Matthew Jensen at Yancey Richardson Gallery

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Artists don’t make road trips like they used to…Brooklyn-based photographer Matthew Jensen left his car parked and instead turned to Google Street View to make this 2009 piece in which he chose an image from each state (apart from Hawaii, which had not yet been mapped). The artists states, ‘The sun used to be the only thing to touch the entire earth and now Google does as well.’ (At Chelsea’s Yancey Richardson Gallery through June 20th.)

Matthew Jensen, The 49 States, 49 chromogenic prints, each 16 x 16 inches, 2009.

Leidy Churchman at Murray Guy Gallery

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New York artist Leidy Churchman considers what it means to be above it all, replicating a promotional picture for 432 Park Ave, the hemisphere’s tallest residential building (for now). Known for more its exclusivity than its architectural merit, Churchman turns the tower’s top floors into a glowing Olympian retreat. (At Chelsea’s Murray Guy through June 6th).

Leidy Churchman, Tallest Residential Tower in the Western Hemisphere, oil on linen, 72 x 60 inches, 2015.

Keith Edmier at Petzel Gallery

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Grace Kelly, Venus and U.S. First Ladies are the elevated subjects of NY sculptor Keith Edmier’s enticing if eclectically-themed solo show at Chelsea’s Petzel Gallery. Here, an orchid developed for former first lady Laura Bush and replicated in dental acrylic is equally attractive and creepy, its waxy appearance and unnatural color suggesting embalmed beauty. (Through June 20th).

Keith Edmier, The Pink Orchid c. 1875-90 (Blc. Laura Bush ‘First Lady’ AM/AOS), dental acrylic and acrylic paint on Tennessee marble base, 15 x 11.5 x 8 inches, 2015.

Hope Gangloff, Yelena at Susan Inglett Gallery

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Do you think Hope Gangloff’s friend Yelena likes patterns? With abundance that recalls Matisse post-Morocco, the upstate painter gives us an explosion of color and design to delight the senses. (At Chelsea’s Susan Inglett Gallery through June 6th).

Hope Gangloff, Yelena, acrylic and collage on canvas, 82 x 45inches, 2015.

Airan Kang at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

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Some books electrify the reader, some illuminate our understanding; few do so as literally as in South Korean artist Airan Kang’s glowing volumes now on show at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in Chelsea. (Through June 13th).

Airan Kang, installation view of ‘The Luminous Poem,’ May 2015.

Christopher Wool at Luhring Augustine

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First, a tangle of barbed wire, then a looser, smoother mass of looping lines in bronze greets visitors to Christopher Wool’s latest solo show at Luhring Augustine in Chelsea. In contrast to the inherently dangerous barbed wire, the larger sculptures are freer, suggesting unraveling string or cooked spaghetti dried out, as well as drawn lines unleashed into three dimensions. (In Chelsea through June 20th).

Christoher Wool, installation view at Luhring Augustine Gallery, May 2015.

Yinka Shonibare, Rage of the Ballet Gods at James Cohan

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Few these days think that the gods are responsible when an earthquake or tsunami hits, but British/Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare pictures the wrath of Zeus (background) and Poseidon (front right) to comment on climate change in his latest solo show at James Cohan Gallery. Placed directly on the floor in their bold (signature Shonibare) fabrics, the gender-bending divine dancers emanate power.

Yinka Shonibare, installation view of ‘Rage of the Ballet Gods’ at James Cohan Gallery, May 2015.

Cameron Jamie at Barbara Gladstone Gallery

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Known for videos and drawings channeling disillusioned angst, Cameron Jamie takes a new direction with ceramics that suggest natural forms and which are simultaneously object and pedestal. Undulating stalagmites at bottom have a fecal quality while resembling curving bodies; the top form in the foreground brings to mind vertebra or coral. (At Barbara Gladstone Gallery on West 24th Street through May 30th).

Cameron Jamie, installation view of untitled, glazed ceramic sculptures, May 2015.

David Shrigley Show at Anton Kern Gallery

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Traditionally, Chelsea galleries are closed today – the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend but a sea-change may be coming; it’s the last day to catch David Shrigley’s show at Anton Kern Gallery, which contrary to the tongue-in-cheek signage, will be open today. (Through May 23rd).

David Shrigley, installation view at Anton Kern Gallery, May 2015.

Brent Wadden at Mitchell-Innes and Nash

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Canadian artist Brent Wadden’s hand-woven ‘paintings’ embrace imperfection, incorporating second-hand fibers and mismatched seams on large panels in enticing colors and dynamic patterns. (At Chelsea’s Mitchell-Innes and Nash through May 30th).

Brent Wadden, Tangerine Teal, hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas, 107 x 84 inches, 2105.

Nina Beier at Metro Pictures

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Strange objects – a fish, emu egg shells, pills – in resin fill super-sized glasses scattered on the floor of Danish artist Nina Beier’s New York solo debut at Metro Pictures. In the foreground, a snake curls around a ruler, an enigmatic image inspired by stock photo images that suggests a nasty surprise for the incautious drinker. (Through May 23rd).

