Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen Models at Paula Cooper

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Is Claes Oldenburg’s Stradivarius any more sophisticated than his giant, soft hamburger from the 60s? Together with his collaborator and wife Coosje van Bruggen, Oldenburg collected and displayed drawings and models for the couple’s large-scale outdoor sculptures around their homes and studio. A selection now on view at Paula Cooper Gallery testifies to their whimsical sense of humor and love of music. (In Chelsea through Dec 19th).

 Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Sliced Stradivarius – Rose, canvas, felt, wood, cord, hardware, painted with latex, 45 x 18 x 7 inches, 2003.

Cayce Zavaglia at Lyons Wier Gallery

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Trained as a painter, St Louis artist Cayce Zavaglia took up embroidery years ago.  Yet to unsuspecting eyes, her remarkable facility makes lines of thread appear to be tiny brushstrokes. (At Lyons Wier Gallery through Dec 12th).

Cayce Zavaglia, Uncle Angelo, one ply cotton, silk, and wool thread on Belgian linen with acrylic, 8.75 x 7.75 inches, 2015.

Ryan Mrozowski at On Stellar Rays

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Brooklyn-based Ryan Mrozowski’s condensed orange grove contrasts scattered leaves with ordered rows of bright orange fruit, creating an image that’s both random and ordered, mysterious and predictable, natural and manmade. (At On Steller Rays through Dec 13th).

 Ryan Mrozowski, Untitled (Orange), acrylic on linen, 50 x 56 inches, 2015.

Peter Saul at Mary Boone Gallery

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Emmanuel Leutze’s famous depiction of George Washington crossing the Delaware River on the night of Dec 25th, 1776 takes artistic liberties, but not as many as Peter Saul’s hilarious comic version. Hopping across potato-like icebergs, Washington as a flower-hatted dandy uses his massive fists to punch red-faced, bug-eyed Hessian mercenaries in a dramatic historical rewrite. (At Chelsea’s Mary Boone Gallery through Dec 18th).

 Peter Saul, George Washington Crossing the Delaware, acrylic/canvas, 64 x 82 inches, 2015.

Kota Ezawa at Murray Guy Gallery

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Kota Ezawa’s signature simplified, graphic images are well suited to his current body of work – lightboxes that replicate thirteen artworks stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. Contrary to the carefully executed detail in the original painting depicted here by Johannes Vermeer, Ezawa’s more generalized rendering suggests the omissions of memory. (At Chelsea’s Murray Guy Gallery through Dec 19th).

 Kota Ezawa, The Concert, LED lightbox, 28 x 25 inches, 2015.

Corinne Wasmuht at Petzel Gallery

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Working from digital collages and computer sketches, Berlin-based artist Corinne Wasmuht paints scenes in public places that look as if they’re being transmitted by a spotty signal. Blurring the line between real and virtual worlds, each captures a seemingly illusory moment laid down permanently in oil on aluminum. (At Petzel Gallery in Chelsea through Dec 19th).

 Corinne Wasmuht, Pehoe P, oil on aluminum, 38.58 x 44.09 inches, 2015.

Peter Schuyff at Mary Boone Gallery

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Peter Schuyff gives mid-century modernism a shake with this canvas that adopts a palette of primary colors (a la Mondrian or Dubuffet) and geometric forms and appears to be waving in the air. (At Mary Boone Gallery’s midtown location through Dec 18th).

 Peter Schuyff, Untitled, 79 x 71 inches, oil on linen, 2015.

Bjorn Braun at Marianne Boesky Gallery

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Berlin-based artist Bjorn Braun’s main artistic collaborators are birds; he’s long intervened in his Zebra finches’ nest-making and, for his latest solo show, has replaced the glass over Marianne Boesky Gallery’s doorway on the Lower East Side with birdseed bricks. Theoretically, outside birds could nibble away at these birdseed blocks until the distinction between the inside and outside of the gallery vanishes. (Through Dec 20th).

Bjorn Braun, Untitled, sunflower seed, oat flakes, wheat,
juniper seed, peanuts, honey and flour, 2015.

Vibha Galhotra at Jack Shainman Gallery

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High pollution levels in India’s Yamuna River have inspired New-Delhi based artist Vibha Galhotra to gather water samples and statements from locals, which are included in her latest solo show at Jack Shainman Gallery. Here, the toxic-looking material that appears to ooze down from an unknown source is composed of ghungroos, the bells worn in traditional Indian dance, making a connection to the compromised environment and the female body. (In Chelsea through Dec 5th).

