Deborah Brown at Mike Weiss Gallery

Brooklyn artist Deborah Brown reframes Picasso’s distorted, phallic-headed sculpture of Picasso’s lover Marie-Therese with wicked humor by imaging her in painted form, an innocent in traditional dress, frolicking in a garden. (At Mike Weiss Gallery in ‘School’s Out!’ through August 6th).

Deborah Brown, Bacchante, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2016.
Deborah Brown, Bacchante, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2016.

Nicole Eisenman in ‘If Only Bella Abzug Were Here’ at Marc Straus Gallery

Masks populate the mask-like features of ‘Whatever Guy,’ a portrait by Nicole Eisenman of a zoned-out and alienated character. (At Marc Straus Gallery through July 29th).

Nicole Eisenman, Whatever Guy, oil on canvas, 2009, 82 x 65 inches, 2009.
Nicole Eisenman, Whatever Guy, oil on canvas, 2009, 82 x 65 inches, 2009.

‘Guilding the Lolly’ at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise

Brian Belott’s eclectic, messy collaged artwork pops up regularly in New York group shows; this month for Gavin Brown’s Lower East Side summer group show, Belott’s the organizer, having asked artist friends to contribute their own reinterpretations of iconic artwork. Among the standouts, Giva Beavers remakes Van Gogh’s Starry Night as if rendered in bacon and Melissa Brown brings Holbein’s Ambassadors up to date in paint and lottery scratch-off ink on aluminum. (Through July 30th).

Installation view of ‘Guilding the Lolly,’ curated by Brian Belott at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, through July 30th.
Installation view of ‘Guilding the Lolly,’ curated by Brian Belott at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, through July 30th.

David Kennedy Cutler in ‘Eric’s Trip’ at Lisa Cooley

Though hard to photograph, David Kennedy Cutler’s impressive sculptures – created by molding tall sheets of Plexi with a heat gun and his own body – are impossible to miss in Lisa Cooley Gallery’s summer group exhibition. While manifesting a ghostly, physical presence of their own, they also co-opt the gallery’s lighting and use the show’s other works as backdrop. (On the Lower East Side through August 1st).

David Kennedy Cutler, installation view at Lisa Cooley Gallery, July 2014. Plexiglas sculptures from the series, ‘No More Right Now Forever.’

Nikki Maloof in ‘Don’t Look Now’ at Zach Feuer Gallery

Brooklyn painter Nikki Maloof stands out in Zach Feuer Gallery’s summer group painting exhibition with this tongue-in-cheek homage to the summer sun, which has tattooed her skin with burns and melded her blond hair with the saturated yellow sky. (In Chelsea through July 26th).

Nikki Maloof, Burn, oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2013.