blurring the fable

In the fantasy land of Beninati much is cobalt, viewed through streamers of color and ribbon curtains of paint drips. Thinned but not (emotionally) diluted. Palm trees are multi-colored, they crop up in the foreground of a bathroom (WTF?). Rampant jungle flora through tinted, prismatic lenses. Allegorical and dreamlike, these paintigs are fairy tales for moderns. Each one tells such a lovely story rife with possibility, one wants to settle down with a good cognac and listen. So hark: up north, where the aurora borealis is screening, looms a naked, pink tree. Your spectacles are streaky, the light is marbelized. It's
paradise, in the cool of the evening; a classic case of the semi-awake dream. And at 80"x63", it's big enough to cozy up to and forget the rest of the rest. The nightmares are reserved for the drawings: dead rats and a hare with a goatee vegetate under the sun's radiation, on the horizon a mushroom cloud develops. Bowie's "Hunger City", bucolic version.
This is a strange, sumptuous show.

Funny about this gallery. They've been showing alot of work that deals with altered states. I like it, I like it.

Manfredi Beninati, at James Cohan
533 W. 26 st.
212-714-9500
www.jamescohan.com
through March 17

odd man (now) in...

When Rube Goldberg met Saul Steinberg comin' throught the rye...Burleson was a self-taught (can we drop the demeaning "outsider" label already?) artist working in glorious magic marker on paper. Sometimes he used forms from work, which was at Lockheed. His sensibility was complex: compelling, dense, busy and strangely varied; sometimes primitive. He started in
pencil: a small drawing (#35) using wheels and a horn or two has a Monty Python air to it, a cackling whimsy. He then moved on to toucan hues. Number 20 is a fave: all screaming magentas, pinks, yellows, and oranges, with bands of green and red. The composition is supposed to be an interior, and it literally bounces with color. Manaical. Contrapuntal. J.S. Bach.

The invitation to this show doesn't do the artist justice, nor does the ad card ouside. Pity. This is one of those exhibits that gives so much once you take the time to explore it.

Thomas Burleson, "Lone Star", at Luise Ross
511 W. 25 st.
212-343-2161
www.luiserossgallery.com
through Feb. 24

gorgeous floozies

The most louche flowers you could imagine. Lush color,
spilled pollen. Petals crinkled like torn tissue
paper: a gift too rapidly unwrapped. Some of these
dissolutes are garlanded with time: three Van
Gogh-yellow Gerbera daisies have petals gone vertical,
they're mute as monks. A rose, stem still erect, is
otherwise withery. The best are the images of
imperfection, not just age: the slightly scarred --
but still vividly colorful -- blooms, or maybe I
liked them best because I saw this show a day before
my (ouch! ouch! ouch!) birthday.

Irving Penn, "In Flower", at Pace/MacGill Gallery
32 E. 57 st.
212-759-7999
through Feb. 17
www.pacemacgill.com

for the skinny of ass...

...and fat of wallet. Furniture as sculpture, fit for a
pedestal, fer chrissakes. Stunning stuff, of course:
this guy does with marble what others do with plastic.
The inspiration is the cellular structure, all
organic, holey, and experimental. The centerpiece is
the "Voronoi Shelf", (a variegated honeycomb on
steriods) of white Carrara marble, carved from a solid
block. Only eight of them were made, so put that
kidney on ebay now.
Process is paramount: witness the Micarta grouping of
table, chair, desk, made of layers of linen and resin,
with various layers sanded down to resemble wood
grain. The trompe l'eoil elicits a sidelong grin, of
acknowledgment and yeah, awe. Need more wow? Stagger
across the street to see his iconic Lockheed Lounge, a
sexy, sinuous fainting couch of riveted aluminum. This
1986 piece launched his career, was the star of
Cooper-Hewitt's "Aluminum" show, and last year went
for almost a million bucks, a record for furniture by
a living designer. It looks seriously uncomfortable
but oh so gorgeous. (More for straddling than
reclining?) Don't have the 2.5 the gallery wants for
it? Vitra offers a miniature model, accurate down to
the 1800 rivets, for $690. It stands 5.8" x 4.3" x
10.8". Adorable.

Marc Newson, at Gagosian
555 W. 24 st.
212-741-1111
www.gagosian.com
through March 3

also at Sebastian + Barquet
544 W. 24 st.
212-488-2245
through March 15