Lisa Ruyter at Eleven Rivington

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In the spirit of Sherry Levine’s iconic rephotographing of Walker Evans 1930s photos, Lisa Ruyter’s latest paintings reproduce photos from the Farm Security Administration’s archive of images shot during the Great Depression. In Ruyter’s words the images are, ‘a record of what was already being lost to Americans even as it was being constructed, an American dream of self-determination, independence and freedom.’ (At Eleven Rivington through July 3rd).

Lisa Ruyter, Russell Lee: Mother and child of agricultural day laborers family encamped near Spiro. Sequoyah County Oklahoma, acrylic on canvas, 78.74 x 39.37 inches, 2014.

Yoan Capote at Jack Shainman Gallery

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Self-identity and national identity are tightly bound in Cuban artist Yoan Capote’s politically inflected artworks. Here, Capote peeks out from behind his sculpture of Castro, made from door hinges gathered from Havana households, suggesting either an open or closed door. (At Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery through July 10th).

Yoan Capote, Immanence, mixed media including hinges, wood doors, metal armature, 120 x 180 x 180 inches, 2015.

Marcel Odenbach at Anton Kern Gallery

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For his latest solo show, German video and collage artist Marcel Odenbach produces collaged images of what he calls ‘Green Zones,’ or marginal spaces in which nature and unexplained human activity meet. Seen here in detail, a scarf tied around a tree branch suggests a memorial, composed of clipped and copied press images referring to “…religious delusion, racism and murder…’ explains the gallery. (At Anton Kern Gallery in Chelsea through July 3rd).

Marcel Odenbach, Grunflache 3 (Green Zone 3), ink and collage on paper, 81 x 108 inches (framed), 2014/15.

Lee Krasner in ‘Abstraction’ at Robert Miller Gallery

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Major Ab Exp school artist Lee Krasner’s huge ‘Comet’ signals the celestial realms in surprising color and washes of pure white light in a standout piece from 1970 in ‘Abstraction’ at Chelsea’s Robert Miller Gallery. (Through July 31st).

Lee Krasner, Comet, oil on canvas, 70 x 86 inches, 1970.

Ellen Berkenblit at Anton Kern Gallery

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A stylized nose, heavily made-up eyelashes and explosively arranged red hair are nearly submerged beneath expressionist flowers in Ellen Berkenblit’s ‘Color Forms,’ in which her character both merges and clashes with the landscape. (At Anton Kern Gallery in Chelsea through July 3rd).

Ellen Berkenblit, Color Forms, oil on canvas, 94 x 76 inches, 2013.

Olaf Breuning Solo Show at Metro Pictures

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Flotsam from the digital world materializes in Olaf Breuning’s latest solo show at Chelsea’s Metro Pictures gallery, which is crowded with large wall-paper covered MDF panels that reference thought bubbles, emoticons, motivational slogans and more. (Through July 31st).

Olaf Breuning, installation view of ‘The Life,’ at Metro Pictures, June 2015.

Peter Harkawik at Derek Eller Gallery

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Is digital technology making physical bodies less important? LA artist Peter Harkawik addresses this very contemporary concern with a sculpture that is both a musical instrument and a paean to the human body. Colors on the armature reference brands (like Home Depot orange) while a carefully rendered hand, ear, scrunched bottle and more signal the human touch. (At Derek Eller Gallery through July 10th).

Peter Harkawik, (detail of ) Everything But (Klondike Blue/Pepto Bismol Pink, UPS Brown, Pluot Purple/Home Depot Orange, Risperdal Green/Tiffany Blue, Post-It Note Yellow/Wiffle Ball Yellow, T-Mobile Pink/John Deere Green, Aquafresh Blue, Tiffany Blue), mechanically polished cast stainless steel, electropolished cast stainless steel, 316 stainless steel, 308 stainless steel, carbon steel, Imron fleet paint, SAE F-55 felt, hardware, rubber mallet, 68 x 60 x 16 inches, 2015.

Lee Ufan at Pace Gallery

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Lee Ufan continues his decades-long practice of bringing basic natural and man-made materials into new relationships with the viewer with his latest work at Chelsea’s Pace Gallery. Here (foreground), a piece subtitled ‘the cane of titan’ draws mythical Greek giants into the mix, proposing that we’ve stumbled upon an astonishing yet casually placed artifact. (Through June 27th).

Lee Ufan, Relatum – the cane of titan, steel and stone, 2015.

Daniel Rozin at Bitforms

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Faux fur pom poms and cute stuffed penguins move in response to gallery visitors, creating rough portraits in Israeli-American artist Daniel Rozin’s solo show at Bitforms on the Lower East Side. (Through July 1st).

Daniel Rozin, Pom Pom Mirror, 928 faux fur pom poms, 464 motors, control electronics, video camera, custom software, microcontroller, wooden armature, 48 x 48 x 18 inches, 2015.

