Ulrike Theusner takes on Limbo in her New York debut solo show at the Lower East Side’s Y Gallery, a pitch perfect theme for an artist whose imagery is in equal parts whimsical and grotesque. Channeling Goya, Daumier, Longhi, Ensor and Rops, she has an old masterly touch that is at once awkward and effortless, gracious and frenetic. A fast moving, scratchy pen and assuredly careless drips and splodges of ink catapult Theusner’s theatrical figures into realms of pathos and satire. Neither her bestiary of cuddly ghouls nor her gangs of glamour queens ever seem quite sure whether they are amongst the blessed or the damned. DAVID COHEN
Ulrike Theusner: Limbo Express at Y Gallery, 165 Orchard Street, between Stanton and Rivington streets, New York City, 917-721-4539, July 18 – August 4, 2012. Opening hours are 12pm to 7pm
Ulrike Theusner, Das Ende der Jugend, 2012. Ink on paper, 45 x 61 cm. Courtesy of Y Gallery, New York