Not all Thursdays are created equal, as some weeks simply have better openings than others. Many art enthusiasts have been recovering from the PTSD brought on after the early September onslaught of openings, but most of us are slowly crawling back to the sidewalks of Chelsea.
Many of Thursday’s openings seemed to contain works that had their heads pleasantly in the gutter. Celebrating or commenting on T&A always makes for an interesting viewing experience, especially when the artists come from such varied backgrounds. So slip into something more comfortable and scroll through a few highlights from this week’s openings…
Libby Black at Joshua Liner Gallery
Joshua Liner Gallery opened Libby Black’s first solo exhibition, “There’s No Place Like Home.” Here, Black uses paper, hot glue, and acrylic paint to recreate objects from her own home, as well as luxury objects she desires to possess. By creating this fictional room, viewers get a curious glimpse into who the artist might be. Is she a house wife that owns mass amounts of Louis Vuitton luggage? Is she a hoarder of vintage lesbian erotica? Unfortunately, neither. The artist hand creates objects that have played a significant role in her identity as a daughter, a lesbian, a mother, and an artist. While I applaud her willingness to explore the objects that have shaped her, I primarily just enjoyed the thought of someone making themselves a paper replica of an Hermès tea set.
The show will be on view through November 14, 2015.
S.M.U.T. at Joseph Gross Gallery
On the total opposite end of the spectrum, Joseph Gross Gallery opened a show that was appropriately titled “S.M.U.T.” The gallery has recently proven themselves as masters of seizing popular consciousness (that Wes Anderson show was bonkers). Thursday they presented works that pay homage to iconic Playboy magazine covers, a perfectly timely exhibit as the publication made headlines this week after it was announced they will no longer be featuring nude photos. The multimedia works were created by Lawrence “Naturel” Atoigue and are cubist reproductions of Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, and bunch of other babes. Sexy ladies = fun. Don’t over think it.
The show will be on view through October 31, 2015.
Surface Tension and The Feminist Calendar 2016 at Garis & Hahn
Garis & Hahn on the Bowery opened two shows, Surface Tension and The Feminist Calendar 2016. The first floor was dedicated to a showcase of badass multi-media lady artists Lala Abaddon, Jamie Powell, Sarah Sieradzki and Rachael Wren. The bottom floor was reserved for a new series of photography work by Andrea Mary Marshall that is a commentary on the coveted Pirelli calendar. Mixing bold works that aren’t inherently identifiable as feminine, with a series of works that make blatant feminist statements was intriguing, though I had to run out immediately because the gallery was packed like a humid human hotdog cooker.
The works will be on view through November 14, 2015.
Like this article? Check out literally anything else on the site because it is all great and totally worth your time.
