new york art tours

Martine Syms fans expect a stream-of-conscious outpouring of text and image (as in her recent diaristic book, ‘Shame Space’) and her latest solo at Bridget Donahue will not disappoint.  Videos housed in custom, laser-cut cardboard boxes covered in fragments of commercial imagery or even inserted into a corner of a hanging dry cleaning bag run counter to typical sleek gallery video presentations.  Positioned in front of one video wall, this chair titled ‘Bonnet Core’ sports frilly lace at the edges, abundant text and a high heeled pink boot next to one chair leg.  Accompanied by a press release written by Alissa Bennett detailing enthusiastic engagement with an auction of Janet Jackson’s belongings earlier this year, the show speaks to our deeply personal yet shared experience of pop culture.  (On view through Sept 25th on the Lower East Side). Martine Syms, Bonnet Core, cotton, rhinestones, metal, paint, lace, polyester, thread, 39 3/8 x 18 1/8 x 25 ¾ inches, 2021.

Dogwood flowers are known for their ‘delicate yet tough appearance’ the Brooklyn Museum explains; Sugiura Yasuyoshi’s sculptural version of a dogwood bloom adds another contrast by presenting transient beauty in solid stoneware. Known for his ceramic sculptures of flowers, Yasuyoshi’s blooms may seem an unusual choice for ‘The Slipstream,’ the museum’s current show of work from the permanent collection that reflects on the turbulence of 2020. But the flower is often associated with rebirth, making it a symbol of hope. (On view through March 20, ’22. Masks and vaccination proof required.) Sugiura Yasuyoshi, Dogwood Flower, stoneware with metallic glazes, 2019.

Prior to the pandemic, artists Alice Hope, Bastienne Schmidt and Toni Ross decided to make artwork in response to one object at the Met; improbably, they each focused on a navigational chart from the Marshall Islands. Known for creating abstract sculpture and installation composed of repeated objects, Hope’s contribution to the three artists’ current joint exhibition at Ricco/Maresca Gallery includes this accumulation of ball chains. A kind of counterpoint to navigating social space through distancing, theses crowded forms resemble natural fibers but are made from mass produced keychains. (On view in Chelsea through Sept 11th). Alice Hope, untitled, Ball chain, anodized door screen, 20 x 45 inches, 2020.

Known for semi-abstract and often small-scale sculpture including the ‘Lynch Fragments’ series recently on view at the New Museum, Melvin Edwards takes over the south entrance to City Hall Park with this large-scale sculpture depicting broken chains. Titled ‘Brighter Days’ the exhibition’s curving minimal forms enhances the attractiveness of the message displayed – freedom from bondage. (On view through Nov 28th). Melvin Edwards, ‘Song of the Broken Chains’ in installation view of ‘Brighter Days’ at City Hall Park, summer 2021.

Exiled to Spain, then Brazil in the late 70s during Argentina’s military junta, Argentinian artist Marcia Schvartz returned to Buenos Aires in 1983, settling in the working class and bohemian neighborhood of San Telmo. Frank portraits of her friends and neighbors followed, along with this depiction of a mystical encounter at one of the city’s major train stations now on view in an exhibition of Schvartz’s work at Tribeca gallery 55 Walker. Downplaying the opulent and busy surroundings of the station, Schvartz concentrates on a tender encounter between a mom and an ethereal visage. (On view through Sept 7th). Encuentro mistico constitucion (Mystical encounter at Constitution Train Station), oil on canvas and collage, 52 x 46.2 x 1 inches, 1998.

Experimental Finnish photographer Niko Luoma recreates a scene from an iconic 19th century woodblock print by Hokusai in this photographic image made from multiple exposures at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery. Whereas Hokusai pictures travelers battling the wind – holding on to their hats or losing a pile of paper to a strong gust - Luoma’s version abstracts the scene, creating mood with strong color and foregrounding the escaping pieces of paper as they take flight. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 27th. Niko Luoma, Self-titled Adaptation of Travelers Caught in a Sudden Breeze at Ejiri (1832), Archival pigment print, diasec, frame, 2019.

Alice Aycock’s sizeable ‘Wavy Enneper’ sculpture in Marlborough Gallery’s summer group show is tantalizingly familiar, resembling an underwater organism or a fungus. However, its enticingly curving, dynamic form was actually inspired by a diagram of a self-intersecting surface introduced by 19th century German mathematician Alfred Enneper. (On view in Chelsea through Sept 11th). Alice Aycock, Wavy Enneper, fiberglass, aluminum and acrylic, ed of 3 + 1AP, 84 x 116 3/8 x 102 inches, 2011.

Arcmanoro Niles’ first solo show at Lehmann Maupin Gallery opens with this oil, acrylic and glitter image of a contemplative man, raising his eyebrows at the viewer or maybe at life itself. Titled ‘Hey Tomorrow, Do You Have Some Room For Me: Failure Is A Part Of Being Alive,’ the show looks hopefully to the future while acknowledging the challenges and temptations of life now. With this image, Niles takes a scene from everyday life and turns it electric with red and pink tones and glitter accents; at the bottom and right, he adds sketchily drawn figures that represent the pleasuring seeking id, begging the question of how these interlopers will effect the tranquil domestic life pictured. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 27th.) Arcmanoro Niles, I Thought Freedom Would Set Me Free (And You Gave Me A Song), oil, acrylic and glitter on canvas, 70 x 50.5 x 2 inches, 2020.

