Urs Fisher “Last Supper” and “Mermaid, Pig, Bro w/ Hat,” New York

A former Chase bank branch on New York’s Lower East Side hosts one part of the new Urs Fischer exhibition hosted by the Gagosian Gallery. The bland features of the bank’s architecture and decor have been retained, from the corporate signage to the vaults—an incongruous setting for Fischer’s guilelessly expressionistic and exuberant sculptures. The dual-venue show comprises over two dozen works based on objects made during the artist’s 2013 exhibition Yes at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA) which Fischer made on-site together with 1,500 participants. Working quickly with clay, in a manner more like a sketch—abstract, approximate, and raw—they were able to achieve an unprecedented directness. The second part of the exhibition inaugurates the opening of a new uptown Gagosian space, Park & 75, at 821 Park Avenue at 75th Street, containing a single large-scale sculpture last supper, Fischer’s take on the classical religious theme, cast in bronze from the original unfired clay composition that first appeared as a central element of Yes. The downtown show, “mermaid / pig / bro w/ hat” runs until May 23rd at the temporary space at 104 Delancey St, 10002, New York. Photo Elise Gallant