80s, now at the Dia Foundation in Chelsea, makes a strong case for her importance to New York’s downtown art scene in the 60s and 70s. Resembling a combination of street signs and printing plates for mass publication, Chryssa’s Americanoom suggests or actually includes words (‘zoom,’ ‘run,’ ‘new,’ and ‘café’) that give voice to a bustling city. (On view through July 23rd).

Chryssa, Americanoom, aluminum, steel, stainless steel and neon, 1963.

Matthew Day Jackson at Pace Gallery

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You’ve never seen Yellowstone National Park the way Matthew Day Jackson pictures it in otherworldly new hybrid collages of laser cut metal, wood and plastic at Pace Gallery.  Though the title of this piece, ‘Geyser (after Moran),’ alludes to Thomas Moran’s 19th century watercolor paintings of an erupting spout, Jackson’s version adds multiple, huge planets in the background while emphasizing the desolation of the landscape – even the trees lean away from the explosive force of a rigid plume of escaping water and steam.  Gallery visitors will notice an earthy smell in the air – the artist commissioned ArtOlifaction Lab to create an olfactory experience, asking the scent-makers to imagine that they were aliens who returned home to recreate the sights and smells of the planet.  Through the absence of humans, nebula-like swirls in the sky and toxic colors on land, Jackson posits a post-apocalyptic sci-fi scenario that both entrances and horrifies.  (On view through July 1st in Chelsea).

Matthew Day Jackson, Geyser (after Moran), wood, acrylic paint, urethane plastic, fiberglass, UV pigment, lead, stainless steel frame, 81 ¼ x 57 ¼ x 2 inches, 2023.

Alison Elizabeth Taylor at James Cohan Gallery

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Alison Elizabeth Taylor’s intricately crafted, marquetry hybrid images of friends and family at James Cohan Gallery picture an array of pleasures that include a tropical hotel bar, a young woman playing guitar on the front steps of a house and friends enjoying time together.  The first piece in the show – an image of a cactus created by collaging together thin pieces of wood veneer and other materials and titled ‘Decision Fatigue’ – introduces her technique and points to the unending possibilities for choosing and creating images out of the variety of materials at her disposal, which include not only wood but photographed and textured material as well as paint.  In what feels like Taylor’s most integrated assemblages of materials to date, the artist’s skill is foremost on display (in the tones of Javier and Will’s faces and hair in this image, for example), and the biggest pleasure is not the subject matter but the artist’s skill in rendering it.  (On view in Tribeca through June 24th).

Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Javier and Will in CDMX, marquetry hybrid, 56 x 47 ¾ inches, 2022.