Nina Beier, Plunge, snake, ruler, resin, martini glass, 24 ¼ x 13 1/8 x 13 1/8 inches, 2015.

Lucas Samaras at Pace Gallery

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Conceived of in 1966 and only realized in 2007, Lucas Samaras’ ‘Doorway’ reverses Yayoi Kusama’s mirrored interiors by putting mirrors on the exterior to reflect visitors and surroundings. At Pace Gallery, these include banks of photos from the artist’s life and a frieze of self-portraits in which Samaras in a flowing white beard and long hair resembles Rip Van Winkle or, after 40 years of using himself as subject matter, god of the selfie. (Through June 27th).

Lucas Samaras, installation view, Pace Gallery, May 2015.

Hank Willis Thomas, Unbranded at Jack Shainman Gallery

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Hank Willis Thomas is banking on Hillary Clinton getting the Democratic nod for president; so much that he was inspired to open up a conversation about the role of women in an update on his famous ‘Unbranded’ series, for which he removed logos and text from ad images to reflect on the naked images used by corporate America to move products. Now he’s selected one hundred images of white women from the past one hundred years. The show at Jack Shainman’s two Chelsea locations is even getting a boost with advertising of its own at the 8th Ave and 23rd Street subway station. (Through May 23rd).

Ad for Hank Willis Thomas’ show ‘Unbranded: A Century of White Women, 1915 – 2015.

Richard Serra at David Zwirner Gallery

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Eight blocks of forged steel weighing 35 tons each are a solid totemic presence in David Zwirner Gallery’s ground floor 20th Street space. As the title, ‘Equal,’ conveys, each is the same but stacked to suggest different sizes and astounding weight. (Through July 24th).

Richard Serra, Equal, forged weatherproof steel, eight identical blocks, each: 60 x 66 x 72 inches, 2015.

Aiko Hachisuka Installation at Eleven Rivington

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It’s not unusual to see second hand clothing as an art material in New York galleries, but no one quite turns it into the unique sculptural and painting surface that LA-based Japanese artist Aiko Hachisuka does. Here, in her installation on the Lower East Side at Eleven Rivington, columns covered in printed fabrics make dramatics statements from close and far. (Through May 17th).

Aiko Hachisuka, installation view at Eleven Rivington, April 2015.

Michele Oka Doner at Marlborough Gallery

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Known for her deep engagement with the natural world through her art, New York/Florida artist Michele Oka Doner creates hybrid plant/animal/human figures in her impressive solo show at Marlborough Gallery’s 57th Street location. Here, a gilded cast-bronze figure has the textured surface of weathered wood while a tree-like wax-covered figure at rear stands in contrapposto. (Through May 16th).

Michele Oka Doner, Interior Life, gilded cast bronze, 58 x 14 x 8 ½ inches, 2014.

Pamela Joseph at Francis M. Naumann Fine Art

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Pamela Joseph’s censored paintings of iconic artworks, including the rendition of Matisse’s Blue Nude pictured here, look like humorously overzealous attempts to stop objectification of female bodies. In fact, Joseph is recreating the distortions imposed by Iranian censors on art books in Iran. (At Francis M. Naumann Fine Art on 57t Street through May 22nd).

Pamela Joseph, Censored Blue Nude by Matisse, oil on linen, 30 x 48 inches, 2014.

Tim Hawkinson in ‘Eureka’ at Pace Gallery

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Art and science perform a beautiful dance in Tim Hawkinson’s ‘Gimbled Klein Basket,’ a rotating bamboo lattice depicting a Klein bottle, a single sided object with no boundaries invented by 19th century mathematician Felix Klein. (At Pace Gallery’s 510 West 25th Street location through June 27th).

Tim Hawkinson, Gimbled Klein Basket, bamboo, motor, pulley, drive belt, 9’ 2” x 11’ 8” x 4’ 6,” 2007.

Yayoi Kusama, The Obliteration Room at David Zwirner Gallery

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When Japanese pop art icon Yayoi Kusama last showed at David Zwirner Gallery, audiences waited on line for hours to enter a mirrored chamber. Two years later, the octogenarian artist is reviving another crowd pleaser, a version of her 2002 ‘obliteration room,’ in the form of a mini-suburban home that viewers will cover with stickers supplied by the gallery. (In Chelsea through June 13th).

Yayoi Kusama, installation view of ‘The obliteration room,’ furniture, white paint, dot stickers, dimensions variable, 2002 – present.

Sarah Peters at Eleven Rivington

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Saying her art practice is about ‘mistranslating the history of ancient objects,’ Brooklyn-based sculptor Sarah Peters ‘misinterprets’ Akkadian rulers, Greek busts and more with stunning results in several bronze heads at LES gallery Eleven Rivington. (Through May 17th).

Sarah Peters, Portrait of a Bearded Man with Triangular Base, bronze, 17.5 x 7 x 13 inches, 2015.

Judith Henry at Bravin Lee

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Both identity and longevity are illusory, Judith Henry’s photos seem to say. Masked and standing in front of paintings that she made in response to others, Henry takes a photo, then uses the painting as a surface for the next work. (At Bravin Lee in Chelsea through May 16th).

