Maayan Strauss at Andrea Meislin Gallery

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With few exceptions, ground floor Chelsea storefronts are occupied by galleries, so young Israeli artist Maayan Strauss’ installation of sinks at Andrea Meislin Gallery – looking like a showroom for kitchen fixtures – comes as a momentary surprise. The installation of seven running sinks, connected in one huge countertop is pristine (for now) and attractive, and effectively turns the gallery into a  commercial showroom. (In Chelsea through Feb 28th).

Maayan Strauss, installation view of ‘Seven Sinks’ at Andrea Meislin Gallery, Feb 2014.

Ori Gersht at CRG Gallery

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Inspired by Jan Brueghal the Elder’s flower genre paintings, London-based photographer Ori Gersht photographed versions of Breueghal’s arrangements, seen in a mirror as it’s being shattered. Gorgeous and violent at the same time, the photos are a disturbing reminder that nothing lasts forever. (At Chelsea’s CRG Gallery through March 14th).

Ori Gersht, detail of ‘On Reflection, Material E22 (After J. Brueghal the Elder), edition of 6 + 2AP, 96 x 73 ½ inches, c-print mounted on Dibond, 2014.

Sol LeWitt & Carl Andre at Paula Cooper Gallery

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Inspired by the Taoist notion that 10,000 is a number emblematic of infinity, late Minimalist Sol LeWitt created the plan for a wall drawing featuring 10,000 straight lines on each red, yellow or blue wall. In the foreground, Carl Andre’s 1979 Dracut is a more elemental but also forceful pattern created with short ‘lines’ of western red cedar. (At Paula Cooper Gallery’s 521 West 21st Street space through March 7th).

Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #992: Left Panel: 10,000 straight red lines; center panel: 10,000 straight yellow lines; right panel: 10,000 straight blue lines. The lines are of any length or direction. Red, yellow, blue markers. Dimensions variable. Foreground: Carl Andre, Dracut, 11 Western red cedar timbers, each 36 x 12 x 12 in, 1979.

Claudia Comte at Barbara Gladstone Gallery

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Inspired by Road Runner cartoons, Swiss artist Claudia Comte picked up a chainsaw as a young woman and started carving replica-cacti and more. Brancusi, Noguchi and other 20th century minimalists are references, along with more vernacular items, like the wine bottle opener that seems to have prompted this piece. Comte’s cheeky art historical remix results in a handsome installation. (At Barbara Gladstone Gallery’s 21st Street space through March 21st).

Claudia Comte, installation view of ‘No Melon No Lemon’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery, Feb 2015.

Alexander Calder at Paul Kasmin Gallery

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Though one of Alexander Calder’s better-known mobiles hangs above, it’s this sheet metal llama that catches the eye at Paul Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea. Included in an exhibition which partially recreates a groundbreaking show of New York art curated by Henry Geldzahler in 1969, its flat monochrome links it to surrounding minimal abstractions by Warhol, Noland, Flavin and more. (Through March 8th).

Alexander Calder, Moon Faced Llama (blue and red), painted sheet metal, 1971.

Erik van Lieshout at Anton Kern Gallery

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Dutch artist Erik Van Lieshout recreates newspaper protests of demonstrations between Dutch-nationalists and Muslim factions in Holland in vinyl and charcoal at Anton Kern Gallery. A provocateur who The Guardian recently called ‘The Ali G of Art’ for his disregard for social convention, Van Lieshout’s drawings impressively channel the aggression and adrenaline of street confrontation. (In Chelsea through Feb 28th).

Erik Van Lieshout, Untitled, charcoal, acrylic and vinyl on paper, 59 1/8 x 107 7/8 inches, 2014.

Saya Woolfalk at Leslie Tonkonow Artworks & Projects

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Saya Woolfalk continues to imagine life in a utopic community of culturally hybridized beings with her new series of colorful sculpture, video and collage at Chelsea’s Leslie Tonkonow Artworks & Projects. In this lush corner installation, a meditating figure in fantastical priestly garb holds minerals that supposedly release the power of greater empathy. (Through Feb 28th).

Saya Woolfalk, ChimaTEK: Virtual Reality Station, mixed media installation with video, 108 x 91 x 19 ½, 2015.

Bruce Nauman at Gagosian Gallery

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Seventeen taxidermy molds of foxes, deer and caribou by iconic conceptual artist Bruce Nauman are poised like an acrobatic troupe but are more creepy than entertaining. Nauman ups the discomfort by keeping them hairless to suggest that they’ve experienced an unnamed brutality. (At Gagosian Gallery’s 821 Park Ave location through Feb 21st).

Bruce Nauman, Animal Pyramid, polyurethane foam, iron, wood, and wire, 144 x 84 x 96 inches, 1989.

