Kate Newby at Laurel Gitlen Gallery

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New Zealand artist Kate Newby’s handmade ceramic skipping stones were a standout last summer at Tracy Williams’ summer group show; a year later, she’s enjoying her first New York solo show at Laurel Gitlen Gallery. Given the extra space to work with, she’s constructed a bright yellow platform to show off tiny handmade sculptures that suggest precious finds along a beach juxtaposed with unexplained spills. (On the Lower East Side through July 31st.)

Kate Newby, installation view of ‘I memorized it I loved it so much,’ wood, wax, concrete, mulberries, paint, 2015.

Marc Bijl at Marc Straus Gallery

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A stolen sign from Gagosian Gallery’s Berlin location excites speculation on how artist Marc Bijl came by it and why. Gagosian Gallery’s polished reputation is at odds with the scrappy silver-taped board on which its sign now rests, suggesting a reversal of fortunes for this abducted fragment. (At Marc Straus Gallery through July 31st).

Marc Bijl, Collateral Image, stolen Gagosian Berlin sign, found poster, tape, acrylic on board, 43 x 60 ¼ inches, 2006.

Bertozzi and Casoni at Sperone Westwater

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The wreckage of international consumer culture continues to inspire sculptures by Italian artists Bertozzi & Casoni, now on view at Sperone Westwater on the Lower East Side. Here, storks nest in stick and tin can nests atop a dismal pillar of old tires and old drums. (Through July 31st).

Bertozzi & Casoni, Composizione n. 12 (Cicogne), glazed ceramic, 137 ¾ x 63 x 60 5/8 inches, 2008.

Eirik Saether at 47 Canal

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For his first show in the US, Oslo-based artist Eirik Saether suggests strange, hybrid identities with furry cast feet and hand-stitched skirt. (At 47 Canal on the LES through July 31st.)

Eirik Saether, Staplass (Throat infection), printed silk and textile acrylic on fleece blanket; steel cast polyurethane, fur, dog collar, steel chain, polyester, printed denim, 2015.

KRIWET in ‘All Watched Over’ at James Cohan Gallery

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In colors that suggest political banners, Dusseldorf-based artist KRIWET created this bold ‘comic strip’ in 1970, using letters to create mental pictures. It is part of the group exhibition ‘All Watched Over’ at Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery, which muses on the power of futuristic technology to improve life. (Through Aug 7th)

KRIWET, Comicstrip, 1970.

Amy Bessone & Matthias Merkel Hess at Salon94 Freemans

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Ceramic artists Amy Bessone and Matthias Merkel Hess meet in Salon94 Freemans for a two-person show juxtaposing her female torsos, shaped as empty vessels (maybe vases?), and his containers derived from everyday items like paint buckets and wastebaskets. Bessone’s containers pick up on the long association between vessels and the female body in art history, and provocatively change Hess’s work by their proximity. (On the Lower East Side through August 21st).

Installation view of Torsos and Buckets, featuring work by Amy Bessone and Matthias Merkel Hess, July 2015.

Josh Smith in ‘Marlborough Lights’ at Marlborough Gallery, LES

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Given that Marlborough Gallery’s first show in its Lower East Side space was themed on pizza, an exhibition titled ‘Marlborough Lights’ had to happen sooner or later. Here, Josh Smith’s jack o’ lantern basketball lights the way back to Sadie Laska’s magically glowing, alien-like creature and Oscar Tuazon’s blocky, street-light-like lamp. (Through Aug 1st).

Josh Smith, Illuminated Jackal Lantern Basketball, ceramic, wooden stool, light bulb, socket and wire, ceramic: 8 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 2015.

EVOL at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

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Cardboard boxes are an inspired background for Berlin-based artist EVOL’s spray paintings of elements lifted from gritty urban facades. (At Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Chelsea through July 25th).

EVOL, Berliner Luft, spray paint and mixed media on cardboard, 28 11/16 x 36 9/16 inches, 2015.

‘Old Truths and New Lies’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery

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How do you make a show that’s the ‘antithesis of a white male abstract painting show?’ With inclusiveness and anti-status quo intentions, artist and curator Mae Fatto has hung work by female (and male) artists who push the idea of what abstract art should be – from Wilder Alison’s banner-like work hanging from the rafters to Annabeth Marks’ soft-shaped intense blue canvas to Ana Cardoso’s acrylic and digital print panels stretching up the gallery walls. (At Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side through July 31st).

Installation view of ‘Old Truths and New Lies’ at Rachel Uffner Gallery, July 2015.

Roula Partheniou in ‘Objects, Foods, Rooms’ at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

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Toronto-based artist Roula Partheniou makes her NY debut in a group show inspired by Gertrude Stein’s text ‘Tender Buttons’ in which strange objects come together and ordinary objects are not as they seem. Here, a selection of dated items – an old board game, floppy disks and a film canister – speak to technology’s quick transformation of everyday stuff. (At Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea through July 31st).