Vibha Galhotra, Flow, nickel coated ghungroos, fabric, polyurethane coat, 129 x 93 ¼ x 112 ½ inches, 2015.

Mark Manders at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

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This two-part sculpture by Dutch artist Mark Manders looks
like a portrait of a girl with a split personality; it’s actually a recent
addition to Manders’ years-long project to create an ongoing ‘self-portrait’ in
the form of scaled-down built environments, stylized animals and androgynous
human figures.  Here, bronze figures
painted to look like unfired clay occupy a gallery wrapped in plastic sheeting,
as if the creative process has just halted. (At Tanya Bonkadar Gallery in
Chelsea through Dec 19th.)

Mark Manders, Room with Unfired Clay Figures, painted
bronze, iron, wood, offset print on paper, 93 3/8 x 141 ½ x 51 inches,
2011-2015.

Sopheap Pich at Tyler Rollins Fine Art

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Cambodia-based artist Sopheap Pich’s bamboo and rattan sculptures are inspired by the natural world, yet bring to mind 3-D diagrams in virtual space. Here, Pich presents a flowering stem for admiration, not for its color but for its curving forms searching for light. (At Tyler Rollins Fine Art in Chelsea through Nov 19th).

Sopheap Pich, Rang Phnom Flower No. 2, bamboo, rattan, metal wire, 30 ¾ x 85 ½ x 43 ¼ inches, 2015.

Holly Coulis at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery

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Holly Coulis’s latest paintings feature kitchenware, fruits and foods with a clean-lined graphic sensibility. Strong red outlines and softly glowing orbs of light take the still lives into another realm, however, making the familiar delightfully strange. (At Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery on the Lower East Side through Dec 6th).

 Holly Coulis, Fruit, Pitcher in a Corner, oil on canvas, 30 x 22 inches, 2015.

Hilary Harnischfeger at Rachel Uffner Gallery

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Hilary Harnischfeger makes an unlikely but delightful connection to both geological formations and a cow in this wall-mounted sculpture titled ‘Bovina.’ Using stacked layers of cut and colored paper, ceramic, oil stick and hydrostone, the Brooklyn-based artist works her usual magic with materials while bringing to mind farm tools or a cow’s skull affixed to a barn wall. (On the Lower East Side at Rachel Uffner Gallery through Dec 20th).

 Hilary Harnischfeger, Bovina, ceramic, hydrostone, pigment, crushed glass, oil stick, paper, wood, 20 x 22 x 10 inches, 2015.

Mark Bradford at Hauser & Wirth Gallery

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LA artist Mark Bradford takes full advantage of his new affiliation with Hauser & Wirth Gallery and their huge gallery space with this piece, titled ‘Waterfall.’ Bradford is known for embedding cords and other materials in his paper-on-canvas artworks; here, he has pulled thick cords away from his ‘paintings,’ bringing the paper with them. Hung over a rafter, the cascade gives new life to action painting. (In Chelsea through Dec 23rd).

 Mark Bradford, Waterfall, mixed media, dimensions variable, 2015.

Jeronimo Elespe Night Paintings at Eleven Rivington

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After seeing just a few pieces in Madrid-based painter Jeronimo Elespe’s latest show at Eleven Rivington, it won’t come as a surprise to find out that he paints at night. Figures and interiors materialize out of the darkness; here, a staircase seems to magically end in a pool of reflected light, anchored by a sniffing dog. (On the Lower East Side through Dec 20th.)

 Jeronimo Elespe, Fine, oil on aluminum, 14.96 x 9.84 inches, 2015.

Thomas Schutte in ‘Sculpture’ at Skarstedt Gallery

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Part of a series of reclining nudes that recall iconic artworks from Manet’s Olympia to Henry Moore’s posed figures, Thomas Schutte’s female figure appears to have been pressed down, as if made of clay and not steel. She is defined by compromise – the antithesis of the classical norm. (At Skarstedt Gallery through Dec 19th).

 Thomas Schutte, Stahlfrau Nr. 4, cast steel on steel table, 13 ¾ x 86 ½ x 47 ½ inches, 1999.

