David Hammons

Hammons presents abstract canvases draped in and obscured by swaths of frayed fabric or sheets of tattered plastic. In one case, a battered armoire is rudely shoved directly against a painting. While seemingly a departure for this African-American artist, known for creating sculptures and installations out of such urban detritus as discarded basketball hoops and empty Thunderbird wine bottles, these new works are nonetheless consistent with his usual themes: race, class, social marginality and the uncomfortable relationship of all to the rarefied world of art.