Oshawa, Ontario McLaughlin Gallery There is a god of maize in the British Museum, an artifact that represents an enduring Central American myth from the Popol Vuh in which corn becomes the main ingredient in the creation of the first people.
“Civic Action”
Queens, New York Noguchi Museum and Socrates Sculpture Park Noguchi Museum and Socrates Sculpture Park “Civic Action,” though much smaller in scope, celebrated the same spirit of activism and social engagement on view at Documenta XIII in Kassel, Germany, and Manifesta 9 in Genk, Belgium, last summer.
Wang Xieda
New York James Cohan Gallery Based on the title of Wang Xieda’s first New York solo show, one might expect a focus on figurative or narrative content. Describing a grammatical construction, “Subject Verb Object” seems to imply the depiction of subjects engaged in actions that further involve objects.
Jim Osman
New York Lesley Heller Workspace In a very smart show, Jim Osman has taken the cast-offs of his earlier projects in wood and stacked them together to create frontally oriented, open sculptures. The seemingly offhand manner in which he fashions his square or rectangular constructions belies their sophistication.
Murray Dewart
Boston Boston Sculptors Gallery In Guardian of the Vows, a small, serene bronze with an architectural presence, two tiny towers flank a patterned, rectilinear center. The tops of the towers screw on and off; you can put things in them, provided you roll them up, like your wedding vows, your will, or even a recipe,
Ruth Laxson
Atlanta Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia An endless fascination with language defines Ruth Laxson’s work. She combines mathematical equations, musical annotation, graphic symbols, and text to create a unique syntax. “Hip Young Owl,” her recent retrospective, traced the evolution of this language through sculptures, paintings, etchings, prints, artist books, and mail art spanning more than
Noe Aoki
AICHI PREFECTURE, JAPAN Toyota City Museum and Nagoya City Museum In the field of Japanese heavy metal sculpture, Noe Aoki stands out for her transformation of iron into a malleable, almost lightweight material. A 1983 graduate of Musashino Art University, outside of Tokyo, she has been included in numerous museum group shows and was awarded a Minister of Education New Artist Prize in 2000.
Evan Penny
TORONTO Art Gallery of Ontario Evan Penny’s sculptures, while bringing to mind the work of Duane Hanson and Ron Mueck, are presented in ways that confuse the viewer’s understanding. Penny, who explores the space between the two-dimensional and human perception, is concerned with how images in the digital age are increasingly modified and moving further away from reality.
Guy Zagursky
TEL AVIV Sommer Contemporary Art Gallery In past sculptural installations and performances, artist and musician Guy Zagursky has pursued the theme of power and its downfall. In a video documenting an arm-wrestling competition held at the 2006 Art Basel, for example, Zagursky is crowned World Champion of Art, after wrestling with and defeating artists, critics, and gallery owners.
