Brooklyn Rail

2021-05-09

Jo Messer’s solo debut at 56 Henry is focused on two large oil paintings that confront one another in the gallery’s narrow space. These two works entrap the viewer in something like a game of “I Spy.” Never static, they stimulate a strong sense of play: as soon as the eye latches onto an object or figure, it is thrust elsewhere in Messer’s restless network of potent but suggestive imagery and erotic themes.