Exhibitions showcase four guys…and a group
KEVIN ZUCKER
With a visual language that embraces both the concrete and the artificial, Zucker’s paintings and works on paper explore systems for archiving, storage and display — especially as they pertain to the Internet. They blur reality and illusion. While his paintings often involve handmade as well as mechanical components, the role of the artist’s “hand” is consciously minimized. Instead, silkscreen and digital printing techniques offer an unusual sense of immediacy.
Through Dec. 22. At Eleven Rivington (11 Rivington St., btw. Bowery & Chrystie St. and also at 195 Chrystie St, btw. Rivington & Stanton Sts.). Hours: Wed.-Sun., 12-6pm. Call 212-982-1930 or 212-477-2507. Also visit elevenrivington.com.
GUILLERMO KUITCA
This is the first U.S. museum exhibition focusing on a specific selection of paintings made from 2005 to the present. Kuitca’s so-called “Diarios” entails a body of work that originated in 1994. Back then, he began to stretch discarded canvases over an abandoned table from his parents’ garden — and spent months creating intentional and accidental doodles, drawings and recordings on their surfaces. Reminiscent of Dieter Roth’s table mats, these works are highly personal in that they incorporate phone numbers, titles of paintings, email addresses, blank spots where books sat, lists and collaged elements. As a group, they offer an enticing record of the ebb and flow of life — both inside and outside the studio.
Through Dec. 16. At The Drawing Center (35 Wooster St., below Broome St.). Hours: Wed.-Sun., 12-6pm and Thurs., 12-8pm. Call 212-219-2166 or visit drawingcenter.org.
JOE FYFE
In the past, acclaimed New York-based artist, writer and curator Fyfe has worked with combining more traditional methods of painting with textile collages. The latter were often sparked by his extensive travels to Asia and Europe. More recently, Fyfe’s paintings have become increasingly three-dimensional — or, as he put it, “off the stretcher.” By featuring paintings incorporating found signs and commercial kites (as well as several free-standing sculptures), Fyfe is headed beyond easy categorization. This amounts to the first major public step towards that new direction.
Through Dec. 15. At White Columns (320 W. 13th St., enter Horatio St., btw. Hudson & Eighth Ave.). Hours: Tues.-Sat., 12-6pm. Call 212-924-4212 or visit whitecolumns.org.
MARK BRADFORD
This exhibition features several large-scale abstract paintings rendered in Bradford’s signature technique of layering, collaging and décollaging. In this process, physical characteristics of source materials are largely preserved, establishing a dialogue between painted gestures and the physicality of found objects. Bradford’s final compositions can evoke aerial maps of mysterious landscapes or urban topographies, for example. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (2009), Bradford recently concluded his mid-career survey exhibition, which traveled from the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago; the Dallas Museum of Art; and the San Francisco Museum of Art and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Through Dec. 22. At Sikkema Jenkins & Co. (530 W. 22nd St., btw. 10th & 11th Aves.). Hours: Tues.-Sat., 10am-6pm. Call 212-929-2262 or visit sikkemajenkinsco.com.
AROUND THE CORNER
Last December, Christopher D’Amelio and Lucien Terras dissolved their longstanding partnership in the acclaimed Chelsea gallery D’Amelio Terras.
Since then, D’Amelio has taken over their formerly shared West 22nd Street space — while Terras has launched a private artist agency, focusing on special projects. The latter now includes an outstanding assemblage of works by four acclaimed Tribeca-based artists: Hermine Ford, Joanne Greenbaum, Paul Pagk and Gary Stephan. Equipped with an impeccable eye for innovative contemporary abstract art, Terras’ new program promises to be worth watching.
Open through Dec. 9. At 143 Reade St. (btw. Greenwich & Hudson Sts.) by appointment only. Call 917-517-4929 or visit lucienterras.com.
— by STEPHANIE BUHMANN
