Time again for our weekly roundup of what’s new on the art scene.
Art by Brice Brown
Buccaneer, Masquerade, Suspence, Abundance, Thorn, Champion. Recent works by Brice Brown
April 17 (opening reception 7-9pm) to May 23 at Air Circulation, 160 Randolph St., Bushwick.
Kentucky-born artist Brice Brown created a multi-part installation meant to present a fragmented experienece of the still life genre as a way to explore “the dichotomous impulses inherent in the act of domestication: containment and freedom; restraint and release; a need for chaos and a need for order,” per the artist’s statement. The installation, largely consisting of archival pigment prints, wallpaper design and soft sculpture, draws from The Batsford Colour Book of Roses (1962) and pages from an early 20th century fruit and seed catalog. References to the letterhead design of constructivist-influenced masters such as Piet Zwart are embedded in the pieces.
So Different, So Appealing
April 16 (opening reception April 16, 6-8pm) to May 24, Frosch & Portmann, 53 Stanton St., Lower East Side
A group of artists working in different media — Maya Brym, Paul Loughney, Vicky Sher, Sheri Warschauer — create a shifting landscape of domesticity as they explore, per the press release, “the tensions between interiors and modern architecture.” Maya Brym paints houses set in front of dark mountain formations that are cut open to reveal a glimpse into alternate spaces, while Sheri Warschauer’s paintings and collages make fun of rich folks’ efforts to flaunt their wealth through art and furniture in modern homes.
The show’s title refers to the 1956 pop art collage “what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing” by British artist Richard Hamilton.
Sasha Bezzubov, The Republic of Dust
April 17 (opening 7-9pm), Front Room Gallery, 147 Roebling St., Williamsburg.
Photograph by Sasha Bezzubov
As Earth Day approaches, we would like to point you towards an exhibition addressing the impact of humanity’s interaction with the natural environment. Sasha Bezzubov depicts the coexistence of foreigners and locals in the threatened environment of Gabon’s rainforest region. Bezzubov’s landscape photographs focus on the rainforest being crisscrossed by logging roads and the onset of industrialization while his portraiture showcases the unlikely mix of locals and foreigners that inhabit the region: Gabonese villagers, indigenous Pygmies, migrant workers from neighboring countries, European technicians working in extracting industries, Chinese laborers, drug tourists and a herd of scientists.
Rear Window
April 17 (opening reception 6-9 pm) to April 19, 103 Allen St., Lower East Side
The Hitchcock reference and the sense of voyeurism in this group exhibition are patent, as the four painters respond to city life in the 21st century: themes include alienation and the way we relate to our manmade environment and to each other. True to the title, the window is a recurring motif.
Natalie Frank: The Brothers Grimm
April 10 (opening reception 6-8pm) to June 28 at Drawing Center, 35 Wooster St., Soho.
MFA-decorated artist Natalie Frank explores the dialogue between flesh and spirit and the dichotomy between “longing and desire, but also disgust and fascination” that constitutes humanity. Faithful to her philosophy, she created a series of visual representations of fairy tales, a literary genre that most people think of as sappy and overpopulated by songbirds and princes with no backbones. Wrong! with her gouache and chalk, Frank draws from the original, non-edulcorated version of the fairytales as transcribed by the Brothers Grimm which, in case you did not know, addressed sexual and social mores.
