Porky Hefer Displays Playful Sculptures at Galerie56

Eileen Gray, Zizipho Poswa, Gaetano Pesce. All have been subjects of exhibitions at Galerie56, a newcomer to the Manhattan arts scene founded by Interior Design Hall of Fame member Lee F. Mindel to celebrate the city’s cultural intersection of art and architecture (it’s aptly located at the base of Herzog & De Meuron’s 56 Leonard “Jenga” tower, next to a gleaming Anish Kapoor sculpture). 

The last of those initial three names, the recently deceased Pesce, has been an inspiration to Porky Hefer, whose solo show “no bats, no chocolate” is on view now at Galerie56. It continues Hefer’s focus on animal behaviors, organic forms, and ecosystems—we first wrote about him in 2017 when, after observing weaver birds, he had hand-fabricated human-size nests of fibers indigenous to South Africa, where he lives—via nine new, playful sculptures of animals who have what he calls “weird talents” that benefit the planet (the title derives from that fact that bats are responsible for pollinating many plants including cacao). Although the exhibit’s aim is a greater reverence for nature, “Porky,” Mindel says, “appeals to the children in all of us.”