Matthew Blackwell at Edward Thorpe Gallery

Under a darkening sky, a classic car speeds along an elevated city highway under a dollar sign and two maps of the US in this painting by Matt Blackwell. In the car, a bearded man with gritted teeth (succinctly crafted from a scrap of plaid fabric) grips the steering wheel, seemingly on a lone mission of intense urgency. (At Edward Thorp Gallery in Chelsea through March 19th).

Matt Blackwell, Going Out West, oil on canvas with collage, 44 x 64.5 inches, 2015.

Matt Blackwell, Going Out West, oil on canvas with collage, 44 x 64.5 inches, 2015.
Matt Blackwell, Going Out West, oil on canvas with collage, 44 x 64.5 inches, 2015.

Sascha Braunig at Foxy Production

Bodies morph into nearly unrecognizable emanations in Sascha Braunig’s new group of oil on linen paintings, including ‘Feeder,’ in which an artificial life form both emerges from and feeds from a pattered background. (At Foxy Production through April 18th).

Sascha Braunig, Feeder, oil on linen over panel, 31 x 16 inches, 2014.

Jasper de Beijer at Asya Geisberg Gallery

Inspired by a hermit living in the Maine woods with only a radio to hear news of the outside world, Dutch artist Jasper de Beijer created, then photographed paper dioramas depicting major world events from his memory rather than from documentation. Here (seen in detail), de Beijer recalls the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in all its terror. (At Chelsea’s Asya Geisberg Gallery through March 14th).

Jasper de Beijer, 12-26-2004 (from Mr Knight’s World Band Receiver’), c-print, 45×25” x 71,” 2014.