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New York, “Christine Ay Tjoe: Covered and Cover” (Until Aug. 16)
One of the few women artists from Southeast Asia to gain and sustain global attention, Christine Ay Tjoe helped expand what abstraction could look like in the 1990s. Born and raised in Bandung, Indonesia, Ay Tjoe studied printmaking. Her earliest works were etchings of botanical roots which, tangled and hidden, resemble metaphors for interior life. As she made a deeper inquiry into grief and spirituality, she began to incorporate contorted human figures, Christian iconography, and acrylics into her practice before settling on a signature style of abstraction that has the uncanniness of a Rorschach test. Here, a new body of work marks her first solo debut in the States. whitecube.com
London, “Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons” (Until Oct. 19)
A graduate of the Royal Academy Schools, Rachel Jones’ colorful pastel abstractions have made her one of the UK’s most exciting young artists. Jones is interested in how facial expressions—particularly the mouth—can be distilled into pure shape and color. “It’s about emotion and inciting feelings that don’t have to be explained or expressed,” she says. At just 34, Jones is receiving her first retrospective. Several massive canvases debut alongside work from the past seven years. dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Los Angeles, “Marcel Dzama: Empress of Night” (Until Aug. 8)
Marcel Dzama is best known for his whimsical drawings, though his imagination has extended to sets for the New York City Ballet and costumes for a Spike Jonze short. The Canadian artist populates his lush worlds with eerie masked dancers, grimacing moons, and folkloric animals. His recent work takes a political undertone, addressing political unrest and rising authoritarianism. Here, drawings and film take inspiration from Fransisco Goya and surrealist poet Federico Garcia Lorca. davidzwirner.com
New York, “Varda Caivano: Nocturnal Music” (Until Aug. 15)
Born in Buenos Aires in 1971, artist Varda Caivano studied biology in college. The experimentation of the subject appealed to her, but in abstract painting she found a better outlet. In her late 20s, Caivano moved to London and enrolled in art school. Her art studio is more like a lab—albeit a playful and unruly one—where she experiments with how different materials behave when they are smudged, layered, and juxtaposed. She works with silk velvet, oil sticks, and charcoal wash in the recent series making up her New York debut. mendeswooddm.com
São Paulo, “Marcos Chaves: Blue Blood” (Until Aug. 16)
In the early 1990s, Marcos Chaves began repurposing found objects with a wit that aligned him with Brazil’s tradition of conceptualism. For this new series, he photographed the worn carpets in historic European interiors like Napoleon’s throne at Fontainebleau, the 16th Century Doria Pamphilij in Rome, and the Opéra Garnier. Then, he transposed the carpets into wall tapestries featuring the threadbare patches left behind by footsteps. The show also presents three other objects, including MessAge 2, a Swiss army knife pinning embroidered velvet to the wall. nararoesler.art
Through her books and products, this 21st-century domestic goddess is truly a part of the classic American style firmament. On this episode, Aerin Lauder speaks about growing up with her grandmother Estée, what she's learned over years of being in the business, and more.
The best of museum openings this week, from Barbara Kruger’s words landing in Bilbao to Jenny Saville’s fleshy nudes coming to London.
On this episode, Dan speaks to the brilliant London-based couple Sophie Ashby and Charlie Casely-Hayford about their unique careers, Ashby’s involvement in the nonprofit United in Design, Casely-Hayford’s own lineage in British culture, and more.