Noriyuki Haraguchi at Fergus McCaffrey Gallery

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This gorgeous reflecting pool by Japanese artist Noriyuki Haraguchi – an update on his iconic versions from the 70s – is the picture of serenity in the pristine upstairs gallery of Chelsea’s Fergus McCaffrey Gallery. Contrary to appearances, though, the pool is full of spent machine oil, a symbol of our attraction to a natural resource with not-so-beautiful byproducts. (Through Feb 21st).

Noriyuki Haraguchi, Oil Pool, steel, spent motor oil, 24 x 12 feet.

Harold Edgerton at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

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A cup shatters, a golfer swings and a bullet pierces balloons in photos by late scientist Harold Edgerton, who made time freeze with the aid of an electric strobescope. This image of three bursting balloons demonstrates three stages of destruction with arresting beauty. (At Sikkema Jenkins & Co through March 7th).

Harold Edgerton, Bullet Through Three Balloons, gelatin silver print, 30 x 48 inches, 1959, printed 1989.

Leonhard Hurzlmeier in ‘Proper Nouns’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery

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This mildly racy painting by young German artist Leonhard Hurzlmeier of a dentist getting ready in the morning gives pause for thought – is she demonstrating extreme skill or incredible awkwardness? (At Rachel Uffner Gallery through Feb 22nd).

Leonhard Hurzlmeier, Zahnarztin bei der Morgantoilette (Dentist Getting Ready), oil on canvas, 38.4 x 27.2 inches, 2013/14.

Jonathan Callan in ‘The Suspended Line’ at Josee Bienvenu Gallery

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British artist Jonathan Callan’s serene white mountain range encases a selection of books on nature (including ‘All About Lions,’ and ‘Bird Neighbors’) in plaster, suppressing knowledge of nature in favor of imitating it. (In ‘The Suspended Line’ at Josee Bienvenu Gallery in Chelsea through Feb 28th).

Jonathan Callan, Range, paper and plaster, 33.85 x 21.25inches, 2012.

Helmut Lang at Sperone Westwater

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For his biggest New York solo show to date at Sperone Westwater on the Lower East Side, fashion designer turned artist Helmut Lang continues to work with industrially shredded garments from his archive, which were accidently destroyed by fire. Strange creatures, birch trees and industrial processes come to mind in these mediated organic forms. (Through Feb 21st).

Helmut Lang, installation view of Untitled sculptures in resin, pigment and mixed media, 2010-2013 or 2012–2013.

John Miller at Mary Boone Gallery

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Game show contestants and reality TV personalities are the subject of John Miller’s paintings and this sculpture at Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea. Moments of supposedly ‘real’ emotion accompany paintings of empty, dramatically tacky game stages, conjuring a bizarre world of fakeness. (Through Feb 28th).

John Miller, Public Display, 68 x 58 x 58 inches, acrylic/wood, formica, 2013.

Nolan Simon at 47 Canal

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Pulling source images from the web, young Brooklyn artist Nolan Simon copies them to canvas, framing each one with painted, trompe l’oeil masking tape like an analogue version of open windows on a computer screen. While the technique doesn’t radically update collage, Simon has an eye for intriguingly odd juxtapositions. (At 47 Canal on the Lower East Side through Feb 15th).

Nolan Simon, Commonwealth, oil and acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches.

Polit-Sheer-Form Office at Queens Museum

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Chinese art group ‘Polit-Sheer-Form Office’ asks what that collectivity means today in China in light of trends toward individualism and consumption. Here, in a painting at their Queens Museum show, they riff on Cultural Revolution propaganda posters that featured happy workers gathering around Mao, substituting themselves cheerfully tucking into a communal dish. (Through March 18th).

Polit-Sheer-Form Office, Polit-Sheer-Form-16, oil on canvas, 2007.

KATSU at The Hole NYC

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Brooklyn-based artist KATSU is known for semi-abstract paintings created by drone; here at The Hole, a cluster of ceramic drone sculptures periodically disappears in a cloud of vape-generated smoke. (On the Lower East Side through Feb 22nd).

KATSU, Ceramic drone swarm, ceramic stoneware, 15 x 15 x 3 inches, 2014-2015.

Mike Nelson at 303 Gallery

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How would life continue after an apocalypse? British artist Mike Nelson’s latest show at Chelsea’s 303 Gallery imagines a scenario in which a group of survivors on the North Sea coast build sculpture from washed up trash to recreate what they haltingly remember. This serpent, tattered flags and various totems speak to an unstoppable urge to establish a bulkhead and mediate the unknown. (Through Feb 21st).

Mike Nelson, detail from the installation ‘Gang of Seven,’ found materials collected from the North West Pacific Coast (feathers, tires, rocks, driftwood, Styrofoam, metal rods and chains, pylons, clothing), dimensions variable, 2013.

Ann Toebbe at Monya Rowe

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This tranquil domestic interior is too cute, with its matching mugs by the fire, two dogs, two laptops and beautiful beach view. But the scene might not be as cozy as it looks – Ann Toebbe’s latest painted, handcut paper collages depict domestic interiors from friends’ and family members’ past marriages. (At Monya Rowe Gallery on the LES through Feb 22nd).

