Nicole Eisenman review: ICE-like goons clash with sublime stargazing as America’s magical magpie returns
Sadie Coles HQ, LondonAbstract, humorous yet deeply unsettling, the painter’s dazzling exhibition sees her caught between distant skies and the ugly reality on the ground
TL;DR
- The exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ follows Eisenman's 2023 Whitechapel Gallery show, which reflected on the "disaster" of the 2016 US election.
- Ground floor works depict solitary figures contemplating the universe, raising questions about retreating from the world.
- Upstairs, paintings like "Parking Lot of Violent Forces and Depressive Positions" offer a sharp critique of contemporary US society, echoing Philip Guston's work.
- "The Orgy" explores hedonism and momentary escape through a dynamic depiction of physical forms.
- The artist's ambivalence towards the function of images in a surveillance society is explored, referencing her own experience with public backlash.
- Sculptural installations and a cubist portrait hint at abstraction as a potential response to the pressures on artists.
- A new sculpture at the Royal Academy depicts the artist carrying a world of disparate objects, embodying a "bleakest and best form of comedy" about enduring challenges.