Michel Majerus at Matthew Marks Gallery

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Before his untimely death in 2002 at age 35, Berlin-based artist Michel Majerus was hailed as a quintessential information age artist, mixing images and info from unrelated sources to suggest a stew of influences more than a coherent statement. Here, Andy Warhol’s discount Raphael abuts an ecstatic youth from an ad, suggesting two takes on transcendent experiences. (At Matthew Marks Gallery‘s 522 West 22nd Street location).

Michel Majerus, o.T. (69), acrylic on cotton, two panels, each: 119 ¼ x 93 ¼ inches, 1994.

Sheila Hicks at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

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Sheila Hicks’ brightly colored, sculptural waterfall of cords now on view at the Whitney Biennial may have more dramatic impact, but this installation at Sikkema Jenkins of 98 balls shaped by wrapping string around fabric – all found materials – has a quiet but no less enchanting appeal. (At Chelsea’s Sikkema Jenkins through April 5th).

Sheila Hicks, Lares and Penates, found materials, 98 elements, 117 x 115 x 5 inches, 1990 – 2013.

Joanne Greenbaum at Rachel Uffner Gallery

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This new, candy-bright abstract by Joanne Greenbaum suggests maps, calligraphic squiggles, spirographs and more; it’s a standout in a lively show of Greenbaum’s new abstractions. (At Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side through April 20th).

Joanne Greenbaum, Untitled, oil, acrylic and ink on canvas, 90 x 80 inches, 2014.

Elaine Cameron Weir at Ramiken Crucible

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New York artist Elaine Cameron Weir’s latest show ‘Venus Anadyomene’ at the Lower East Side gallery Ramiken Crucible offers an irresistible take on the ancient Greek tale of Venus rising from the sea. Real clamshells with customized neon bring to mind beach-side dive bars while incense rising over a flame adds a spiritual element. (Through April 6th).

Elaine Cameron Weir, installation view of ‘venus anadyomene’ at Ramiken Crucible, March 2014.

Kelly Walker at Paula Cooper Gallery

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Using Volkswagen Beetle ads from the ‘50s to ‘70s and the 3D modeling program Rhino, New York-based conceptual artist Kelly Walker brings flat images of a real life object into the 3D world in literal sculptural shapes like this one in the foreground, which whimsically recalls a different mode of transportation – the paper airplane. (At Paula Cooper Gallery’s 521 West 21st Street space through March 29th).

Kelly Walker, Bug_156S, four-color process silkscreen on aluminum, 2013-14 (foreground).

Pat Steir at Cheim & Read

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At eleven by eleven feet, New York painter Pat Steir’s monumental pours of pigment, oil and turpentine create glowing sheets of color in deep spaces that beckon and offer to engulf the viewer. (At Chelsea’s Cheim and Read Gallery through March 29th).

Pat Steir, Green, Orange and Mica, oil on canvas, 11 x 11 feet, 2013.

Roe Ethridge at Andrew Kreps Gallery

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For his latest series, ‘Sacrifice Your Body,’ New York based photographer Roe Ethridge took a trip to his mom’s hometown in Belgrade, Florida, gathering images that loosely suggest a relationship between mother and son. Here, a phone off the hook suggests a receiver dropped in surprise. (At Chelsea’s Andrew Kreps Gallery through March 29th).

Roe Ethridge, Yellow Phone, c-print, 34 ¾ x 45 7/8, 2013.

Jorge Pardo at Petzel Gallery

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Invited to show at LA’s MoCA in 1997, Jorge Pardo built an off-site house as his exhibition (where he now lives with his family). His latest design-as-living space can be seen at Petzel Gallery, where ‘Spare Bedroom’ offers a sanctuary-like space-within-a-space reminiscent of bedroom-nooks built into lofts but with a stained-glass look suggesting something more like a choir loft. (In Chelsea through April 5th).

Jorge Pardo, Spare Bedroom, mixed media, 2014.