Judith Henry, Blue Rectangle, archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Bright White, 19 x 24 inches, 2014.

Charles Burchfield at DC Moore Gallery

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A November sun ignites the tree tops and illuminates a field of jittery stalks in this watercolor by American painter Charles Burchfield at DC Moore Gallery in Chelsea. Painted late in life when Burchfield’s scenes had become more dream-like, the brilliance of the sun belies the impending dormancy of the natural world as winter approaches. (Through June 13th).

Charles Burchfield, November Sun Emerging, watercolor, charcoal, and chalk on joined paper, mounted on board, 37 ¾ x 31 7/8 inches, 1956-59.

Andrew Lord at Barbara Gladstone Gallery

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British ceramic artist Andrew Lord riffs on Gauguin’s ceramics and the colors of the New Mexico sunset in three multi-part sculptures at Chelsea’s Barbara Gladstone Gallery. Here, a female figure with flowing hair becomes one with a pot, making her body a vessel but also suggesting the spiritually imbued function of a canoptic jar. (Through May 30th).

Andrew Lord, detail from ‘at sunset, Carson Mesa (Gauguin),’ 13 glazed ceramic sculptures in 14 parts, 2013.

Mariah Dekkenga in ‘Post-Analogue Painting’ at The Hole NYC

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Mariah Dekkenga’s vibrantly colored untitled abstraction is a standout in The Hole’s ‘post-analogue’ painting group show on the LES. Developed in Adobe Illustrator and transferred to canvas by hand, Dekkenga’s paintings feature obviously hand-applied thick paint as well as blurs and gradients that suggest the digital. (Through May 24th).

Mariah Dekkenga, Untitled (6), oil and acrylic on linen, 32 x 64 inches, 2015.

Timothy Horn at PPOW Gallery

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Inspired by 17th jewelry from the court of ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV and 19th century nature illustrations, Australian/US artist Timothy Horn ups the ante on his brooch-like sculptures by creating them in extra large scale. Here, mirror blown glass ‘pearls’ the size of large eggplants hang among lichen in a piece over five feet tall. (At PPOW Gallery in Chelsea through May 23rd).

Timothy Horn, Tree of Heaven 5 (Lichen), nickel-plated bronze, mirror blown glass, 66 x 45 x 6 inches, 2015.

Lutz Bacher at Greene Naftali

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In contrast to Andy Warhol’s 1964 film ‘Empire,’ Lutz Bacher’s installation by the same name features a multitude of Empire State Building spires in full color, reflecting off of sheets of Plexi arranged around GreeneNaftali Gallery. While the piece feels like a celebration of the fact that there’s no ‘one New York,’ sandbags holding down the panels add a note of caution. (In Chelsea through May 9th).

Lutz Bacher, Empire, two channel digital video, color/sound, Plexiglas, sand, 43 min, 1 second, 2014.

Nancy Lupo at Wallspace

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With unconventional materials like the food-substitute Soylent, baby seats and dog chews, LA artist Nancy Lupo’s scupltures at Chelsea’s Wallspace are oddly attractive. (Through May 9th).

Installation view of Nancy Lupo at Wallspace, April 2015.

Tony Cox and Matthew Ronay at Marlborough Gallery

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Titled ‘Outer Loop,’ Marlborough Gallery’s pairing of sculpture by Matthew Ronay and embroidered works by Tony Cox suggests that Chelsea gallery-goers haven’t yet seen it all. Cox’s cool-colored textiles suggest meditative abstractions while Ronay’s vibrant constructions defy description; together, their colorful wackiness charms. (Through May 9th).

Matthew Ronay, Stacked Ellipsoid Cairn with Pearl, basswood, dye, gouache, shellac-based primer, 28 ½ x 23 x 23 inches, 2015.

Robert Whitman at Pace Gallery

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Iconic early performance artist Robert Whitman adapts the idea of the ‘talkie’ film to visual art in his latest series, ‘Soundies,’ for which he presents an image and an accompanying sound. The show is great fun, but would anyone want to live with a dripping tap, even as art? (At Pace Gallery’s 57th Street location through May 2nd).

Robert Whitman, Dripping Faucet, color photo, mp3 sound element, wall label, 2015.

Tatiana Trouve at the SE corner of Central Park

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Before she even set foot in Central Park to create a site-specific artwork commissioned by the Public Art Fund, Paris-based artist Tatiana Trouve poured over maps of the park’s utilities. Inspired by the many unseen arteries connecting the park’s lights, water supply and more, she measured all 212 pathways in the park, designating each with a separate spool on towering racks. (Through Aug 30th).

Tatiana Trouve, installation view of ‘Desire Lines,’ at Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, 60th Street and 5th Ave, through Aug 30th.

Jonathan Monaghan at Bitforms

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Washington DC-based artist Jonathan Monaghan’s ‘Pavilion’ births giant contemporary Faberge eggs with surfaces composed of luxury goods and upholstery, demonstrating how money begets money. (At Bitforms on the LES through May 3rd).

Jonathan Monaghan, The Pavilion, animated HD film, 3 min, seamless loop, 2014.