Roula Partheniou, Packed Boxes with Clutter, acrylic and enamel paint on wood and MDF, flocking on foam balls, 54 x 28 x 28 inches, 2015.

‘Ordering Nature’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery

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An overturned boat on an inverted ocean, a neon shape grouped with three dried tobacco leaves and nests made by pet finches are three standout works in Marianne Boesky Gallery’s summer group show ‘Ordering Nature,’ organized by Kelly Woods. Whether they’re seen as collaborations with or manipulations of nature, the show’s ephemeral artworks tread lightly on the natural world, evoking wonder. (On the Lower East Side through July 31st).

Installation view of ‘Ordering Nature’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery’s 20 Clinton Street address on the Lower East Side, July 2015.

Conor Backman at James Fuentes Gallery

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Wall mounted sculptures made of cast marble dust by Hudson, NY artist Conor Backman at James Fuentes Gallery feature faux-lichen, suggesting salvaged architectural fragments with hints of possible historical significance. (On the Lower East Side through July 24th).

Conor Backman, installation view at James Fuentes Gallery, July 2015 (foreground: Monday and Sunday, marble dust, resin, cast aquaresin, 2015).

Atsushi Kaga at Jack Hanley Gallery

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Inspired by his own experiences and memories, New York-based Japanese artist Atsushi Kaga displays over 100 paintings and sculptures in his current show at Jack Hanley Gallery featuring his alter ego, an adventuresome bunny. The creature’s cute quips are engaging, as is his friendship with the bear, though a sad sense of isolation pervades. (On the Lower East Side through July 31st.)

Atsushi Kaga, Like this?, acrylic on board, 15 x 19 cm, 2014.

Jane Corrigan, Gatherer at Feuer/Mesler

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After a stand-out show featuring paintings of sporty girls at Kerry Schuss Gallery last fall, Jane Corrigan is back on the Lower East Side with three large canvases at Feuer/Mesler. It’s hard to tell if the ragtag subject of ‘Gatherer’ is eyeballing us or her scattered carrots with a wild look; either way, the effect is disarming. (Through July 31st.)

Jane Corrigan, Gatherer, oil on canvas, 70 x 50 inches, 2015.

Li Bo in ‘Up-Youth’ at Klein Sun Gallery

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‘Up-Youth,’ a group exhibition at Chelsea’s Klein Sun Gallery presented with the Times Art Museum in Beijing, features this piece by Li Bo, whose fragmented bike on flat sections of concrete suggests a jittery ride for disappearing national symbol. (Through August 8th).

Li Bo, White in Dark Grey No. 3, mixed media, 2010-12.

‘Hello Walls’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery

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Titled after a Willie Nelson ballad about lost love, ‘Hello Walls’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery’s 21st Street space dwarfs the viewer with huge wall paintings by big-name artists. Here, Ugo Rondinone’s fuzzy target at the show’s entrance acts like a pulsing beacon to draw visitors into the gallery while Michael Craig-Martin’s take-away cup is so big it feels architectural. (Through July 31st).

Installation view at Barbara Gladstone Gallery’s 21st Street location, Michael Craig-Martin on left, Ugo Rondinone on right, July 2015.

Greg Bogin at Marlborough Gallery

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The neon color and curvy, wave-contoured form of Greg Bogin’s shaped canvas ‘Sunny disposition (oasis)’ is a summery-feeling merger of beach culture and minimal abstraction. Like Martin Puryear’s Phrygian cap sculptures which it resembles, it suggests freedom, but more of a sand-between-the-toes variety. (At Marlborough Gallery Chelsea through July 31st).

Greg Bogin, Sunny disposition (oasis), synthetic paint and urethane on canvas, 72 x 73 inches, 2014.

De Wain Valentine at David Zwirner Gallery

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California Light and Space artist De Wain Valentine pushed his chosen medium of polyester resin by finding a way to make larger pours and bigger pieces in the ‘60s; with their huge size, pieces like ‘Circle Gold-Rose’ from 1970 become actors in the room, changing the environment with shifting color. (At David Zwirner Gallery through August 7th).

De Wain Valentine, Circle Gold-Rose, cast polyester resin, 70 3/8 x 70 x 4 7/8 in, 1970.

Ruth Root, Abstract Painting at Andrew Kreps

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Using paint, fabric and Plexiglas, New York artist Ruth Root paints and sews her way toward charmingly idiosyncratic understandings of what abstract painting can be in her latest show at Chelsea’s Andrew Krep Gallery. (Through August 14th).

Ruth Root, Untitled, fabric, Plexiglas, enamel paint, and spray paint, 104 ½ x 63 ¼ inches, 2014-15.

Sam Messer at Fredericks and Freiser Gallery

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Painter and Yale associate dean Sam Messer has long collaborated with writer Jonathan Safran Foer on artworks; here in a piece from 2008 titled ‘All the Animals,’ he paints Safran Foer, vegetarian and author of ‘Eating Animals,’ surrounded by playful (and grateful?) barnyard muses. (At Chelsea’s Fredericks & Freiser Gallery through July 31st).