Viola Frey at Nancy Hoffman Gallery

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Known for massive sculptures of men in blue power suits and seated nudes, the late Bay Area artist pushed the limits of her medium. Chelsea visitors can take the measure of this huge figure, who looks a little startled to have landed on the floor of Nancy Hoffman Gallery. (Through June 27th).

Viola Frey, Falling Man in Suit, ceramic, 74 x 89 x 73 inches, 1991.

Diane Simpson in ‘Over & Under’ at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

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This mystery object (Exercise machine? Seesaw? Giant snowshoe?) by Diane Simpson is a humorous stand-out in Sikkema Jenkins’ summer group show of minimalism-inspired objects. It depicts an oversized sombrero. (In Chelsea through July 24th).

Diane Simpson, Sombrero, acrylic paint, MDF, polyester spunbond fabric, metallic cord, 34 x 90 x 25 inches, 1995. (Background wall cover: Matt Keegan, double-wall cardboard, dimensions variable, 2015).

Anna Betbeze in ‘Body/Image’ group show at Susan Inglett

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Anna Betbeze’s process of cutting, tearing and burning Flokati rugs while coloring them with acid dyes leaves a textile that both attracts and repulses. Hanging from the wall like a sagging pelt in Susan Inglett Gallery’s summer group show ‘Body/Image,’ this piece looks as if it could once have been alive. (Through July 31st).

Anna Betbeze, Playtime, acid dyes, ash on wool, 144 x 118 inches, 2015.

Jonathan Gardner at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

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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.

Paul Winstanley at Mitchell-Innes & Nash

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British artist Paul Winstanley’s paintings of empty art studio spaces in colleges around the UK are improbable subject matter for such pleasingly still, light-infused minimal compositions. Come September, they’ll fill with bodies, activity and color but at the moment, the tranquility is a pleasure. (At Mitchell-Innes & Nash in Chelsea through July 19th).

Paul Winstanley, Art School 40, oil on panel, 56 5/8 x 37 3/4inches, 2015.

Gillian Laub at Benrubi Gallery

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New York photographer Gillian Laub’s photographs of segregated high school dances in small-town Georgia (which continued until 2010) have appeared twice in national publications but still have the power to shock. They form the core of her current solo show at Benrubi Gallery in Chelsea, along with this image of two men who chose public humiliation – walking the streets with signboards for hours a day – over jail time. (Through June 27th).

Gillian Laub, Public Shaming, 2013.

Caragh Thuring at Simon Preston Gallery

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What do your windows say about you? London-based artist Caragh Thuring’s new paintings were inspired by the window displays of Dutch homes she photographed, which she sees as self-portraiture and a unique portal between public and private spaces. (At Simon Preston Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 21st).

Caragh Thuring, Sharp Sand, oil, gesso, pigment, graphite on linen, 84 x 60 inches, 2015.

Ellsworth Kelly, Blue Angle at Matthew Marks Gallery

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At age 92, just two years after his previous major multi-gallery solo show, Ellsworth Kelly is back at Matthew Marks’ Chelsea galleries (all four locations) with works so bold that a New Yorker critic was prompted to call this Kelly’s ‘all-time most thrilling gallery show.’  Here, an elegantly minimal blue shape could be a stylized arrow pointing upwards, the measure of an angle and much more. (Through June 20th).

Ellsworth Kelly, Blue Angle, painted aluminum, 90 x 150 x 4 1/8 inches, 2014.

Tony Oursler at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

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Huge whispering heads with combined features of several people tower over visitors to Tony Oursler’s latest solo show at Lehmann Maupin’s Lower East Side space. Inspired by his wariness of facial recognition technology, Oursler creates hybrid faces composed not of a unified whole but of identifiable parts ready to be stored as info in a database. (Through June 14th).

Tony Oursler, CV (15), wood, LCD screens, inkjet print, sound, performed by Jason Scott Henderson and Joanna Smolenski, 106 x 71.5 x 30.5 inches, 2015.

Joan Brown at George Adams Gallery

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Late Bay Area painter Joan Brown’s self-portrait at age 31 includes her dog and third husband (artist Gordon Cook) standing outside the San Francisco Opera House. Hovering on a sidewalk that recalls a conveyor belt and an inverted red carpet, Brown and her partner pause stiffly in an urban landscape curiously devoid of other people. (At George Adams Gallery in Chelsea).

Joan Brown, Gordon, Joan and Rufus in Front of S.F. Opera House, oil on canvas, 2 panels, 80 x 30 5/8 inches and 80 x 60 inches, 1969.

Jacqueline Humphries at Greene Naftali Gallery

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New York abstract painter Jacqueline Humphries imports the digital world into her latest paintings, bringing the painting surface in and out of focus with swirls of silver and purple and using overlays of dots to suggest ellipses or colons thereby signaling interrupted communication or expectation. (At GreeneNaftali in Chelsea through June 20th).

Jacqueline Humphries, :::, oil on linen, 100 x 111 inches, 2014.