Josh Tonsfeldt at Simon Preston Gallery

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Shot on the fly through the window of a Toronto tattoo shop, this image by Josh Tonsfeldt stacks pictures – of the window itself, reflections on the glass, a man looking at a screen, and the same man using his skin as a surface. Printing on the cement-like material hydrocal lends a provocative, incongruous sense of permanence to a chance encounter. (At Simon Preston Gallery on the Lower East Side through Dec 20th).

Josh Tonsfeldt, Adrenaline Tattoo, UV cured pigment print on hydrocal, spray paint, epoxy resin, pigment inks, 32 x 48 inches, 2015.

Rachel Whiteread, Silver Leaf at Luhring Augustine

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Famous for making casts of empty space (inside of rooms, between book shelves), British sculptor Rachel Whiteread continues to consider built and domestic environments in her latest solo show at Chelsea’s Luhring Augustine Gallery. Among doors and windows cast in resin, this papier mache and silver leaf brick wall offers an architectural fragment as a precious object. (Through Dec 19th).

Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Silver Leaf), papier mache and silver leaf, 22 x 19 5/8 inches, 2015.

Zhang Huan at Pace Gallery

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At 122 feet long, Shanghai-based artist Zhang Huan’s epic painting of Mao surrounded by hundreds of government members and followers forcefully demonstrates the Chinese leader’s power just a short while before the Cultural Revolution began. Created in ash gathered from Buddhist temples, a material Zhang identifies with ‘collective longings, wishes of the people,’ the piece demonstrates the continued sway of history on contemporary life and politics. (At Chelsea’ Pace Gallery through Dec 12th).

 Zhang Huan, June 15, 1964, ash on linen, 9’ 5/16 x 122 ‘ 11/16”, 2013.

Andy Goldsworthy at Galerie Lelong

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Renowned for his interventions in nature, British artist Andy Goldsworthy has recently documented himself walking up a waterfall, throwing kelp into the sky and crawling precariously across a long hedge. Here, he participates in an autumn ritual usually enjoyed a younger demographic – burrowing through a massive pile of fallen leaves. Each gesture reads as a charmingly quixotic quest to engage with nature. (At Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong through Dec 5th).

 Andy Goldsworthy, Burrowing through a pile of leaves, Greenwich, CT, 15 Nov, 2013, time lapse video, running time 4:27 minutes, ed of 6.

Sheila Hicks, Baoli at Sikkema Jenkins

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Titled after a step-well leading down to water, Sheila Hicks’ large wall hanging, Baoli, offers a dynamic surface, with colorful areas leading the eye into the depths, lighter areas suggesting a solid surface on which the eye can rest. (At Sikkema Jenkins & Co through Nov 28th).

Sheila Hicks, Baoli, natural linen, triple-dyed embroidery cotton, 114 x 63 x 8 inches, 2014.

Surface Tension at FLAG Art Foundation

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It’s always a treat to see work by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui, known for repurposing materials like printing plates and liquor bottle caps into beautiful abstract sculpture. This piece opens the show ‘Surface Tension’ at Chelsea’s FLAG Art Foundation, a timely selection of work by a multi-generational selection of artists who create dramatic tension on 2-D surfaces. (Through Dec 12th).

El Anatsui, Telesma, mixed media, found aluminum and copper wire, 96 x 116 inches, 2014.

Benjamin Degen, Fast Swimmer at Susan Inglett

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‘Every time I look out a window, a new floor is built onto a new tower,’ writes New York painter Benjamin Degen as he explains about how his recent work considers communities of individuals and friends against the backdrop of a rapidly changing city. One of these characters in ‘Fast Swimmer’ is literally wrapped up by her environment, which abounds in patterns. (At Susan Inglett Gallery through Dec 5th).

Benjamin Degen, Fast Swimmer, oil on linen over panel, 72 x 48 inches, 2015.

Yoon Ji Seon at Yossi Milo Gallery

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Physical transformation is nothing new for Korean youth; one recent poll reported that 50% of young women in their 20s have had a cosmetic procedure. Seoul-based artist Yoon Ji Seon alters her features aggressively by stitching over photographic self-portraits printed on linen, but she does so with a wild creativity that rejects conventional beauty norms. (At Yossi Milo Gallery through Dec 5th).

 Yoon Ji Seon, Rag Face #15022, sewing on fabric and photograph, 24” x 16.5”, unique, 2015.

