Place – Angle – Position @ Heskin Contemporary

There is something about Guy Nelson’s love of wood and black varnish that very much affirms my heterosexuality. His sculptural work at its finest looks like the art that Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation would make. It’s simple blockish and shows a love of simple materials, even at times includes taxidermy but with a hint of the fantastic, where raw wood is being slowly engulfed by a black void of lacquer. The work fits well in Place Angle Position with Doreen McCarty’s hard-edge and colorful translucent sculptures that in a very 1950’s view of the sexes fits as a nice counterpart to Guy’s rather bleak structures. McCarty’s work has a whimsy about it that I imagine would be even better served by a space with more natural light to bounce around the jagged rock candy-like edges.

The show is almost anchored by Jeff Felds’s diamond-patterned beam bent into a right angle, which I have a hard time not seeing as anything but the European equivalent of a police barricade. The inexplicable bend and the wood of the object are nice counterpoints to Nelson’s wood pieces and McCarty’s geometric sculptures, although I am not as sure how his enjoyable holy water stand made of white plastic fits in. The exhibition is rounded out by Margaret Lanzetta’s lovely abstract paintings that have the hard edge and palate of McCarthy’s sculptures combined with a slightly faded surface that matches the finish of Nelson and Feld’s pieces, all in all a well-executed and concise show.

Through Apr. 14^th

Heskin Contemporary, 443 W 37th St. Ground Fl. Btw. 9th & 10th Aves.