Laura Owens in ‘Loveless’ at Greene Naftali Gallery

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LA painter Laura Owens mashes together levels of reality in this huge, untitled painting, blending an inspirational phrase, a rather grotesque character pouring lemonade from his faucet-nose, a bike wheel (Duchamp homage?), a grid of varying size and thickness and a finger swipe pattern over all of it, suggesting that meaning is being uncovered or wiped away. (At Greene Naftali Gallery through April 26th).

Laura Owens, Untitled, flashe, silkscreen inks, oil, acrylic, charcoal, bike wheel and gesso on linen, 108 x 84 inches, 2014.

Elger Esser at Sonnabend Gallery

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Strikingly beautiful photos by Dusseldorf-based photographer Elger Esser of the Giardino di Ninfa, located south of Rome, mark a return for the artist to the south of Italy, where he grew up. Situated around the abandoned ancient city of Ninfa and enhanced with English landscape elements, the garden is the definition of enchanting. (In Chelsea at Sonnabend Gallery through April 26th).

Elger Esser, Ninfa – (Kallisto), Directprint, AluDibond, Shellac, 79 7/8 x 100 ¾ inches, 2013.

Brad Kahlhamer at Jack Shainman Gallery

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Drawing on his Native American roots and life in downtown New York (where he’s lived for over 30 years), Brad Kahlhamer creates a new culture populated by figures based on Hopi katsina dolls and enigmatic heroes. (At Jack Shainman Gallery’s 20th Street location through April 26th).

Brad Kahlhamer, background: American Horse, acrylic, ink, spray paint and pencil on bed sheet, 94 ½ x 72 ½ inches, 2014. Foreground: Next Level Figures, wood, wire, bells, leather, acrylic, mirrors, spray paint, 2014.

Benny Andrews in ‘Rising Up/Uprising’ at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

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Born to Georgia sharecroppers, based in New York, the late American painter Benny Andrews used his personal history to address injustice in works like this chilling painted collage of a monstrous hunter and his beastly hound. It’s a standout in the excellent ‘Rising Up/Uprising’ at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, a show commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (In Chelsea through May 3rd).

Benny Andrews, Hunters, 1989, oil on canvas with painted fabric collage and zipper, 72 1/8 x 52 inches.

Matthew Brandt at Yossi Milo Gallery

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LA-based photographer Matthew Brandt uses old technology to make up-to-date photographs in his latest show at Chelsea’s Yossi Milo Gallery. For this image of a pre-historical creature, he coated an aluminum plate with tar from the La Brea Tar Pits, covered it with a negative he shot of the fossil, and exposed it to light to record a fixed image. (Through May 10th).

Matthew Brandt, La Brea B2, heliograph made with tar from the La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, California, on aluminum, unique, 2013.