Beatriz Milhazes at James Cohan Gallery

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Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes continues to conjure a joyous mood and rhythmically flowing forms in abstract paintings and new sculptures at James Cohan Gallery. She’s said that without the inspiration of Carnival, she wouldn’t be an artist; these sculptures even evolved from some made in collaboration with craftsmen who make floats for Carnival. (In Chelsea through Nov 28th).

Beatriz Milhazes, installation view of ‘Marola’ at James Cohan Gallery, Oct 2015.

Karl Haendel at Mitchell-Innes and Nash

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To what ends will you go for personal improvement? Karl Haendel’s huge, meticulous pencil drawings document a push for personal perfection and accompanying sense of self-worth by yoga practitioners; elsewhere, he draws apes balanced on what look like pieces of modern art. ‘Where does it all start and stop?’ his gorgeously rendered artworks seem to ask. (At Chelsea’s Mitchell-Innes and Nash through Dec 5th).

 Karl Haendel, Radcliffe, pencil on paper with shaped frame, 67 ½ x 89 ½ inches, 2015.

Li Liao at Klein Sun Gallery

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Visitors who stray too far into Klein Sun Gallery get more
than they bargained for with Chinese video and performance artist Li Liao’s
performance piece, ‘Attacking the Boxer from Behind is Forbidden.’  Each afternoon, a boxer occupies half of the
gallery, sparring with anyone who gets close and giving visitors the chance to
consider how they’ll react to an unexpected situation that defies conventional
gallery behavior. (In Chelsea through Nov 14th).

 Li Liao, performance view of ‘Attacking the Boxer From
Behind is Forbidden’ at Klein Sun Gallery, October 2015.

Joan Linder at Mixed Greens

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Joan Linder revisits the 1970s Love Canal toxic dumping scandal with a labor-intensive exhibition at Mixed Greens of meticulous drawings depicting the borders of the Buffalo landfill site as well as renderings of documents related to environmental degradation. In the gallery’s back room, notebooks stretching along every wall picture fences that keep the public way from ruined land, raising the question of what’s lurking here and elsewhere. (In Chelsea through Nov 14th).

Joan Linder, Hooker 102nd Street Book, ink on moleskin notebook, 5 books, 5 ½ x 3 ½ inches when closed; 5 ½ x 105 inches when opened, 2013.

Svenja Deininger at Marianne Boesky Gallery

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Shape and color are subject matter for Viennese artist Svenja Deininger, who jettisons the latter in this untitled painting to create a play of surfaces and edges. (At Chelsea’s Marianne Boesky Gallery through Nov 14th).

Svenja Deininger, Untitled, oil on canvas, 80 ¼ x 52 inches framed, 2015.

Christopher Adams at Garvey Simon Art Access

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Christopher Adams’ ceramic plants appear at once fragile and
robust; the material of their thin, scrolling leaves suggests something
breakable, the vigorous growth at center hints at expansive potential.  Garvey Simon Art Access in Chelsea is overrun
with variations on the plant in a range of glazes and finishes, making for a provocative
merger of biology and decoration. 
(Through Nov 7th).

Christopher Adams, from the ‘Primordial Garden’ series,
2015.

Eric Aho at DC Moore Gallery

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A frenzy of gestural abstraction in the foreground of this
painting by Vermont-based artist Eric Aho crystalizes into a representational
image of a majestic mountain in the far distance, giving the impression that Aho
begins by almost being inside his subject matter…then gradually allows images
to materialize.  (At Chelsea’s DC Moore
Gallery through Nov 14th).

Eric Aho, The Mountain, oil on linen, 90 x 80inches, 2014.

Martin Wittfooth at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

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Martin Wittfooth’s ‘Dawn’ would look like an exaggerated prophecy about the dangers of global warming on coastal cites were it not for the few apartment lights on below the massive whale. A few people are waking up to a reality far beyond the norm – a theme that ties into Wittfooth’s interest in altered consciousness in shamanistic practice. (At Chelsea’s Jonathan Levine Gallery through Nov 14th).

Martin Wittfooth, Dawn, oil on canvas, 54 x 120 inches, 2015.

