On View: vanessa german at Kasmin Gallery
Monuments designed to heal, not intimidate.
There’s something powerful about watching artists claim space—physically, culturally, spiritually. Recent, larger-scale works by Simone Leigh at Matthew Marks Gallery, Tavares Strachan at Marian Goodman or Delcy Morelos at Dia: Chelsea all come to mind. Now, add vanessa german, a citizen artist who works across sculpture, performance, and communal ritual, to that list.
At Kasmin Gallery, german is showing a new series of monumental heads inspired by the ancient Olmec heads of Mesoamerica. These pieces are almost cosmic. The heads are covered in stars, symbols, animals, human forms, words, numbers—each one like its own universe. The gallery describes them as “cosmic maps,” charting a sacred space where everyone’s full creative potential is welcomed and celebrated. The materials are just as intentional: lapis, rose quartz, obsidian, onyx—stones chosen not just for their beauty but for their healing properties. There’s a sense that these works are more than sculpture; they’re offerings.
Over at Kasmin’s West 28th Street space, german extends this story with a related series of “fallen figures.” Each one is caught mid-dip—yes, like the iconic move from ballroom culture known as the death drop. They’re frozen in that dramatic, gravity-defying moment: one leg in the air, the whole body arched like it’s falling… but also flying. These figures are layered—literally and metaphorically. Their heads are made from porcelain figurines modeled after racist caricatures, another bold and intentional choice. By reworking these objects, german is flipping the script—reclaiming power, rewriting the narrative. The dip might look like defeat, but it’s actually about resilience. These figures are rising, phoenix-like, from a fall that isn’t really a fall at all. It’s transformation.
vanessa german: GUMBALL--there is absolutely no space between body and soul is on view through May 10.
News and other reading
Curator and art critic Charles Moore’s thoughtful review of the Amy Sherald survey that’s currently up at The Whitney.