New York artist Sarah Morris has come to reinvent hard-edge abstraction, debunking the myth that men are better painters than women (a slur from George Baselitz in 2013). Her painting style is rooted in the 1960s, but her compositions are infused with visual puzzles.
Morris opens her latest solo show today at Petzel Gallery in New York. ‘Finite and Infinite Games’ is inspired by a 2013 book by James P Carse, which argues there are two kinds of games in life, finite games played to win and infinite games played to play. This new exhibition explores the art of the mind game, as Morris artist shows 11 new paintings and five drawings that deconstruct her grids into vertical stripes coded with cryptic clues.
‘Control Tower [Abu Dhabi]’, 2017
The artist has previously painted abstract portraits of Rio de Janeiro, Beijing and New York City, but here she paints Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates. Her painting Al Wathba is named after a large wetland reserve just 45 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi, which is painted in corporate blues and greys. One could read it as a ‘drone-eye view’ of the marshland, where drones have been monitoring flamingos since 2014. Meanwhile, Emirates Palace is named after the luxurious five-star hotel and is painted in hues of peach, orange and pumpkin.
Morris, who is also working on a new film for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, has changed her grids over the past decade. While before they were dense, they’ve now become minimal, airy pieces that move like skyscrapers seen through fabric in the wind. Especially for a complex city like Abu Dhabi, and with all its controversy surrounding women’s rights, many women see the city behind a similar veil.
Emirates Palace [Abu Dhabi], 2017
In addition to Morris’ painted canvases, a series of drawings are also on show
The works explore the art of the mind game
Al Wathba [Abu Dhabi], 2017
Iris [Abu Dhabi], 2017
INFORMATION
‘Finite and Infinite Games’ is on view until 8 April. For more information, visit the Petzel Gallery website
ADDRESS
Petzel Gallery
456 W 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
-
Viviane Sassen considers fine art, fashion photography and fragility in ItalyViviane Sassen’s exhibition, 'This Body Made of Stardus' at Collezione Maramotti, spans two decades off Sassen's career
-
Ghanaian cuisine has a story to tell at Washington, DC restaurant ElminaThe new restaurant is chef Eric Adjepong’s colourful ode to the recipes he grew up loving
-
Pedro y Juana's take on architecture: 'We want to level the playing field’Mexico City-based architects Padro y Juana bring their transdisciplinary, participatory approach to the Mexico pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025; find out more
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuitElla Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the churchThe American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
This rainbow-coloured flower show was inspired by Luis Barragán's architectureModernism shows off its flowery side at the New York Botanical Garden's annual orchid show.
-
‘Psychedelic art palace’ Meow Wolf is coming to New YorkThe ultimate immersive exhibition, which combines art and theatre in its surreal shows, is opening a seventh outpost in The Seaport neighbourhood
-
Wim Wenders’ photographs of moody Americana capture the themes in the director’s iconic films'Driving without a destination is my greatest passion,' says Wenders. whose new exhibition has opened in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery
-
20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central ParkThe 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone
