#simone subal

Florian Meisenberg, Anna K.E at Simone Subal

A broken column constructed of foam core and covered by custom handmade silk Kashmiri rugs in Baseera Khan’s current show at Simone Subal Gallery suggests an empire toppled, its segments like gears in a massive, defunct machine. Instead of dominating visitors with its huge size though, the pillar entices thanks to its decorative patterns and appears mysteriously futuristic due to its liquid-looking resin core. Fascinating remnants entice us to consider the historical past as complicated and unknown, suggesting new legacies for the future. (On view on the Lower East Side through Dec 22nd). Baseera Khan, installation view of ‘snake skin’ at Simone Subal Gallery, Nov 2019.

Female legs become soft beakers in Jen Liu’s painting of a luxuriously gold-toned world populated by detached body parts, currently on view at Simone Subal Gallery on the Lower East Side. A floating head connects by thin gold wire to the legs, while giant fingers reach in from the side to manipulate events. A nearby video featuring a hot dog factory manned by cadres of female workers aims at “resolving the inequities of wealth and resource distribution through the factory-produced hot dog.” (On view through March 24th). Jen Liu, PSCS Gold Loop: Shoe Tubes, acrylic ink, acrylic gouache, and gold acrylic on paper, 70 x 51 inches, 2017.

Geometry rules this painting by Toronto-based painter Veronika Pausova, who alludes to domestic environments by picturing curtains, cupboards and flower vases in still life paintings that are both tranquil and tense. This standout from her current show at Simone Subal Gallery, titled ‘Neighbour,’ suggests a nosy neighbor twitching her stylish curtains or the reverse – a neighbor tantalizingly out of our view. (On the Lower East Side through July 28th). Veronika Pausova, Neighbour, oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches, 2017.

Emily Mae Smith’s subversive broom-bodied character appears in close-up with a view of mice, wheat and a polluted environment reflected in her eyes in this highlight of the artist’s current show at Simone Subal Gallery. Derived from Disney’s Fantasia, the broom appears poised to clean up the landscape she surveys, perhaps in aid of the mice and wheat, species who’ve been on the planet a long time. Her crown of hair, composed of gingko leaves, points to the trees’ role in removing huge amounts of CO2 from urban environments. (On view on the Lower East Side. Masks and social distancing are required and appointments recommended.) Emily Mae Smith, Head, Horizon World, oil on linen, 67 x 90 inches, 2020.

Installed in late April though the show will likely never be seen in person by the public, The Hole NYC’s exhibition ‘Second Smile’ asks how Surrealism continues to surface in contemporary painting. The show includes work by Emily Mae Smith, whose painting of two candles in a clandestine nighttime meeting was a memorable part of her show at Simone Subal Gallery in 2017. (On view at The Hole NYC through May 24th). Emily Mae Smith, The Caress, oil on linen, 48 x 38 inches, 2017.

Grace Weaver at Simone Subal

A 300 lb piece of talc was the basis of this large sculpture by Larry Bamburg, who bridged the natural and manmade by adding a similarly colored soap, then bathroom tiles to the stone, creating a conversation between materials whose properties converge yet remain distinct. (At Simone Subal on the Lower East Side through March 20th). Larry Bamburg, Talcto Tile PL’d to MDO, talc, ceramic and plaster tiles, planitesine, medium density overlay (MDO) plywood, 70 3/10 x 43 ½ x 54 ½ inches, 2016.