Xu Bing in ‘Ink Art’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Beijing-based artist Xu Bing is a star of the Met’s excellent ‘Ink Art’ exhibition, which features important work by prominent Chinese artists of the past few decades who have maintained a link with China’s traditional calligraphic and painting traditions. Here, Xu’s Book from the Sky submerses visitors in a sea of Chinese characters (with over a thousand unique variations) yet comes to question tradition and the relay of information by the fact that all are illegible. (At the Metropolitan Museum of Art through April 6th).

Xu Bing, Book from the Sky, ca 1987-91, installation of hand-printed books and ceiling and wall scrolls printed from wood letterpress type; ink on paper.

Pawel Althamer at the New Museum

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Polish artist Pawel Althamer opens up his exhibition at the New Museum to contributions from the public by providing paint, paper and smocks to the many, many visitors who want to leave their mark. (On the Lower East Side through April 13th).

Pawel Althamer, installation view of ‘Draftsmen’s Progress’ at the New Museum, March 2014.

Beth Krebs at Station Independent Projects

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Brooklyn artist Beth Krebs’ provocatively surreal object – a suggestion of two half-exposed bodies conjoined erotically or otherwise and traversed by a mini-pathway or guideline for cutting – is part of a new body of work worth seeing at the Lower East Side’s Station Independent Projects (through April 6th).

Beth Krebs, Rift and Slip, fired clay, pastel and tape, 12 x 9 x 10 inches.

Li Hongbo at Klein Sun Gallery (part II)

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Chelsea newcomer Klein Sun Gallery is giving visitors who loved the debut of Chinese sculptor Li Hongbo’s paper sculptures a treat. Extended to March 22nd, the exhibition has been rehung with new, larger sculptures including these two female figures constructed of paper carefully glued together sheet by sheet then carved with hand tools by the artist.

Li Hongbo, installation view at Klein Sun Gallery, Chelsea, March 2014.

Rudolf Stingel at Gagosian Gallery

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Rudolf Stingel paints the sublime in his latest body of work, but from a distance. Working from vintage, found photos of his birthplace – Merano, Italy – the artist faithfully copies distortions from the camera, marks of age from the prints and then leaves the canvases on the floor of his studio, building in physical and conceptual distance between his New York audience and the Alps. (At Gagosian Gallery’s 21st Street location through April 19th).

Rudolf Stingel, Untitled, oil on canvas, 132 x 180 ¾ inches, 2010.

David Shaw at Feature, Inc.

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The contrast between the two x’s in New York artist David Shaw’s ‘Gem’ – pristine vs weathered, dull vs glittering, -makes the eye bounce back and forth between these two seemingly casually placed sculptures, creating a lively show in Feature’s entryway gallery. (On the Lower East Side through March 23rd).

David Shaw, Gem, wood, aluminum, holographic laminate, rope; two parts, 135 x 60 x 3 inches each, 2013.

Dan McCarthy at Anton Kern Gallery

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In one of Chelsea’s more cheerful shows of the moment, New York-based artist Dan McCarthy presents paintings of happy musicians accompanied by birds and ‘Facepots,’ one of which smiles through its tears. (At Anton Kern Gallery through March 22nd).

Dan McCarthy, installation view at Anton Kern Gallery, February 2014.

Lisa Williamson in ‘Autograft’ at Laurel Gitlen Gallery

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1960s Minimalism, though influential, isn’t best remembered for its humor. LA-based sculptor Lisa Williamson injects lightheartedness into her stream-lined shapes, suggesting giant wall-mounted hairpins or attractively colored surgical tools. (At Laurel Gitlen Gallery on the Lower East Side through March 15th).

Lisa Williamson, ‘Bump, Bob’ (on the right) and ‘Bump, Hairpin’ (on the left), both acrylic on powder-coated steel, 80 x 14 x 4 inches.

