Laszlo Moholy-Nagy at the Guggenheim

Hungarian avant-garde artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy used camera-less photography to create experimental pictures like this one, for which he put his own face and glasses against light-sensitive paper in the darkroom and made multiple exposures to create this ghostly image. (At the Guggenheim in ‘Moholy-Nagy: Future Present’ through Sept 7th).

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Photogram (Moonface), (Self-Portrait in Profile), gelatin silver print (enlarged from a photogram), 1926, printed 1935.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Photogram (Moonface), (Self-Portrait in Profile), gelatin silver print (enlarged from a photogram), 1926, printed 1935.

Nathalia Edenmont at Nancy Hoffman Gallery

Sweden-based artist Nathalia Edenmont is both collector and artist – using rare butterfly wings she acquires at fairs in Singapore and Paris, she creates labor-intensive collages that uniquely comment on nature’s beauty. (At Chelsea’s Nancy Hoffman Gallery through Sept 1st.)

Nathalia Edenmont, Vortex, collage of butterfly wings, 14 ¼ x 13 inches, 2011.
Nathalia Edenmont, Vortex, collage of butterfly wings, 14 ¼ x 13 inches, 2011.

Hiroshi Watanabe at Benrubi Gallery

We are like characters in a disaster movie, writes photographer Hiroshi Watanabe – though terrible events loom, we carry on with life as usual. Here, snow-covered persimmons make for a beautiful image but one that warns of a fast-arriving, harsher season. (At Chelsea’s Benrubi Gallery through Aug 26th).

Hiroshi Watanabe, The Day the Dam Collapses 25 (Persimmons), archival pigment print, 9 x 9 inches, 2009.
Hiroshi Watanabe, The Day the Dam Collapses 25 (Persimmons), archival pigment print, 9 x 9 inches, 2009.

Roger Steffens & The Family Acid at Benrubi Gallery

Wild abandon meets danger in this 1974 photo by counterculture photographer Roger Steffens, though what appears to be a fatal leap is an illusion – the young woman landed safely on the ledge directly beneath her. Under the titled ‘The Family Acid,’ Steffens’ photos chronicle the lives of his friends and family as they embody the changing mores of an era. (At Benrubi Gallery in Chelsea through Aug 26th).

The Family Acid, Roger Steffens, Big Sur Plunge (Clare’s Leap), March, 1974, edition of 8, archival pigment print, 24 x 20 inches.
The Family Acid, Roger Steffens, Big Sur Plunge (Clare’s Leap), March, 1974, edition of 8, archival pigment print, 24 x 20 inches.

Libby Rothfeld in ‘Daydream from 2013’ at Canada New York

Neatly tiled platforms suggest a clean and ordered place while glasses with red sticks hint at incense offerings in New York artist Libby Rothfeld’s evocative ‘Option #1,’ currently at Canada New York on the Lower East Side. The setup entices us to make up our own story – one in which a fragile crown sporting a fairy-like face might find its way to an Asian supermarket shopping basket filled with potatoes… (Through August 26th).

Libby Rothfeld, Option #1, tile, grout, cement, porcelain, potatoes, glassware, rock, 33 x 36 x 21 inches, 2016.
Libby Rothfeld, Option #1, tile, grout, cement, porcelain, potatoes, glassware, rock, 33 x 36 x 21 inches, 2016.