(Dead) Birds of America

“I’ve always had a thing with birds,” said the artist Ida Applebroog in a 2016 interview. A few years ago, inspired by John James Audubon’s ornithological paintings, she began a series of works that foreground her longtime fascination with all things feathered. Unlike Audubon’s birds, which were brought beautifully to life on paper after being shot, eviscerated, and splinted into position by the naturalist himself, Applebroog’s birds don’t hide their mortality. A bluebird lies belly up, its ruddy breast exposed. An owl sprawls out with its eyes closed. A pair of gray woodpeckers dip their heads back, beaks pointed toward the sky to which they’ll never return. “Applebroog Birds,” a new show devoted to the artist’s avian works, will be on view at Hauser & Wirth’s Twenty-Second Street location through December 19, 2020. A selection of images appears below.

Ida Applebroog, Cardinal, 2018, ultrachrome ink on mylar, 52 1/2 x 40″. © Ida Applebroog. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Emily Poole.

Ida Applebroog, Bluebird, 2018, ultrachrome ink and gel on mylar, 22 5/8 x 42 1/2″. © Ida Applebroog. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Emily Poole.

Ida Applebroog, Woodpecker, 2018, ultrachrome ink on mylar, 53 7/8 x 44 7/8″. © Ida Applebroog. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Emily Poole.

Installation view, “Applebroog Birds,” Hauser & Wirth New York, Twenty-Second Street, 2020. © Ida Applebroog. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Thomas Barratt.

Ida Applebroog, Portraits (Canary), 2019, ultrachrome ink and gel on mylar, 50 x 48″. © Ida Applebroog. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Emily Poole.

Ida Applebroog, Specimens (Ruby Throated Hummingbirds), 2018, watercolor, plaster, burlap, copper wire, twine, paper, and wood, 19 3/4 x 8 1/4 x 2 1/8″. © Ida Applebroog. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Emily Poole.

Ida Applebroog, Owl, 2018, ultrachrome ink and gel on mylar, 83.8 x 111.8 cm / 33 x 44″. © Ida Applebroog. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Emily Poole.

“Applebroog Birds” will be on view at Hauser & Wirth’s Twenty-Second Street location through December 19, 2020.

from The Paris Review https://ift.tt/3pEO7k4

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