David Kramer at Thierry Goldberg Gallery

Dreaming of escape to a summer rental property, Brooklyn-bound artist David Kramer’s stayed in town prepping this show, which features paintings and a replica of a cabin’s front porch, littered with beer cans. The elephant in the room is this over 9 foot tall self-portrait of the artist as lumberjack whose imaginary might is coincidently paralleled in this image by a gallery staff member cleaning after opening night. (At Thierry Goldberg Gallery on the Lower East Side through October 5th).

David Kramer, Self-Portrait as a Lumberjack, mixed media, 113 x 56 x 26 inches, 2014.

Jacob Hashimoto at Mary Boone Gallery

For sheer ambition, not much in Chelsea beats New York artist Jacob Hashimoto’s wondrous ‘Skyfarm Fortress’ at Mary Boone Gallery. Thousands of paper and wood ‘kites’ create a space that looks like fantasy architecture or a structure pulled into reality form the digital realm. (Through Oct 25th).

Jacob Hashimoto, Skyfarm Fortress, acrylic, paper/Dacron, wood, dimensions variable, 2014.

Brian Calvin at Anton Kern Gallery

Looking like someone’s giant selfie gone wrong, this painting by LA artist Brian Calvin depicts a carefully dressed figure in the blush of youth, whose crooked teeth take center stage to suggest a momentary lapse in managed self-presentation. (At Anton Kern Gallery through Oct 4th).

Brian Calvin, Ha, acrylic and flashe on canvas, 72 x 48 inches, 2014.

Roger Hiorns at Luhring Augustine

Known for sculptures that initiate processes that yield attractive results (like an engine block transformed by gorgeous copper sulphate crystals), British artist Roger Hiorns goes for a gritty sci-fi feel in the back gallery at Chelsea’s Luhring Augustine. Compressors pump air through grimy car parts creating billows of soap suds that make these quasi-organic figures appear sentient, if barely. (Through Oct 18th).

Roger Hiorns, installation view at Luhring Augustine Gallery, Chelsea, Sept 2014. All works: Untitled, plastic, compressor, and foam, 2014.

Louise Kruger at Lori Bookstein Fine Art

Cleverly placed near the gallery entrance, late sculptor Louise Kruger’s bulky ‘Standing Dog’ could –for an instant – be mistaken as a real pet tagging along with gallery visitors. Other charmingly odd wood figures stand out amongst work in fabric and metal by an artist who developed her own unique folk/pop artistic language. (At Chelsea’s Lori Bookstein Fine Art through Oct 4th).

Louise Kruger, Standing Dog, pine, 27 x 16 x 38 inches, c. 1970-75.