Thomas Demand and Merlin James exhibitions explore models and artifice in Chelsea galleries

Running simultaneously on West 22nd Street in New York are two solo exhibitions: Thomas Demand at 303 Gallery until December 22, 2007, and Merlin James at Sikkema Jenkins & Co until January 12, 2008. Demand's "Yellowcake" features a photographic installation that reconstructs the Niger embassy in Rome, where stationery was taken, tied to the "Nigergate" scandal questioning the justification for Iraq's invasion. His large C-prints showcase life-sized, empty environments with institutional gray walls. Meanwhile, James presents paintings of buildings at Sikkema Jenkins, inspired by his own dollhouse-like models using acrylic and textured materials. Both artists investigate the themes of artifice and reality through model-making, with Demand's precise paper replicas contrasting with James's whimsical references. Demand studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher at Dusseldorf Academy, while James had a retrospective at Sikkema Jenkins in 2005 and exhibited at New York Studio School in early 2007. Their works reflect a modernist sensibility, with Demand's generic embassy and James's vernacular pieces like "A House in my Mother's Hometown," juxtaposing Demand's intellectual, politically charged photo-conceptualism against James's charming, quirky paintings.