Mernet Larsen in ‘Let’s Get Figurative’ at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

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Mernet Larsen’s eerie nativity scene is a standout in Nicelle Beauchene Gallery’s mini-survey of current trends in figurative painting. Though the figures’ boxy shapes recall the Cubism-mocking ‘Cubies’ cartoons from a century ago, flashes of oddness (in the position of the angels’ feet, a spill on Mary’s lap) punctuate an already charged atmosphere. (On the Lower East Side through Nov 15th).

Mernet Larsen, Nativity, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 74 x 31.5 inches, 2005.

Isa Genzken at David Zwirner Gallery

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Isa Genzken’s exuberant accumulations of glitzy and everyday
materials (where a pedestal wrapped in a sheet of shiny Mylar might meet
plastic chairs or a bouquet of flowers) have sobered up considerably with her
latest exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery. 
Here, mannequins are the basic building block for her abstractions; some
appear to converse freely with each other, others appear to be in disguise or
are tied and bound.  Several in police
vests and safety gear near the front door set a tense tone.  (At David Zwirner Gallery through Oct 31st).

Isa Genzken, installation view at David Zwirner Gallery, October 2015.

Jose Parla at Mary Boone Gallery & Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

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Once a street artist, now an artist inspired by the
histories of the built environment, Jose Parla adds layers of posters, grime
and brightly colored paint to faux fragments of wall currently on view at Bryce
Wolkowitz Gallery and Mary Boone Gallery. 
Considering that the block on which these galleries stand has been
largely rebuilt in the past several years, Parla’s treasuring of fragments from
the past has particular resonance. 
(Through Oct 31st).

Jose Parla, installation view at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery,
Sept 2015.

Richard Prince at Barbara Gladstone Gallery

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Talk about a lonesome cowboy. This solitary bronze figure – cast from a cowboy mannequin and painted – stands completely alone in Barbara Gladstone’s 21st Street space. However, though it looks like a younger relative to the artist’s famously appropriated Marlborough ads from the 80s, a text by Prince calls him ‘a male version of Spiritual America,’ a controversial past work appropriating a photo of a nude Brooke Shields. Is Prince approaching a new taboo with this trigger-happy youngster? (In Chelsea through Oct 30th)

Installation view of ‘Cowboy’ at Barbara Gladstone Gallery.

Louis M. Eilshemius at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

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Late 19th, early 20th century American painter Louis M. Eilshemius painted in obscurity until he was discovered by Marcel Duchamp in 1917. Already embittered, the artist stopped painting just a few years later, despite a whirlwind of interest in and exhibitions of his work. At Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in Chelsea, a selection of paintings, including this enigmatic moonlit exchange between a merman and human woman, offer insight into Eilshemius’s moody narratives. (Through Oct 31st).

Louis M. Eilshemius, Untitled (Figures in a Moonlit Landscape), oil on paperboard, 22 ½ x 26 ½ inches, c. 1905.

Nigel Cooke at Pace Gallery

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British artist Nigel Cooke has signed on with a new gallery and stepped back from the abstract style of his last New York solo show in 2012, but his typically dark, psychedelic undertones remain. The common point of his latest body of work is a cast of mysterious, otherworldly characters like this spotlit ‘blind philosopher’ who sees beyond the glowing lamplight and burning bush surrounding him. (At Pace Gallery’s 510 West 25th Street location through Oct 24th). Nigel Cooke, detail of Blind Philosopher, oil on linen backed with sailcloth, 250cm x 190 cm, 2015.


Marco Maggi at Josee Bienvenu Gallery

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Uruguayan artist Marco Maggi’s labor-intensive installation at Josee Bienvenu Gallery – consisting of thousands of forms in self-adhesive archival paper applied directly to the gallery wall – is, according to a handout, intended ‘to promote pauses and make time visible.’ The incredible profusion of tiny cutouts sometimes resembles diagrams of electronic devices, sometimes a shape-based language system in disarray; the takeaway is a sense of wonder at the myriad systems which escape our day-to-day observation. (In Chelsea through Nov 7th). Marco Maggi, installation detail at Josee Bienvenu Gallery, Sept 2015.


Maureen Gallace at 303 Gallery

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Fleeting clouds, rapidly sloping greenery and a mini-explosion of wind-whipped shrubbery in this coastal scene by Maureen Gallace keep the eye moving around the spare landscape. Perfectly timed to generate nostalgia for disappearing fair weather days, Gallace’s latest solo show at Chelsea’s 303 Gallery speaks the language of memory and longing. (Through Oct 31st). Maureen Gallace, Surf Road, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches, 2015.

