Yoko Ono, THE RIVERBED (Installation View), via Rae Wang for Art Observed

Spread across two gallery spaces, Yoko Ono’s THE RIVERBED demonstrates the possibility and presence of basic human connection through the manipulation of various materials.  Together, the assemblages of stone, string, and ceramic create a process of healing through, as the artist says,”love, and creativity.”  This concept of mending is both internal and external, as string criss-crosses the space of each gallery, continued through pencil and paper on the sketchbooks provided.

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Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Cuilapán Niche) (1973), via Galerie Lelong

The current exhibition at Galerie Lelong contains a wide range of Ana Mendieta’s work, spanning from photography (Mendieta was known for her documented performances), sculpture, and works on paper. Mendieta’s diverse approach often brings to question the artist’s practice and style: was she an earth artist, a conceptual artist, a performance artist, a filmmaker, a photographer, or a sculptor?  Featured prominently in this show, the artist’s earth sculptures in particular provide viewers a unique opportunity to examine the transformation of Mendieta’s work during the last years of her life. Presenting ephemeral works the artist executed in natural environs, as well as her three-dimensional pieces, made from natural elements such as earth, wood and sand, these pieces show the artist’s continued imagery of the female body.

Ana Mendieta, Alma Silueta en Fuego (Silueta de Cenizas), (1975), via Galerie Lelong (more…)

Alex Prager, 4:29pm Van Nuys (2012)

Los Angeles based artist Alex Prager is showing internationally for the second time in her rapid rise, showing Compulsion simultaneously at Yancey Richardson in New York, M+B in Los Angeles, and Michael Hoppen Contemporary in London. Paired with a short film titled La Petit Mort (French for ‘the little death’—a euphemism for sexual orgasm) the exhibition is both a substantiation and a deviation of her previous work. Featuring scenes of film noir, tense, and poised-to-erupt, the Hitchcockian damsel in distress and Prager’s unmistakable retro touch are all on view.

Alex Prager, La Petit Mort (2012), film still

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All images courtesy the artist and Galerie Lelong, Paris

Following a year in the public eye for Jaume Plensa, the artist’s current show at Galerie Lelong in Paris is comprised of steel and rock creations as well as accompanying drawings. These “modern hermits” follow in the wake attention Plensa garnered last year via large scale sculptural installations in Madison Square Park, M.I.T. and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The mid-sized works and drawings are approachable, “silent observers of the hustle and bustle,” according to the press release.

Jaume Plensa, The Hermit VI (2012)

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