Is abstraction less political than representational art? ‘Hiding in Plain Sight,’ Pace Gallery’s summer group exhibition, argues for abstract art’s capacity to embody resistance. Yto Barrada’s ‘Geological Time Scale,’ a selection of monochrome Moroccan rugs arranged around a custom-built table, recalls how an early 20th century French general’s catalogue of traditional rugs excluded single-color pieces, his bias impacting his audience’s understanding of Moroccan textile production. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 20th). Yto Barrada, Geological Time Scale (assembled group of primarily monochrome Beni Mguild, Marmoucha, and Ait Sgougou pile rugs from Western Central, Middle Atlas, Morocco), Mid-20th Century, mixed media, dimensions variable, 2015.

Brazilian artist Marepe’s socially conscious practice thrives on contrasts between city and country, rich and poor, etc.; each of these five assemblages in Anton Kern Gallery’s 25-year anniversary show is collectively titled ‘caipira’ or ‘bumpkins’ and features a prominent heart drawn in pastel. Set up like pins waiting to be bowled down, these unsuspecting folk appear to be especially vulnerable. (On view at 16 East 55th Street through Aug 20th). Marepe, Coracao, Caipira, clay pots, pastel, straw, 32 ¼ x 41 3/8 inches (5 pieces together), 2019.

Photography came of age in the 19th century western landscape and, more recently, the western U.S. has been transformed by the effects of climate change says artist Brea Souders, whose new series ‘Vistas’ at Bruce Silverstein explores representations of the region created using Google Photo Sphere. Each found photo features a distorted shadow, Google’s algorithm having removed images of people. As individual agency meets global dissemination of images taken in remote locations, the scale and experience of nature shifts dramatically. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 20th). Brea Souders, Untitled #22 (from Vistas), unique archival pigment print with watercolor, 40 x 56 inches, 2020.

Queer community in natural settings inspired Diedrick Brackens latest show of vibrant weavings at Jack Shainman Gallery’s 20th Street location. Here, two figures connect to each other via the closeness of their echoing silhouettes as they create organic shapes in harmony with the landscape around them. (On view through August 20th). Diedrick Brackens, Summer Syllables, woven cotton and acrylic yarn, 86 x 80 inches, 2021.

JoAnn Verburg’s recent photos at Pace Gallery of olive groves were taken in California, Israel and Italy, but it’s not always easy to guess which location is which. Calling the images a ‘contemplative respite’ from the demands of everyday city life, Verburg steps outside of the specifics of place and time to present a meditation on time and beauty in nature. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 20th). JoAnn Verburg, BETWEEN, pigment print mounted to Dibond, 57 1/8 x 40 1/8,” 2021.

‘Great Divide,’ the title of this watercolor by Tim Gardner at 303 Gallery, could refer to U.S. politics or the Rockies; chiefly, it taps into mythologies of the lone wanderer. German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich’s iconic solitary figure on a cliff’s edge comes to mind, now behind the wheel of a gas guzzler and protected by guardrails. The restorative qualities of nature, experienced particularly during the pandemic, no doubt inspired Gardner. At the same time, the complexities of contemporary relationships to nature make the image enticing and uncomfortable. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 13th). Tim Gardner, Great Divide, watercolor on paper, 15 x 19 7/8 inches, 2021.

The unlikely combination of a snake and carrots and the media of painting and ceramics in Stephanie Temma Hier’s sculpture/painting at Kasmin Gallery both attracts and puzzles. Hier’s diverse combinations of imagery have included ceramic greyhounds with painted blueberries and sculptural lips enclosing a 2-D image of tulips; generally her juxtapositions prompt consideration of how the natural world has been mediated by human consumption. Titled ‘At the Root of the Curve,’ this painting links root vegetables to sinuous forms via algebra terminology. (On view in Chelsea through Aug 13th). Stephanie Temma Hier, At the Root of the Curve, oil on linen with glazed stoneware sculpture, 67 x 57 inches, 2021.

Jingze Du’s distorted figures recall staticky interference on an old black and white tv monitor, prompting viewers to consider what mediates the images we consume. Though painting in oil on canvas, Du’s animals, famous actors and sports stars reference digital manipulation. Du cites Kayne West’s vocal distortions and the shifting skull in Hans Holbein’s famous 16th century painting ‘The Ambassadors’ as further sources of inspiration. In this painting at The Hole’s new Tribeca location, Du does strange and captivating things with Brad Pitt’s classic squint. (On view through Aug 8th). Jingze Du, Brad, oil on canvas, 23.5 x 20 inches, 2021.

Though young Brooklyn-based painter and printmaker Jade Alexis Thacker’s watchful characters look too aware to be courting oblivion, they’re standouts in Fredericks & Freiser Gallery’s summer group show ‘Towards a More Beautiful Oblivion.’ Thacker’s paintings often include black and yellow color contrasts that convey danger and anxiety, but here, cool colors, an intimate embrace and the angelic, wing-like arm of the figure on the right also speak to comfort and strength in friendship. (On view in Chelsea through August 6th). Jade Alexis Thacker, familiar void, oil and acrylic on canvas, 70 x 42 inches, 2021.