Wolfgang Tillmans at David Zwirner Gallery

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Digital technology allows us to picture everything in amazing detail, so how do you choose your subject matter as a professional photographer? Wolfgang Tillmans answers this question by continuing to zero in on the exceptional and mundane, picturing his day-to-day world (portraits of friends, laundry piles) and international travels in prints both tiny and monumental in a characteristic salon-style hanging which seems to evoke the randomness of life. (At David Zwirner Gallery through Oct 24th).

Wolfgang Tillmans, installation view of ‘New York Installation PCR’ at David Zwirner Gallery, September, 2015.

Roman Stanczak at Bureau Gallery

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‘My sculptures speak of life…among spirits,’ says Warsaw-based sculptor Roman Stanczak, whose carefully destroyed bedside table at LES Bureau Gallery suggests a particularly haunted mental state. (Through Oct 25th).

Roman Stanczak, From 2nd to 3rd, wooden cupboard, wood chips, 22.75 x 38 x 39.25 inches, 2015.

Julie Schenkelberg, Swan Song at Asya Geisberg Gallery

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From the heart of the Rust Belt to the heart of Chelsea, scenic designer turned fine artist Julie Schenkelberg has transplanted an installation begun in a disused church basement to Asya Geisberg Gallery. Furniture, dishware, wedding dresses and more combine to create a monument to memory and decay. (In Chelsea through Oct 24th).

Julie Schenkelberg, Swan Song, reclained lath, wood, marble, iron, paper, vintage furniture, dishware, figurines, natural debris, crushed reclaimed metal, light fixtures, vintage wedding dresses, bathtub, wallpaper, plaster, paint, dimensions variable, 2015.

Pinaree Sanpitak at Tyler Rollins Fine Art

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Inspired by ma-lai flower garlands used in Thai ceremonies, Pinaree Sanpitak continues her interest in artwork related to the female body and experience with this installation of fabric that drains the color from the toile ‘flowers,’ leaving pure forms behind. (At Tyler Rollins Fine Art in Chelsea through Oct 24th).

Pinaree Sanpitak, ‘Ma-Lai: mentally secured,’ toile, 15 pieces, dimensions variable, 2014 – 15.

Sara Cwynar in ‘Continuous Surfaces’ at Andrea Rosen Gallery

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Sara Cwynar’s photo of stacked images of Nefertiti comes at a moment when it’s possible to see images of the ancient Egyptian queen at both the Brooklyn Museum and another Chelsea gallery, reinforcing the idea that much of what we’re seeing in daily life is an oft repeated referent to a distant original. The words ‘ERROR: ioerror’ appear scattered throughout suggesting a corrupting effect to so much mediation. (At Chelsea’s Andrea Rosen Gallery through Oct 24th)

Sara Cwynar, 432 Photographs of Nefertiti, collaged UV coated archival pigment prints mounted to Plexiglas and Dibond, 54 x 43 x 7/8 inches, 2015.

Simon Schubert at Foley Gallery

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Edgar Allan Poe’s stern face dominates one very dark wall of graphite drawings by German artist Simon Schubert at the Lower East Side’s Foley Gallery; on the other, a series of white paper ‘drawings’ are folded to create the lines that picture a staircase with a ghostly figure. The sense of a benign, ghostly presence is palpable. (Through Oct 18th).

Simon Schubert, Untitled (Stairs with Figure), 39.5 x 27.5 inches, 2015.

William Villalongo at Susan Inglett Gallery

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‘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.

Keltie Ferris at Mitchell-Innes and Nash

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Brooklyn-based painter Keltie Ferris is known for abstract paintings that recall the city grid, so you’d think she’d relish LA’s road systems on her recent residency there. Instead, she turns her eye skyward in pieces like ‘oRiOn,’ a canvas that hints at a celestial hunter, outlined in vivid color and decorated in a shower of shooting stars. (At Chelsea’s Mitchell-Innes and Nash through Oct 17th).

Keltie Ferris, oRiOn, acrylic and oil on canvas, 72 x 60 inches, 2015.

Chuck Close Self Portraits at Pace Gallery

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For his latest show at Pace Gallery’s 534 West 25th Street location, Chuck Close continues to replicate mechanical processes by hand in huge self-portraits painted square by square in thin washes of red, blue or yellow paint. (Through Oct 17th).

