0:00 Delcy Morelos at Dia Chelsea 3:24 Lee Krasner at Kasmin Gallery 5:15 Noritoshi Mitsuuchi at Ross+Kramer Gallery 7:21 alomón Huerta at Harper’s Gallery

Delcy Morelos: El abrazo at Dia Chelsea

October 5, 2023—July 20, 2024,

For over a decade, Delcy Morelos has immersed herself in the realm of earth, crafting expansive environments filled with geometric abstractions and scattered formations. Inspired by the cosmologies of ancestral cultures, including those of the Andean and Amazonian traditions, and her own experiences, Morelos delves into the profound significance of mud in its myriad manifestations—as both a source of life and sustenance. At Dia Chelsea, the artist unveils two immersive, multisensory installations—namely, “Cielo terrenal” (Earthly Heaven, 2023) and “El abrazo” (The Embrace, 2023), the latter lending its name to the exhibition. These installations blur the boundaries between surface and volume, melding through monochromatic expanses and the accumulation of materials. By shifting the focus from mere land and site considerations to embodied expressions of material and ecological knowledge, Morelos strives to evoke moments of connection with what she aptly describes as the “intimate humidity of the earth.”

In conjunction with the commission, Dia introduces “Soil Sessions,” an ongoing series of interdisciplinary activations. These sessions encompass poetic reflections, discursive dialogues, and physical interactions with Earth as subjects and material in Morelos’s oeuvre. Presented monthly throughout the exhibition, these public programs offer diverse perspectives and sustained engagement with the commission.

Accompanying Delcy Morelos: El abrazo is the first bilingual publication dedicated solely to the artist’s soil-based creations. Edited by Kamilah N. Foreman, Alexis Lowry, and Zuna Maza, this richly illustrated monograph will delve into Morelos’s multisensory and deeply personal approach to working with the land. Featuring versions of Amazon Indigenous origin stories from Bará, M+n+ca, Uitoto N+pode, and Yucuna Kamejeyá and Yucuna Jeruriba knowledge-holders, the publication will be available in English and Spanish, with the publishing date yet to be announced.

Lee Krasner: The Edge of Color

Geometric Abstractions 1948–53

Kasmin Gallery

February 22 – March 28, 2024

Kasmin is presenting its fourth solo exhibition showcasing the renowned American Abstract Expressionist painter Lee Krasner. Entitled “Lee Krasner: The Edge of Color, Geometric Abstractions 1948–53,” this exhibition marks a significant exploration of a lesser-known aspect of Krasner’s career, highlighting her focus on geometric relationships. The featured paintings are sourced from esteemed collections such as the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and several prestigious institutions.

Since 2016, Kasmin has been privileged to represent Lee Krasner’s work through the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Critic John Yau recently remarked on Krasner’s enduring strength in resisting categorization, a trait that defines her artistic legacy. While Krasner is widely recognized for her bold, large-scale works and dynamic collages, this exhibition sheds light on a period of experimentation that laid the groundwork for her future innovations.

The exhibition delves into Krasner’s “Little Image” series (1946–1950), featuring notable pieces like Composition (1949) from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, White Squares (c. 1948) from the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Untitled (1948) from The Jewish Museum. These works illustrate Krasner’s evolving style and techniques as she transitioned from Manhattan to Springs, NY. Initially characterized by heavy impasto, Krasner began integrating grid-like and geometric motifs around 1948, influenced by her earlier ventures into mosaic art. Comparable pieces can be found in esteemed collections such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Noritoshi Mitsuuchi: Poetic Stars at  Ross + Kramer Gallery, Chelsea

Mar 7th – Apr 6th, 2024

Ross + Kramer is currently having a solo exhibition by Noritoshi Mitsuuchi, titled “Poetic Stars,” which opened on March 7, 2024, in New York City. The artist extends a heartfelt dedication to this showcase to honor the lives and enduring influences of Bill Brady and Michel Cohen.

In “Poetic Stars,” Mitsuuchi unveils eleven paintings crafted over the past year. Drawing from a diverse wellspring of inspiration, from ancient art forms and folklore to contemporary cultural motifs, the artist’s spirited compositions emanate a sense of timelessness. With bold yet elegantly simplistic brushwork and ethereal color-washed backgrounds, each piece exudes a reverent aura of antiquity.

The thematic tapestry of Mitsuuchi’s oeuvre harkens back to European fairy tales. It pays homage to venerable artistic traditions, such as the 12th-century Chōjū-Giga (“Animal Caricature”) scrolls, hailed as among the earliest precursors to manga. Within his canvases, knights, princesses, dragons, and felines gracefully inhabit clouds—an homage to the ethereal imagery found in 11th-century Buddhist sculptures known as Unchūkuyō Bosatsu (“Bodhisattvas on Clouds”).

Rooted in nostalgia for the unrestrained imagination of youth, Mitsuuchi’s creations are a jubilant celebration of fantasy and its boundless realms. This captivating collection invites viewers to embark on a journey of rediscovery, reconnecting with facets of themselves obscured amidst the trappings of adulthood’s routine.

Salomón Huerta: Pool Paintings at Harper’s Gallery in Chelsea

February 22 – March 30, 2024

Harper’s Gallery is currently showing “Pool Paintings,” the third solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist Salomón Huerta. The exhibition showcases Huerta’s latest oil paintings. Huerta’s fascination with private swimming pools dates back to his teenage years. At the age of sixteen, he embarked on a journey as a day laborer alongside his father, cleaning pools in Malibu. During this time, he was struck by the surreal allure of private pools, seemingly pristine and untouched, almost as if they were ornamental rather than functional. With “Pool Paintings,” Huerta delves into this captivating memory, experimenting with abstraction to offer a fresh perspective on his artistic journey.

Renowned for his adept command of observational painting, Huerta typically infuses his subjects, from figures to landscapes, with an expressive grandeur reminiscent of art historical giants like Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas. However, in “Pool Paintings,” Huerta adopts a more liberated approach, employing free-form strokes to depict private swimming pools as the focal point of his compositions, devoid of human presence.

Huerta masterfully conjures man-made environments through the rapid strokes of abstraction, employing a wet-on-wet technique with oil paints. The resulting works feature fluid gestures that blur the line between figuration and abstraction, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the interplay of form and mood. Through his manipulation of color and texture, Huerta captures the ephemeral beauty of private pools, each painting evoking a distinct temporal and emotional atmosphere.

In particular, Huerta’s depiction of pool reflections is a focal point for his exploration of abstraction. Here, he embraces the tradition of translating elusive memories into visual form, challenging viewers to embrace ambiguity and alternative modes of perception. Through water, Huerta encapsulates the transient nature of memory, inviting viewers to reflect on the fluidity of experience and the interplay of light, shadow, and color within each captivating scene.