Mark Wagner at Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Without cell phones at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers had to make do with paintings made after the fact. Not so in Mark Wagner’s imaginatively collaged ‘Wish You Were Here,’ in which he collages a scene from the back of the $2 bill with myriad fragments of $1 bills to portray George Washington through a different lens. (At Pavel Zoubok Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 15th).

Mark Wagner, Wish You Were Here (Signing of the Declaration of Independence), currency collage on panel, 18 x 24 inches, 2016.
Mark Wagner, Wish You Were Here (Signing of the Declaration of Independence), currency collage on panel, 18 x 24 inches, 2016.

Inka Essenhigh in ‘Sargent’s Daughters’ at Sargent’s Daughters

It’s hard to tell if this enchanted scene is aided or threatened by the dark-faced spirit behind a frolicking young woman and two sprites. Titled ‘The 1%,’ this painting by New Yorker Inka Essenhigh suggests that their bliss is tenuous. (At Sargent’s Daughters through July 26th).

Inka Essenhigh, The 1 %, oil on canvas, 30 x 12 inches 2014.