Shirana Shahbazi at On Stellar Rays

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Photos taken just last year on a road trip between Zurich and Tehran are the subject of Tehran born, Zurich-based artist Shirana Shahbazi’s solo show at LES gallery On Stellar Rays, but her printing technique (two-color lithography) and age-old scenery create timeless, captivating scenes. (Through June 14th).

Shirana Shahbazi, Wuste, two-color lithography on Zerkall Butten paper, 20 ¼ x 26 inches, 2014.

Tony Matelli at Marlborough Gallery

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A sandblasted garden sculpture decorated with bronze sausage is a gratifying opener at Marlborough Gallery for fans of Tony Matelli’s offbeat humor and meticulous craft. But it’s the inverted, nude Adam and Eve sculptures in the back gallery that make the show unmissable. (In Chelsea through June 20th).

Tony Matelli, Warrior (detail), concrete and painted bronze, 55 x 21 x 17 inches, 2015.

Lee Lozano at Hauser & Wirth Gallery

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Titled after actions including ‘pitch,’ ‘slide,’ ‘cram,’ and ‘swap,’ Lee Lozano’s paintings from the mid 60s merge serene minimal abstraction with forceful angles and directional lines that give each canvas suggestive power. (At Hauser & Wirth through July 31st).

Lee Lozano, Lean, oil on canvas, three parts, 78 ¼ x 123 ¼ x 1 5/8 inches, 1966.

Carl Andre & Brancusi at Paul Kasmin Gallery

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‘All I’m doing is putting Brancusi’s Endless Column on the ground instead of in the sky,’ explained Minimalist sculpture Carl Andre in reference to ‘War & Rumors of War,’ a sculpture composed of 90 Australian hardwood timbers. The piece opens Paul Kasmin Gallery’s exhibition of two elegant Brancusi sculptures and works by the major American mid-century artists they inspired. (In Chelsea through June 20th).

Carl Andre, War and Rumors of War, 90 Australian hardwood timbers, overall: 35 ½ x 149 x 138 inches, 2002.

Cildo Meireles at Galerie Lelong

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Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles creates an awkward space for viewers, who are invited to climb onto a platform of wooden eggs under a canopy of bullets. Titled ‘Amerikkka,’ the piece’s extra consonants suggest racial discord in a loaded and fragile environment. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through June 27th).

Cildo Meireles, Amerikkka, 20,050 painted wooden eggs and 31,695 bullets, 158 x 236 x 118 inches, 1991/2013.

Pablo Bartholomew at Thomas Erben Gallery

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New Delhi-based photographer Pablo Bartholomew’s photos of 1970s counterculture in Bombay, New Delhi and Calcutta include plenty of languid hanging out, none as charming as this sunny scene with friends. (At Thomas Erben Gallery in Chelsea through June 20th).

Pablo Bartholomew, Hanging out at Sunder and Ammu’s with Poli, Sheena, Jai and the kids, Calcutta, 1978, silver gelatin print, 1978.

Michael Heizer at Gagosian Gallery

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Believe it or not, Michael Heizer’s ‘Potato Chip’ sculpture is not the heaviest sculpture in Chelsea right now (Richard Serra’s ‘Equal’ at David Zwirner Gallery has it beat), though at 18 tons, it may be the most incongruously titled. Still, it makes a hefty impact as visitors take the measure of the artwork with their own bodies. (At Gagosian Gallery’s 24th Street space through July 2nd).

Michael Heizer, Potato Chip, 18-ton granite rock in steel frame, 172 x 106 ¾ x 92 inches, 2015.

Beverly Buchanan at Andrew Edlin Gallery

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Known for constructing mini-models of everyday architecture from the southern United States, Beverly Buchanan captures the look and feel of a place in scraps of wood, metal and plastic. (At Chelsea’s Andrew Edlin Gallery through June 13th).

Beverly Buchanan, Sculpture House, wood, copper, acrylic and plastic, 14.75 x 18 x 16 inches, 2012.

Nevet Yitzhak at Yossi Milo Gallery

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Inspired by Afghan women who modified traditional rug patterns to include weapons and war vehicles after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Israeli artist Nevet Yitzhak creates digital war rugs featuring tanks, airplanes, and helicopters. Here (seen in detail), helicopters direct missiles at each other, causing explosions and devastation that belies any idea of weaving (even digitally) as a peaceful art. (At Yossi Milo Gallery through July 10th).

Nevet Yitzhak, detail from the series WarCraft, War Rug #2, projection of FHD video and animation, 8:00 min loop, stereo sound, 2014.

Jessica Jackson Hutchins at Marianne Boesky Gallery

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Jessica Jackson Hutchins’ newspaper-covered sofa scattered with rough ceramic forms was a standout of the 2008 Whitney Biennial. Here, her first show at Chelsea’s Marianne Boesky Gallery opens with another couch more boldly occupied by a huge ceramic shape that the Portland, OR based artist refers to as a whale. (On view through June 6th).

Jessica Jackson Hutchins, installation view of ‘I Do Choose,’ with ‘Ultrasuede Wave,’ in foreground, sofa, oil stick, glazed ceramic, 2015.