Velarde-Alvarez paints architecture at the size of a body — doorways and corridors you could step into — and then makes the shadow, not the wall, the thing that carries the picture. The keyhole sculptures push it further: to see the work you have to put your eye to a small opening and look alone, which turns viewing into something private in a public room. As a New York debut it is unusually assured, and it closes at the end of next week.
What to expect
A quiet Church Street gallery with large earth-toned canvases on the walls and shadow-box sculptures you approach one at a time. The keyhole pieces create a natural queue, so expect to wait a moment behind another visitor. Wall texts explain the Autopsia works, which build up layers of the artist's own writing.
Good to know
- Take the 1 to Franklin Street, or the A, C or E to Canal Street
- Free walk-in, no booking
- The shadow boxes are viewed one person at a time — go on a quieter weekday if you can
- Tribeca's gallery cluster is walkable from here in every direction
- Street-level entry
- Bring reading glasses if you want to make out the layered text works
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Common questions
Is this the artist's first New York show?
Yes — it is Jimena Velarde-Alvarez's inaugural exhibition with the gallery and her first showing in New York.
What are the keyhole works?
Shadow-box sculptures that must be viewed through a small opening, making the act of looking solitary and deliberate.
Does it cost anything to visit?
No. Margot Samel is a commercial gallery and admission is free.
More this weekend
