Lucas Blalock at Ramiken Crucible

Lucas Blalock’s overt manipulation of this odd but banal scene begs the question of why anyone would want to represent chopped sausage at all, never mind as both a photo and a digital rendering. The effect is to put our minds between places –simultaneously in the digital realm and in a stranger’s kitchen. (At Ramiken Crucible on the Lower East Side through May 22nd).

Lucas Blalock, Double Recipe, archival inkjet print, 20.5 x 25.25 inches framed, 2015-16.
Lucas Blalock, Double Recipe, archival inkjet print, 20.5 x 25.25 inches framed, 2015-16.

Haegue Yang at Greene Naftali Gallery

Haegue Yang continues her ‘Trustworthy’ series – made from the patterned interiors of security envelopes – with this installation of abstract diagrams set against deeply soothing Yves Klein blue walls at Greene Naftali Gallery. Just as Klein offered a portal into the sublime, Yang points to the mystical with her eye-like shapes and totemic figure covered in bells. (In Chelsea through April 16th).

Haegue Yang, installation view of ‘Quasi-Pagan Minimal’ at Greene Naftali Gallery, March 2016.
Haegue Yang, installation view of ‘Quasi-Pagan Minimal’ at Greene Naftali Gallery, March 2016.

William Villalongo at Susan Inglett Gallery

‘You Matter,’ reads a sign in the window of William Villalongo’s current solo show at Susan Inglett Gallery, recalling the refrain from recent protests against police aggression. Inside, the Brooklyn-based artist presents the seasons as skeletons cloaked in glittering black female bodies and dominating lush landscapes – characters at peace and one with nature. (In Chelsea through Oct 17th).

William Villalongo, (detail from) Spring, acrylic, paper and velvet flocking on wood panel, 72 x 36 inches, 2015.

McArthur Binion at Galerie Lelong

Using copies of his birth certificate, pages from his address books and these photos, Chicago-based artist McArthur Binion creates a deeply personal abstract modernism. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through Oct 17th).

McArthur Binion, MAB: 1971: I, oil paint stick and paper on board, 15 x 15 inches, 2015.

Elias Sime at James Cohan Gallery

Addis Ababa-based artist Elias Sime carries away electronic components by the truck-full from Africa’s largest open-air market in order to create gorgeous installations like this colorful collage at Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery. (Through Oct 17th).

Elias Sime, Tightrope 7, reclaimed electronic components and wires on panel, 8 ½ x 39 ¼ feet (estimated), 2009-2014.