Johannes VanDerBeek at Marinaro

Johannes VanDerBeek’s thick aqua-resin paintings at new Lower East Side gallery Marinaro look like highly colored views from under the microscope. Looser than Joan Miro and freer and more abstract than Yves Tanguy, the work still channels Surrealism and early 20th century abstraction. (On view through March 19th).

Johannes VanDerBeek, Medieval Blossom, aqua-resin, fiberglass, steel, clay, silicone and paint, 65 x 45 inches, 2017.

Shara Hughes at Marlborough Gallery

Titled ‘Trips I’ve Never Been On,’ Shara Hughes’ solo show at Marlborough Gallery includes slightly surreal scenarios like this one, a juxtaposition of landscapes that seems both dream-like and real. (In Chelsea through March 12th).

Mushroom Hunt, oil, acrylic, flashe, caulk, spray paint and enamel on canvas, 64 x 54 inches, 2015.
Mushroom Hunt, oil, acrylic, flashe, caulk, spray paint and enamel on canvas, 64 x 54 inches, 2015.

Jonathan Gardner at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Clashing juxtapositions of patterns and color, a doubled figure (or tripled if you include the shadow), flatten shapes and simplified figures quote canonical 20th century artists from Magritte to Picasso, suggesting we look to the past to see the present in this surreal scenario by Chicago artist Jonathan Gardner. (At Nicelle Beauchene Gallery through June 28th).

Jonathan Gardner, The Shadow, oil on linen, 36 x 22 inches, 2015.

Rosa Loy in ‘Empire of the Senseless’ at Friedman Benda

Major Leipzig school artist Rosa Loy’s painting ‘Comfort’ loudly signals spring with giant snowdrops and rebirth with the strange orb emerging from a central figure who may have just risen from a hole in the ground. (At Friedman Benda Gallery through March 28th).

Rosa Loy, Trost, casein on canvas, 63 x 82.75 inches, 2009.

Neo Rauch at David Zwirner Gallery

As surreal as ever, Leipzig-based painter Neo Rauch’s latest canvases intrigue with their somnambulant cast of characters and dream-like scenarios. In ‘Guardians of the Night,’ pictured here, a crab-clawed woman who approaches a sleeping man seems more like a healer more than a menace; meanwhile, a drummer and a custodian linger near. (At Chelsea’s David Zwirner Gallery through Dec 20th).

Neo Rauch, Hueter der Nacht (Guardians of the Night), oil on canvas, 118 3/8 x 98 ¾ inches, 2014.