This month at Carpenters Workshop Gallery is an exhibit of decadent works from Italian designer Vincenzo De Cotiis. As the name suggests, “Baroquisme” is the designers reimagining of the Baroque aesthetic for the 21st century. Known for its ornate designs in rare and fine materials, Baroque may seem at odds with much of the sleek, modern design of the recent past. Handmade by skilled artisans, this collection of seating, lighting, tables, and cabinets offers the textures and luxury of Baroque, with clean modern lines.
Art News
Rhona Hoffman Gallery opens its new location at 1711 West Chicago Avenue with Judy Ledgerwood’s fifth solo gallery exhibition "Far From the Tree." Featuring bright colors and repetitive patterns inspired by quilting and other decorative arts, Ledgerwood subverts the viewer’s expectations of abstract painting with unexpected color combinations and tactile globs of paint that bleed from one section into another.
Opening this week at Pace Gallery, is the gallery’s first New York showing of the artist Yto Barrada. “How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone by Yourself” is no simple gallery show, either. Spanning three floors of Pace’s 32 East 57 Street location, Barrada’s diverse practice and body of work is fully represented in this survey. Featuring collages, a diverse range of sculptures, dyed and sewn fabric compositions, prints, and films, the exhibition is far-reaching.
“I chose to use photography, with my camera as a time machine to travel back into the past.”
— Hiroshi Sugimoto
At Brian Gross Fine Art this month, two artists approaching drawing with similar interests and parameters achieve intriguingly different results. Andrea Way and Adam Fowler both craft meticulously detailed layered drawings featuring intricate repetitive patterns. A Delicate Crossing, Way’s fifth solo exhibition at Brian Gross Fine Art, consists of ten mixed media drawings of systematically layered patterns, occasionally adorned with glass beads, adding texture and radiance to her work.
Currently at Carl Hammer Gallery, Vivarium is Mary Lou Zelazny’s immersive exploration of surreal plantlife. Zelazny combines painting and collage in striking, dreamlike images of technicolor trees and zebra-striped bouquets. At first glance, what seems to be merely exuberant plein air studies and still-lives, are revealed upon closer examination to be surreal and mysterious reconfigurations. Zelazny reimagines flora, creating new and unusual botanical studies collaged from monoprints.
In Chris Schanck’s solo exhibition at Friedman Benda, furniture seems capable of taking on a life of its own. The show's title, ‘Unhomely’, warns us not to get too comfortable. The play on 'home' and 'homely' advises us to look beyond the beautiful exteriors of the objects that inhabit our homes. While Schanck’s sculptural furniture could be reassuring objects of convenience, its otherworldly forms suggest it might have its own plans once we turn our backs.
Now at Kavi Gupta’s Chicago venue, Beverly Fishman’s Chemical Sublime uses vibrant colors and iconic pharmaceutical shapes to explore how technology alters our perception and reality. Using cast resin, mirrored Plexiglass, powder-coated metal and phosphorescent pigments, Fishman has created visually stunning work. Her polychrome reliefs and paintings mimic commonly prescribed medications as well as medical imaging technologies such as EEG and EKG machines.
Opening at Sean Kelly, New York this month, ‘Marina Abramović Early Works’ displays a historical record of the early, groundbreaking performances by the “Grandmother of Performance Art.” The 12 photos represent performances from the 1970's, including her Rhythm series, Lips of Thomas (star on stomach), Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful, and others.
Iconic artist Robert Indiana is known for bold sculptures exploring language and numbers. Born Robert Clark, in New Castle, Indiana on September 13, 1928, Indiana showed early artistic talent, and developed his talent throughout his schooling, earning a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago after serving in the Air Force. Indiana moved to New York in 1954 to pursue an art career, and joined the Coenties Slip art community. Indiana changed his name in 1958 to honor his home state. Indiana currently lives and works in Vinalhaven, Maine.
