FOR 5-11

‘GEOMETRICS OF AGGRESSION’ OPENS AT CAVIN-MORRIS GALLERY MAY 17

avv/gs set 5-2 #698117

NEW YORK CITY — “Geometrics of Aggression: Shields of Highland New Guinea” will be on view May 17–June 30 at Cavin-Morris Gallery.

The exhibition of painted shields and other ceremonial art from the Highlands of New Guinea will be the first time a body of work this large will be presented in the New York area in a contemporary art setting.

The exhibition was curated with an eye toward visual drama and chosen to appeal to aficionados of contemporary art. The Highlands were one of the last areas in Papua, New Guinea for contact and the art from the Highlands is more ephemeral and expressionistic than the more formally stylized work from the Sepik and other areas.

The bulk of the exhibition will be centered around 19 painted war shields from the turn of, and through the midpoint of the Twentieth Century. There will also be three old shields over painted with images of the comic book character, The Phantom, utilized as imagery because of his invulnerability and immortality, serving as examples of indigenous pop art.

Many of the shields are effective visually because the designs are extensions of the face-paint patterns used by the man wielding the shield. Despite the abstraction there is a connection to an intrinsically human iconography.

Also shown will be a selection of gourd masks used to combat disease, eared-snake pipes carved in wood, woven figures of spirits called Timbuwarri and a rare grouping of Neolithic stone vessels.

The gallery is at 210 11th Avenue. For more information, www.cavinmorris.com or 212-226-3768.