Allan Wexler: Function and Fiction
After a decade-long hiatus from New York’s solo exhibition circuit, Allan Wexler returns with “Probably True” at Jane Lombard Gallery.
Installation view of Allan Wexler: Probably True, at Jane Lombard Gallery, New York. Photo credit: Adam Reich.
Wexler has long been fascinated by the intersection of art and architecture. His work does not merely comment on the built environment but interrogates the ways in which structures shape daily rituals, human behavior, and perception. Eschewing traditional architectural practice, Wexler instead deconstructs it—both conceptually and materially—questioning how design influences lived experience. “Probably True” encapsulates this ongoing inquiry, presenting a body of work that challenges our assumptions about utility, space, and the mundane objects we often overlook.
One of the show’s most striking works is Reframing Nature (2015), a sculptural triptych featuring a curved tree branch accompanied by photographic and wooden elements. The work embodies Wexler’s signature approach: take an ordinary object, introduce subtle interventions, and elevate it into a conceptual meditation on transformation. The evolution of the branch—first framed in a photograph, then altered structurally—underscores the artist’s interest in the hidden potentials of natural and manmade forms.
Another standout piece, Interchange (2008), reconfigures two generic chairs into an entwined structure that suggests both connection and constraint. Painted in contrasting shades of “Navajo White” and “China White,” the work subtly gestures at sociopolitical tensions while simultaneously exploring the dynamics of conversation and proximity. The chairs, locked in a visual and physical dialogue, reflect Wexler’s ongoing interest in the unspoken narratives embedded within everyday objects.
Allan Wexler, Landscape Props, 2024. Museum board and plaster, 7 1/8 x 11 5/8 x 7 3/4 in, 18.1 x 29.5 x 19.7 cm. Courtesy the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery.
Wexler’s fascination with human behavior extends beyond furniture to wearable sculptures that transform the body into an architectural entity. In Cones of Vision (2016), a mannequin is fitted with exaggerated telescopic cones, emphasizing how we perceive space and interact with our surroundings. By exaggerating natural sensory experiences through artificial means, Wexler prompts reflection on the mechanics of seeing and being seen, a recurring theme in his practice.
Though primarily known for his gallery-based work, Wexler’s public sculptures punctuate New York City’s landscape, further cementing his influence on urban space. His massive table-like sculpture at Hudson River Park (30th Street, near Hudson Yards) invites passersby to reconsider the role of furniture in public settings, while his reconfigured desk at Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn campus challenges conventional notions of work and productivity. These installations extend the concerns of “Probably True” beyond the gallery, emphasizing Wexler’s belief in art’s capacity to engage with daily life.
In the multimedia work, Burnt Chair / Charcoal Drawing (2007), Wexler juxtaposes a partially burned chair with its charcoal-rendered counterpart. The work plays with temporality and memory, using carbon—the fundamental element of both fire and drawing—to collapse the boundaries between object and representation. Here, Wexler highlights the dual nature of destruction and creation, a recurring motif in his oeuvre.
His ability to blur the lines between architecture, sculpture, and performance is also evident in his ongoing “Body / Glassware Studies” series (2016–18). These works examine human interactions with objects designed to serve fundamental needs—eating, drinking, sitting—while distorting and exaggerating their typical forms. By forcing viewers to reconsider their relationships with these objects, Wexler underscores the ritualistic nature of daily actions.
Allan Wexler, Set W, 1989. Acrylic and photographs on plywood, 16 1/4 x 13 1/4 in, 41.3 x 33.7 cm. Courtesy the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery.
A defining aspect of Wexler’s practice is his interest in process. His multimedia works—incorporating photography, drawing, and sculpture—document acts of making, unmaking, and remaking. This conceptual underpinning is evident in his two-dimensional landscape studies, where geometric forms punctuate inkjet-printed images, hand-drawn sketches, and sculptural interventions. The resulting pieces exist in a liminal space between documentation and fiction, between the built and the imagined.
Jane Lombard Gallery’s presentation of “Probably True” effectively captures the essence of Wexler’s career-long investigations. The exhibition space itself becomes a site of architectural experimentation, where familiar objects—tables, chairs, tools—are stripped of their intended functions and reimagined as conduits for critical thought. The gallery’s dimly lit lower level hosts Light Table (2021), a piece that submerges glassware in an illuminated surface, creating an ethereal glow that elevates mundane dining utensils to an almost sacred status. Nearby, Extruded Dinnerware (2021) extends the forms of plates, knives, and forks into elongated sculptural elements, playfully questioning the relationship between form and function.
“Probably True” is not just a survey of Wexler’s past works but a testament to his ongoing exploration of materiality, perception, and human interaction. His practice challenges us to reconsider the objects and spaces we navigate daily, urging us to see them not as fixed entities but as mutable, conceptual frameworks ripe for reinvention. As Wexler himself once stated, his work is about “taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary,” a sentiment that resonates throughout this meticulously curated exhibition. After ten years without a solo show in New York, his return is a timely and compelling reminder of the power of art to reshape our understanding of the world around us. •
Allan Wexler: Probably True is on view through March 8th at Jane Lombard Gallery, New York.