Ann Toebbe, Remarried, gouache, acrylic and cut paper on panel, 16 x 20 inches, 2015.

Jennifer Nocon at Tracy Williams Ltd

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Nature inspires LA-based artist Jennifer Nocon’s gorgeous ceramic and felt installation Sky Diamond, the centerpiece of her solo show at Chelsea’s Tracy Williams, Ltd. Stylized cloud illustrations on ceramic cloud shapes give forth blood-red, kelp-like jets of rain, making for a fascinating and slightly disturbing phenomenon. (Through Feb 14th).

Jennifer Nocon, Sky Diamonds, hand-dyed wool felt, ceramic clay, glaze, gold thread, 100 x 316 inches, 2014.

Anita Molinero in ‘Derive(s)’ at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

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French artist Anita Molinero is known for destroying vibrantly colored, plastic consumer goods by melting them. Here, pale green Styrofoam trays remain intact but pierced, supported by cradling metal arms and a backed by a chunk of concrete. (At Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery through Feb 14th).

Anita Molinero, Untitled, 16 ½ x 12 ½ x 15 inches, 2014.

Lucy Kim at Lisa Cooley

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Over one hundred dental casts of the same smile create a grid in this slightly creepy, subtly funny 3-D painting by Massachusetts-based painter Lucy Kim at Lisa Cooley Gallery on the Lower East Side. With cartoon-like swirls of red curls and sesame seeds connoting freckles, this character – with her super abundance of toothy grins – charms and repulses at the same time. (Through Feb 15th).

Lucy Kim, detail of Tomorrow, Tomorrow (Leeza Smiles), oil paint, acrylic paint, urethane resin, polyurethane glue on dibond panel, 36 x 45 inches, 2014.

Suzanne Song in ‘January’ at Mixed Greens

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Optical illusion is Suzanne Song’s stock-in-trade, whether she’s painting a false corner into a gallery corner or making an acrylic on canvas painting that looks like the happy result of a mid-century minimalist casually making art on the beach. The illusion of folding, layering and a gritty surface and keep the eye moving this piece at Chelsea’s Mixed Greens. (Through Feb 14th).

Suzanne Song, Centerfold, acrylic on canvas, 14 x 11 inches, 2014.

Jonathan Baldock Sculpture at Nicelle Beauchene

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Behind a pleasantly printed pastel sheet strung across one corner of the gallery, a quirky little donut-bodied character by young British artist Jonathan Baldock instructs (according to the title) ‘How to Open Your Third Eye.’ (At Nicelle Beauchene Gallery on the LES through Feb 8th).

Jonathan Baldock, Screen with Peep-holes, muslin, acrylic, thread, 105 ½ x 141 ½ inches, 2014. And Jonathan Baldock, How to Open Your Third Eye, felt, wadding, silk thread, ceramic polymer, 23 ½ x 12 x 6 inches, 2015.

Tal R, Jacobe Smoking at Cheim & Read

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Copenhagen-based painter Tal R’s latest solo show at Chelsea’s Cheim & Read features lounging female acquaintances rendered in his characteristic toned-down vibrant palette. Abstract sculpture, multiple patterned rugs, and a purple-haired model in this picture suggest an update on Matisse’s exoticism. (Through Feb 14th).

Tal R, Jacobe Smoking, pigment and rabbit skin glue on canvas, 48 x 34 5/8 inches, 2013.

Diana Thater at David Zwirner Gallery

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Inspired by James Turrell sculptures, in which the audience looks upward through a ceiling aperture to view the sky as art, LA artist Diana Thater devised this projection on the ceiling of David Zwirner Gallery as an homage to the dung beetle, a creature which looks to the stars to guide its ecologically critical activity. (In Chelsea through Feb 21st).

Diana Thater, Science, Fiction, installation for two video projectors, media player, and lights, overall dimensions vary with installation, 2014.

Entang Wiharso at Marc Straus

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As far as family portraits go, this one is by far one of the strangest I’ve seen, as a matron with a knife in her hair touches a carp’s tongue and father stands by cradling a skull while two boys look on. Wiharso has explained that in his work, tables are meant as meeting places and sites for negotiation; as such, this family has a lot to work through. (At Marc Straus on the Lower East Side through Feb 8th).

Entang Wiharso, Inheritance, graphite, resin, color pigment, thread, steel, life-size installation, 2014.

Joachim Koester at Greene Naftali

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Brooklyn-based Danish artist Joachim Koester channels the wild west in a distinctly avant-garde way in his absorbing video installation, The Place of Dead Roads, in which dancers dressed as grubby gunslingers move around an eerie boarded-up space as if locked in a tense shootout, all without weapons or an obvious enemy. (At Chelsea’s GreenNaftali through Feb 14th).

Joachim Koester, The Place of Dead Roads, HD video installation, color, sound, 33:30 min, 2013.