Lucy Kim in ‘We Play at Paste’ at Lisa Cooley Gallery

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Using multiple silicone molds of flounders and a man, Lucy Kim pieces together a vibrantly colored, wonderfully mixed up image of a guy who appears to be ‘sleeping with the fishes,’ but is still posing semi-seductively with his rubbery, flattened thumb tucked into the waistband of his underpants. (At Lisa Cooley Gallery on the Lower East Side through March 15th).

Lucy Kim, He Left with the Flounders, oil paint, various plastics, spray paint on dibond panel, 64 x 48 inches, 2014.

Red Grooms at Marlborough Gallery

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Though New York artist Red Grooms created this gallery-filling installation replicating an alley near his downtown studio over twenty years ago – to bring some ‘quintessential New York funk’ to Marlborough Gallery’s London location – its shady hustle and bustle and maniacal truck driver still look contemporary. (At Marlborough Gallery’s Lower East Side location through March 23rd.)

Red Grooms, ‘The Alley,’ wood, foam, and mixed media, dimensions variable, 1984-5.

Dove Bradshaw at Corey Danese Gallery

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Many artists aim to get a reaction from their audience; New York artist Dove Bradshaw elicits one from her materials, applying chemicals to silver or water to salt, for example. In 1996, she began work on the piece pictured here, ‘Waterstone,’ by training a constant slow drip of water on limestone; it continues to the present day. (At Chelsea’s Corey Danese Gallery through March 15th).

Dove Bradshaw, Waterstone, limestone, separatory funnel, water, 12 x 12 x 12 inches, 1996 to present.

Michele Segre at Derek Eller Gallery

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Between a five-foot wide wax mushroom (rear) and a scrappy dream-catcher, strings of yarn suspend dried mushrooms, hinting at psychedelic interpretations for Michele Segre’s intriguingly odd assemblages. (At Derek Eller Gallery in Chelsea through March 15th).

Michele Segre, Self-Reflexive Narcissistic Supernova, metal, yarn, thread, wire, plastic bags, plastic lace, papier-mache, photos, screws, acrylic, modeling clay, wood, beeswax, dried mushrooms, 2013.

Robert Morris at Sonnabend Gallery

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In collaboration with woodworker Josh Finn, iconic Minimalist artist Robert Morris has been creating replicas of his 1960s sculptures. Currently on view at Chelsea’s Sonnabend Gallery, this gracefully curving form recalls Morris’ 1961 ‘Box for Standing,’ (a replica is included in the show), suggesting a more exulted place to position yourself, akin more to an art-filled niche than the ‘tub’ to which its title refers. (Through March 15th).

Robert Morris, Tub, alder, 80 ½ x 39 ½ x 20 inches, 2013.

Emily Jacir at Alexander and Bonin Gallery

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Over a period of two years, Palestinian artist Emily Jacir visited Jerusalem’s Jewish National and University Library, surreptitiously phototographing books that once belonged to Palestinians, now labeled as ‘Abandoned Property.’ Lining the walls of Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin Gallery, her photos highlight notations, insertions and other personal touches.  (Through April 5th).

Emily Jacir, ex libris, installation, public project and book, 2010-12.

Katherine Bernhardt at Canada Gallery

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Known for her unnerving, expressionist renditions of fashion models, New York painter Katherine Bernhardt steps into new territory with food-centric pattern paintings whose collective title, ‘Stupid, Crazy, Ridiculous, Funny Patterns’ accurately introduces their surprising, bold and humorous nature. (At the Lower East Side’s Canada Gallery through March 9th).

Katherine Bernhardt, Steaming Hot Coffee and Cigarettes and Pizza, acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 2013.

Austin Thomas at Hansel and Gretel Picture Gallery

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Pocket Utopia on the Lower East Side and Hansel and Gretel Picture Gallery in Chelsea don’t just have their unusual names in common; they’re both showcasing work and happenings by Pocket Utopia founder and New York artist Austin Thomas. Thomas rescues and transforms paper, books and other aged materials; here, a book cover titled ‘Castle’ becomes a shelter, a tent, a minimal sculpture and a testament to a book well-used.  (Through March 15th).

