New Bather, 2023, 20″ x 16″, oil, glitter on canvas
Farrell Brickhouse’s exhibition at JJ Murphy Gallery in the Lower East Side marks a significant milestone in Brickhouse’s artistic journey. It is his first solo exhibition at the gallery and his first one-person show in over a decade. The works on display, all created between 2020 and 2024 at his new home and studio in Hudson, NY, provide an insight into the artist’s evolution in painting and picture-making over this period.
Installation view. Photo courtesy of The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation
The exhibition Accommodating the Object of paintings by Elizabeth Yamin and Bosiljka Raditsa is presented by The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation in New York and was curated by William Corwin, who describes this exhibition as an intimate survey that offers the viewer an opportunity to compare the works of these two artists, who were active during the latter part of the twentieth century without attaining prominent careers.
Peter Gynd, Figures which do not behave within the structure of a Story, 2023, oil on linen, 48 x 36 inches
10989 Dunlop Road features Peter Gynd’s recent oil paintings, inspired by the tranquil garden of his mother’s home in kwekwenis (Lang Bay), British Columbia. This series captures the shifting essence of cedar and fir trees that stand at the garden’s entrance, embodying themes of rebirth and spiritual renewal. Each painting serves as a reflection of Gynd’s connection to this place of refuge during a pivotal time.
Laura Williams home studio 2023 by Rebekha Robinson
New Zealand-based painter Laura Williams began her artistic journey twelve years ago in her late 40s, following significant personal upheaval and loss. Turning to art as a means of coping, she replaced alcohol consumption with creativity, using her work to express and manage her anxiety and depression. Diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger’s, Williams found clarity in her penchant for patterns and symbols, which she employs as a unique language in her paintings. Her work, extensively exhibited across New Zealand and Sydney, Australia, is marked by its distinct yet universally resonant themes. The figures in her art, often women alongside men, clothed or unclothed, convey a sense of isolation despite their physical proximity. The dense and intricate patterns combined with vivid colors create an intensely claustrophobic space vibrating with charged psychological tensions.
Grace Mitchell-Eternal Return IV, Oil on panel, 30”x30”, 2022
The deep, rich colors and textures of Grace Mitchell’s oil paintings will draw you in, but it’s often the title that sets you thinking. Interweaving layers of color glow through the marsh grasses in her newest series, Watershed Assessment. You could get lost in the sheer beauty of these paintings with their glints of tidal water and shadowy mountains looming in the distance, all saturated with a moist, misty atmosphere that seems to glow with fecundity. But the title gives pause. These lush, luminous landscapes are meant to be “assessed,” and careful observation finds them full of scars and flaws.
Thin, translucent layers of shaped and stretched natural latex are mounted onto walls or wooden boards to extend the limits of painting—these are Elena Dahn’s New Bodies, on view at the Buenos Aires-based artist’s first New York exhibition. Hosted by Revolver, a contemporary art venue launched in 2008 by Giancarlo Scaglia in Lima and subsequently in Buenos Aires and on the Lower East Side, the exhibition is an invitation to rethink the relationship between body and painting, performance and mark-making, space and surface.
Inside Out Oculus, 2022, acrylic on mylar, 36×45.5 in.
In her Interiors painting series, American Iranian-born painter Zahra Nazari draws on prominent features in classical Persian and Islamic architecture—decorative botanical motifs, arch, and particularly, iwan, the large, vaulted hall semi-enclosed and usually walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. Many scholars believe its origin can be traced back to the Parthian era. While looking at Nazari’s luminous surfaces, it may be interesting to keep in mind the dual role of the Persian arch—it serves both decorative and functional purposes—this richly decorated key aesthetic element in Persian architecture functions not only as an ornament but also as a structural support that provides stability. It is also designed to moderate the amount of sunlight that enters space, especially in iwans or other open spaces. Nazari’s frequent use of Mylar as a surface stirs a play on the notion of external and internal light, and simultaneously, her saturated color palette invokes a hot and arid climate with bright, sunlit days and crisp nights. Repetitive and rhythmical, these motifs coalesce into energetic, translucent, and luminous surfaces, evoking an interior space in flux. Zahra Nazari elaborates on her ideas and process in this interview with Art Spiel.
Elizabeth Gilfilen’s debut solo show at YI Gallery presents oil paintings that exhibit a meticulous yet bold exploration of color and texture. Her strokes span from boldly assertive to gently nuanced, each adding to her work’s visual depth and dynamic feel. Eschewing neat conclusions, her paintings are presented as evolving works, with each layer suggesting new narratives in an unfolding journey. The synergy of color and form in her paintings creates a dynamic tableau, inviting viewers to interact with the canvas, drawing them into the active narrative of the art’s continuous unfolding.
Holding the Mountain, 2018-23, Oil on Wood, 36X24 Inches
An acute sense of yearning permeates the ten artworks showcased in Dov Talpaz’s debut exhibition at SARAHCROWN in Tribeca. The exhibition, The Sound of Longing, was thoughtfully composed by curator Sarah Corona, who selected small to medium-sized oil paintings characterized by their strikingly vivid hues. The modest dimension of the paintings enhances a sense of an intimate space, while the rich, dynamic colors seem to resonate with a loud auditory experience.
(little) Pink Studio. Oil and acrylic on canvas. 32 x 40. 2023
Stepping into the bright and warmly lit Jack Hanley Gallery in Tribeca, I was struck by the brilliant swirl of color in Sophie Treppendahl’s exhibition of new work. The pieces seem ready to pop right off of the walls. The show exists in two connected parts, encompassing both floors of the gallery. Vibrant paintings of domestic scenes on the ground floor and small dioramas of similar domestic spaces in the downstairs gallery.
