Lynda Benglis at Cheim and Read Gallery

Iconic Process artist Lynda Benglis excites the senses with a new selection of ceramic sculptures hand formed from tubes and slabs of clay.  (At Chelsea’s Cheim & Read through Feb 15th).  

Lynda Benglis, Untitled, glazed ceramic, 20 x 16, 12 inches, 2013.

Radcliffe Bailey at Jack Shainman Gallery

Known for using evocative materials to create sculptural mediations on the African diaspora, Atlanta-based artist Radcliffe Bailey has upped the ante in his recent exhibition at Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery, where he’s exhibiting this startling taxidermied croc who appears to climb his way past memorial-like markers with dates and initials.  (At Jack Shainman’s 24th Street location through Feb 15th).  

Radcliffe Bailey, On Your Way Up, tarp, crocodile and steel, 120 x 106 x 10 inches, 2013.

Jackie Nickerson at Jack Shainman Gallery

If these photographs of farm workers holding tools of their trade look like they’re wearing masks, it’s due in part to artist Jackie Nicherson’s desire to make documentary photography that doesn’t exploit its subject.  Instead, her recent series, ‘Terrain,’ shot on Southern and East African farms, zeros in on part-hidden individuals to focus attention one of Africa’s biggest industries. (At Jack Shainman Gallery’s 20th Street location through Feb 15th).  

Jackie Nickerson, installation view of ‘Terrain,’ at Jack Shainman Gallery, February, 2014.

Park McArthur at Essex Street

New York based artist Park McArthur’s installation of ramps she’s recently used – from a splintered board to a sturdy new ramp – to access art spaces and her residential building in downtown Manhattan tell a succinct and eye-opening tale of unintentional discrimination.  (At Essex Street Gallery through Feb 23rd).  

Park McArthur, installation view of ‘Ramps,’ at Essex Street Gallery, Jan 2014.

Sue Williams at 303 Gallery

Titles like ‘Ministry of Hate’ (pictured here) and ‘Hill and Dale, Black-Ops’ reveal dark themes behind Sue Williams’ latest, vibrantly colored paintings.  Each work in her solo show at Chelsea’s 303 Gallery includes abstracted representations of the WTC, comingled with bodies in an oblique comment on life during the War on Terror.  (Through Feb 22nd).  

Sue Williams, Ministry of Hate, oil and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 84,” 2013.