Austin Thomas, Castle, 20 x 14 inches, photographic print, 2014.

Sarah Cain at Galerie Lelong

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Once, LA-based artist Sarah Cain created work primarily in abandoned buildings. In her current site-specific installation at Galerie Lelong, she pushes painting far beyond the edge of the canvas, creating an eye-catching sprawl of color and form at the back of the gallery. (In Chelsea through March 15th).

Sarah Cain, hypnic jerk, site-specific installation, 2014.

Kiki Smith at Pace Gallery

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Titled ‘Wonder,’ New York artist Kiki Smith’s latest solo show at Pace Gallery includes a magnified sculpture of hoarfrost (along with a rabbit), jacquard tapestries of a nude in a tree and soaring eagles all of which posit nature as a source of astonishment and pleasure. (In Chelsea at Pace’s 510 West 25th St location through March 29th).

Kiki Smith, installation view of ‘Wonder,’ in foreground, ‘Hoarfrost with Rabbit,’ stainless steel, 2014, at Pace Gallery, March 2014.

Robin F. Williams at PPOW Gallery

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In a distinctly contemporary update on Sylvia Sleigh’s iconic ‘70s nude male, Robin F. Williams’ new show ‘Sons of Pioneers’ features men who seem to have opted out of the go-getter mentality of their fathers; non-aggressive poses suggest a passive ideology traditionally identified as female. (At Chelsea’s PPOW Gallery through March 15th).

Robin F Williams, Gold Panner, 72 inch diameter, oil on canvas, 2013.

Lisa Sanditz at CRG Gallery

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Though she lives in New York, Lisa Sanditz’ attention is on the country, with a new series of paintings that consider food production and sculptures inspired by Arizona cactus farms. Here, fanciful rainbow cacti in muted colors face off through Styrofoam cups like those that farmers use to protect cactus branches from cold. (At Chelsea’s CRG Gallery through March 15th).

Lisa Sanditz, Rainbow, glazed ceramic, planters, cinderblocks, plywood, rocks, 20 x 22 ½ x 8 inches, 2014.

Candy Jernigan at GreeneNaftali Gallery

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Late New York artist Candy Jernigan’s ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ brings to mind an apothecary’s shelves, though tags reading ‘Guinness Dark,’ and ‘Colt 45’ for example, suggest that these are more contemporary medicines, gathered from LES streets (along with the crack vials and cheez doodles in other artworks) in the 80s. (At GreeneNaftali through March 15th).

Candy Jernigan, ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ (detail), beer, glass vials, packing tags and Plexiglas shelves, 48 x 14 x 3 ½ inches, c. 1988-89.

Leslie Wayne at Jack Shainman Gallery

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Leslie Wayne’s new series ‘Paint/Rag’ demonstrates how it’s possible to make a painting made from paint alone. By troweling colors one on top of the other on a surface of wet paint, then folding the sheet, Wayne creates gorgeous drapes of solid color. (At Jack Shainman Gallery’s 24th Street location through March 22nd).

Leslie Wayne, Paint/Rag #31, oil on panel, 14 x 9 x 4 ½ inches, 2013.

Rebecca Morgan at Asya Geisberg Gallery

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Poised like Venus lying in the grass or hiking semi-nude with a walking stick and an open flannel shirt, Pennsylvania-based artist Rebecca Morgan’s self-portraits are skillfully crafted, hilarious takes on rural stereotypes. Here, she changes gears, donning a ‘depression blanket’ to ward off the chill and the mental state her far-away look suggests. (At Chelsea’s Asya Geisberg Gallery through March 29th).

Rebecca Morgan, Depression Blanket, oil and graphite on panel, 28” x 22,” 2014.