Josh Tonsfeldt at Simon Preston Gallery

Shot on the fly through the window of a Toronto tattoo shop, this image by Josh Tonsfeldt stacks pictures – of the window itself, reflections on the glass, a man looking at a screen, and the same man using his skin as a surface. Printing on the cement-like material hydrocal lends a provocative, incongruous sense of permanence to a chance encounter. (At Simon Preston Gallery on the Lower East Side through Dec 20th).

 Josh Tonsfeldt, Adrenaline Tattoo, UV cured pigment print on hydrocal, spray paint, epoxy resin, pigment inks, 32 x 48 inches, 2015.

‘Body Electric’ at Ricco Maresca

Ricco Maresca’s excellent ‘Body Electric’ group exhibition of vintage and designed-for-the-body contemporary art takes tattooing to a new level. Here, a sampling of work from Colin Dale (top left), Jacqueline Spoerle (bottom right and left) and Duke Riley (top right) combine detail, skill and originality. (In Chelsea through Oct 25th).

Installation view of ‘Body Electric,’ including work by Colin Dale, Jacqueline Spoerle and Duke Riley at Ricco Maresca, Oct, 2014.

Kim Joon at Sundaram Tagore

Using digital processes, Korean artist Kim Joon creates amazing conflations of human bodies, ‘tattooed’ with animal skins, logos and designs that touch on individual identities while creating anonymous abstract sculptures. (At Sundaram Tagore Gallery in Chelsea).

Kim Joon, Somebody 005, digital print, 2014.