The subject of a traveling retrospective currently on view at the Bronx Museum, Tony Feher creates sublime sculptures out of throwaway items, ranging from crushed beer cans and plastic soda crates to mop handles and flattened cardboard boxes. For his latest show, Feher stays true to his poetic, minimalist style of DIY art.
Two shelves holding bottles of blue water evoke a consumerist vision of sea and sky, while two pieces of oil-stained plywood with a prominent grain suggest stretches of desert. In contrast, two other pieces (one made with strands of yellow nylon twine, the other with lengths of rope beaded with short segments of PVC tubing in orange and blue) are hung from steel pipes like necklaces, recalling large abstract paintings. So does Parlor Trix, a curtain of steel chains festooned with pastel-colored glass vases, goblets and candy dishes. In the final gallery, examples of similar glassware are strapped to wooden studs. Leaning against the walls like John McCracken sculptures, these pared-down assemblages join Feher’s extensive body of work to poke fun at modern art while smartly advancing its history.—Paul Laster