FRANCIS CAPE

Form defies function in the sly work of this conceptual cabinetmaker. Here, he transforms the south wall of the gallery into an elegant, pale-yellow built-in, replete with window seat and windowsill. Cape simultaneously venerates and spoofs minimalism, a point most clearly made by the shallow cupboard placed at the show’s entrance. The piece is worthy of a Judd box in its geometric precision and majestic uselessness; for instance, the cupboard is hinged, but it doesn’t open. Yet the same feature also gives it the secretive air of a naughty Victorian. Through Oct. 27. (Murray Guy, 453 W. 17th St. 463-7372.)

The New Yorker, 15 October 2001, p.28