Eric Cahan at Benrubi Gallery

Starting with a solarized photo of water in which the dark tones have turned light, Brooklyn artist Eric Cahan scans and prints each image, attacking it with bleach and altering it in Photoshop. In a time when web users spend just seconds looking at images, Cahan’s practice questions what abstract art should offer the viewer. (At Benrubi Gallery through Aug 22nd).

Installation view of Eric Cahan, ‘Data Mining’ at Benrubi Gallery, July 2015.

Yutaka Sone in ‘Tiger Tiger’ at Salon94 Bowery

Paintings of jungles, tropical fruit, and monkeys and sculptures of snakes and strange flora make ‘Tiger, Tiger’ at Salon94 Bowery one of the lushest shows open in New York this summer. Yutaka Sone’s folk-art inflected rattan and steel palm in the foreground sets the laid-back tone. (On the Lower East Side through August 21st).

Installation view of Tiger, Tiger at Salon94 Bowery, July 2015. (foreground: Yutaka Sone, Tropical Composition/Traveler’s Palm #1, rattan and steel, 143 x 165 x 24 inches, 2011.

Bryan Graf in ‘A Room of One’s Own’ at Yancey Richardson Gallery

In this detail of a photogram by NJ/Maine artist Bryan Graf, the artist’s hand reaches into the frame, conjuring swirls of mesh into a dynamic design. In the accompanying Polaroid (not pictured here), we see a straight shot of the artist revealing his magic as he holds screen material in front of light sensitive paper. (At Yancey Richardson Gallery through August 21st).

(Detail of) Bryan Graf, Shot/Reverse Shot (Corner Piece #2) December 18, 2012, Polaroid and two gelatin silver prints, Polaroid: 3.5 x 4.5 inches, Gelatin silver diptych: 24 x 40 inches, unique.

Fiona Connor at Lisa Cooley Gallery

Visit a New York City park in the summer and you’ll find clusters of kids filling water balloons at fountains identical to LA artist Fiona Connor’s handmade replica of a cast concrete water fountain. Connor’s indoor version offers more peaceful and contemplative refreshment, however, on its own in the back room of Lisa Cooley Gallery. (On the Lower East Side through August 21st).

Fiona Connor, On What Remains (fountain), concrete, EPS foam, antique brass hardware, plumbing supplies, steel, ply, paint and coatings, car battery, Jabsco pump, potable water, 36 x 24 x 36 inches, 2015.

Robin Rhode at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Known for photo sequences that involve individuals interacting with drawings made on the ground or wall, South Africa artist Robin Rhode branches out into post-performance installation in his latest show at Chelsea’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery. Bikes have long figured in his work as emblems of what the average kid on the street can’t afford; here, he’s used a cast chalk bike as a drawing tool to create a jittery, moving vehicle. (Through August 21st).

Robin Rhode, Chalk Bike, chalk and steel, 41 x 72.5 x 19 in, 2 windows, each 24.75 x 38.5 x 3 inches, 2015.