Gao Rong at Klein Sun Gallery

Gao Rong’s meticulously crafted and embroidered pay phone replicates the chips and scratches of a once-shiny public pay phone.  As the importance of the payphone diminishes in the face of cell phone usage, Gao Rong’s 2012 sculpture lovingly preserves its memory in cloth, foam and wood.  (On view at Klein Sun Gallery through March 11th).

Gao Rong, Call No. 1, sponge, cloth, thread, wooden board, 18 7/8 x 11 x 7 7/8 inches, 2012.

Cai Dongdong at Klein Sun Gallery

Known for making alterations to documentary photography in work that questions both history and how we consume photography, Cai Dongdong reframes a shot of guerrillas on Lake Honghu at Klein Sun Gallery. Armed fighters contrast the lake’s tranquil beauty in a spot that saw conflict during China’s civil war. (On view in Chelsea through Jan 6th).

Cai Dongdong, The Guerrilla on Honghu Lake, gelatin silver print, wood, 63 x 55 1/8 x 14 9/16 inches, 2017.

Li Jingxiong in ‘Referencing Alexander Calder’ at Klein Sun Gallery

In a show dedicated to the legacy of Alexander Calder, Li Jingxiong’s snake skin footballs are a standout. Hung like buoys or a flattened Calder mobile, the balls marry beauty, with their craftsmanship, and danger, with their material. (At Klein Sun Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 7th).

Li Jingxiong, EGOBY, plastic mould and snake skins, 11 3/8 x 6 ¼ inches, 2014-16.

Ji Zhou at Klein Sun Gallery

In his photo collages of cityscapes, shot at different times of day from the same vantage point, Bejing-based artist Ji Zhou creates a harmonious view from fragments. (At Klein Sun Gallery in Chelsea through August 3rd).

Ji Zhou, (detail of) Building 2, archival pigment print, 47 ¼ x 92 1/8 inches, 2017.

Shen Shaomin at Klein Sun Gallery

This painting is from the MoMA series, but it’s never been in the Museum of Modern Art. Instead, this piece of rogue modernism is a remake of Van Gogh’s famous Starry Night, painted by Chinese artist and provocateur Shen Shaomin to look as if it’s covered in bubble wrap. Even the packing tape is painted, not just trying to impress as trompe l’oeil, but suggesting that famous paintings are just another commodity. (At Klein Sun Gallery in Chelsea through April 29th).

Shen Shaomin, Handle with Care – MoMA No. 6, oil on canvas, 29 x 36 ¼ inches, 2017.