Ry Rocklen at Untitled Gallery

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LA based artist Ry Rocklen takes self-branding into actual product marketing with a tongue-in-cheek installation of the clothing in his wardrobe, cast in porcelain or copper plated. A graffiti-covered door is also preserved for the ages with copper, silver and gold leaf infill turning the banal into the beautiful. (At Untitled Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 15th).

Ry Rocklen, installation view at Untitled, foreground: To be Titled (Tagged Door), wood door, hardware, copper leaf, silver leaf and gold leaf, 2014. Shoes: copper plating, 2013-14. Wall: Porcelain casts of clothing, 2008-14.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen at Paula Cooper Gallery

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Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen’s ‘Soft Harp’ is a standout in Paula Cooper Gallery’s current exhibition of music-themed visual art. Despite being hung out as if on a wash line or strung across a flagpole, the instrument retains its elegance and beauty. (In Chelsea through May 31st).

Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen, Soft Harp, Scale C, Harp Sail, wood, steel, aluminum, clothesline, feathers, latext paint, 1992.

Jenny Holzer in ‘No Problem’ at David Zwirner Gallery

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David Zwirner Gallery revisits the 1980s in ‘No Problem,’ a group show that tracks the mutual influence of the Cologne and New York art scenes during this era. It includes Jenny Holzer’s inflammatory essays – in-your-face rants once plastered around New York and included in a show at Monika Spruth Galerie in Cologne in 1985. (In Chelsea through June 14th).

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays, 1979-1982, offset posters on colored paper, 17 x 17 inches (each).

Benjamin Butler at Klaus von Nichtssagend

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Just when he thinks he’s had enough of painting trees, Benjamin Butler – a Brooklynite transplanted to Vienna – finds a fresh approach to take or problem to solve as with ‘Green Forest,’ for which the merest suggestion of branches turns a pattern of stripes into a dense copse of trees. (At Klaus von Nichtssagend on the Lower East Side through June 8th).

Benjamin Butler, Green Forest, oil on linen, 23.6 x 19.7 inches 2013.

Matthew Monahan at Anton Kern Gallery

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Named Hephaestus, after the god of fire and blacksmiths, this towering, skeletal sculpture by LA artist Matthew Monahan suggests that its power lies not in massive proportions but the ability to assemble an arresting totem from scrap. (At Anton Kern Gallery through June 28th).

Matthew Monahan, Hephaestus, patinated bronze, stainless steel, patinated rebar, 144 1/8 x 114 ¼ x 82 ¾ inches, 2013.