Sam Messer, All the Animals, oil on canvas, 74 x 82 inches, 2008.

Mona Hatoum at Alexander and Bonin

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The title of Mona Hatoum’s ‘Stool III’ ignores the drama happening on top of the furniture as a blood-red glass form looks ready to shift weight and crash to the floor. Referred to in other of Hatoum’s artwork as cells and looking like internal organs, the precipitously arranged red shape implies an impending crisis. (At Chelsea’s Alexander and Bonin through July 24th).

Mona Hatoum, Stool III, painted metal and glass, 30 ½ x 16 x 14 ½ in, 2014.

Summer Group Exhibition at Marian Goodman Gallery

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Summer stripes dominate at Marian Goodman Gallery this summer where Gerhard Richter uses software to create patterns of thousands of lines in an eleven meter long digital artwork that runs perpendicular to richly colored wood columns by Anne Truitt. Beyond, Sol LeWitt’s 1985 ‘Wall Drawing #459 adds more bold color to the room with a shape-shifting asymmetrical pyramid. (On 57th Street through July 31st).

Installation view at Marian Goodman Gallery, June 2015.

Carolyn Salas at Koenig & Clinton

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Brookyn-based sculptor Carolyn Salas’ wonky minimalism hides a surprise – what appear to be metal sculptures are Aqua-Resin covered in graphite and Styrofoam cut-outs are Hydrocal. Stepping down the production values on ‘metal’ sculpture and upping the ante on Styrofoam make for a light-hearted game changer. (At Chelsea’s Koenig & Clinton through July 10th).

Carolyn Salas, installation view at Koenig & Clinton, June 2015.

Roger Brown at DC Moore Gallery

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The Gulf War, AIDS crisis, Savings and Loan collapse and more inspired Chicago Imagist artist Roger Brown’s paintings from the 80s and early ‘90s, including ‘Landscape with Dollar Sign,’ in which a huge dollar sign materializes from the clouds over two tiny human figures like a doomsday omen. (At DC Moore Gallery through July 31st).

Roger Brown, Landscape with Dollar Sign, oil on canvas, 48 x 72 inches, 1991.

Antoine Catala in Six Advertisements at Marlborough Gallery Chelsea

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French artist Antoine Catala contributed a standout piece to the New Museum’s Triennial last spring by commissioning an ad agency to work on a campaign to promote empathy in an info-saturated age. With similar humor, the man absorbed in his cell phone here is not only acting distant but has the word stitched onto his body in happy, puffy letters. (At Chelsea’s Marlborough Gallery through July 31st.)

Antoine Catala, Feel Images (Distant), digital photograph on suede fabric, cotton, wood, batting, 72 x 48 x 5 ¼ inches, 2015.

Sandra Allen in ‘Land and Sea’ at Danese Corey

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Known for graphite-on-paper drawings of trees, Massachusetts-based artist Sandra Allen creates an almost abstract, immensely powerful image from the trunk of a tree in ‘Ballast’ from 2009. (At Danese Corey through July 31st).

Sandra Allen, Ballast, graphite on paper, 11 x 18.5 feet, 2009.

Paul Wackers at Morgan Lehman Gallery

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Whether they’re painted subject matter on the shelves of a particularly cluttered design shop, or sculptures in the round, Paul Wackers’ ceramic forms revel in the possibilities of color and form. (At Chelsea’s Morgan Lehman Gallery through July 18th).

Paul Wackers, Untitled, low fire clay, glaze, under glaze, 13 ¾ x 14 x 12 ½ inches, 2015 (foreground). Nachtwinkel (Night Shop), acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 72 54 inches, 2015 (background).

Sally Mann Photos at Edwynn Houk Gallery

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On the occasion of Sally Mann’s memoir, ‘Hold Still,’ Edwynn Houk Gallery is exhibiting a selection of work by the artist best known for photos of her children. In this picture from 2004, Mann veils our view of her daughter Virginia, whose beauty is nonetheless apparent. (In the 57th Street area through July 10th).

Sally Mann, Virginia #36, gelatin silver enlargement print with varnish, 50 x 40 inches, 2004.

Jacob Lawrence’s Great Migration at MoMA

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This painting from Jacob Lawrence’s 1941 series about the Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural south to the industrial north starkly describes how discrimination also took place in the north. (At the Museum of Modern Art through Sept 7th).

Jacob Lawrence, from the Great Migration series, tempera, 1941.

Richard Dupont, Lauren at Tracy Williams Ltd.

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New York artist Richard Dupont inaugurates Tracy Williams Ltd‘s new Lower East Side location with sculptures and drawings of distorted bodies that recall both digital effects and fun-house mirrors. (Through July 29th).

Richard Dupont, Lauren, Marylene 1, bronze (polished), 30 x 17.5 x 8 inches, 2014-15.