Chuck Close, Self-Portrait IV, oil on canvas, 96 x 84 inches, 2014-15 (right) and Self-Portrait III, oil on canvas, 101 5/8 x 84 inches, 2014 (to the left).

McArthur Binion at Galerie Lelong

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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.

Martin Roth at Louis B. James Gallery

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Parakeets without owners occupy the upper reaches of Louis B James Gallery, while rubble shipped in suitcases from the Syrian/Turkish border is strewn on the floor, creating a situation that prompts meditation on freedom and migration by Austrian born, NY-based artist Martin Roth. (On the Lower East Side through Oct 18th).

Martin Roth, installation view of ‘untitled (debris)’ at Louis B. James Gallery, Oct 2015.

Will Ryman at Paul Kasmin Gallery

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Will Ryman has arranged thousands of paint brushes into soft wavy walls and planted huge metal flower sculptures on the Park Avenue malls, so the political subtext beneath his recent sculpture ‘The Situation Room’ at Chelsea’s Paul Kasmin Gallery comes as something of a surprise. Wanting to respond to the famous photos of the Obama administration watching the SEAL raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in 2011, Ryman recreated the scene in coal dust covered sculptures that appear suspended in time as if preserved by a fossil fuel-related Pompeiian disaster. (Through Oct 17th).

Will Ryman, The Situation Room, coal, fiberglass, wood, fabric, epoxy, 132 x 163 x 78 inches, 2014.

Teppei Kaneuji at Jane Lombard Gallery

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Originally inspired by a coffee stain on paper, Kyoto-based artist Teppei Kaneuji elaborated on this Dagwood-esque sandwich to the point of amusing absurdity. Here he combines pieces of wood and plastic food in a mix of ‘natural’ and ‘fake’ that conveys the fun of stacking blocks and the specter of excess calorie consumption. (At Jane Lombard Gallery through Oct 17th).

Teppei Kaneuji, Muddy Stream from a Mug (Sandwich), coffee, paper, wood, plastic objects, urethane resin, 19 ½ x 12 x 10 inches, 2015.

Terry Haggerty, Double Back at Sikkema Jenkins

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British artist Terry Haggerty takes his illusion-based painting a step further in his solo show at Chelsea’s Sikkema Jenkins & Co by literally projecting his signature undulating ribbons toward the viewer. The normally wall-hugging panels are painted on aluminum supports and appear as if they can’t quite be tamed. (Through Oct 17th).

Terry Haggerty, Double Back, acrylic on aluminum, 81.125 x 36 x 17.75 inches, 2015.

Clement Siatous at Simon Preston Gallery

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In 1973, the British government handed over the Chagos Islands to the US to use for military operations, claiming that they were uninhabited. Island resident Clement Siatous paints evidence to the contrary in a series of palpably wistful paintings inspired by memories from his childhood. Here, the Nordver removes citizens of Diego Garcia, leaving behind homes, animals and a cultural heritage. (At Simon Preston Gallery on the Lower East Side through Oct 18th. More info at http://newatlantisproject.com/)

Clement Siatous, Dernier Voyage des Chagossiens a bord du Nordvar anrade Diego Garcia, en 1973, acrylic on linen, 26 x 45.75 inches, 2006.

Morgane Tschiember at Tracy Williams, Ltd.

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Paris-based Morgane Tschiember uses Tracy Wiliams’ new Lower East Side space to great effect with this handsome installation of compromised, suspended vessels set off by the huge wall painting ‘Falls.’ (Through Nov 1st).

Morgane Tschiember, installation view of ‘Almost a Kiss’ at Tracy Williams Ltd. on the Lower East Side, Sept 2015.

Samara Golden at Canada

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Enter LA artist Samara Golden’s full-gallery installation at Canada on the Lower East Side, and prepare to be jolted from the everyday – the floor under a catwalk is lined with mirrors and furniture fixed to the wall in a gravity-defying display the invites visitors to let loose from their moorings and play ‘what if.’ (Through Oct 25th).

Samara Golden, installation view of ‘A Fall of Corners’ at Canada Gallery, Sept 2015.

Zheng Lu at Sundaram Tagore Gallery

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Beijing artist Zheng Lu learned the art of calligraphy from his literary family; respect for the written word has extended to his present practice in pieces like this, for which the artist laser cut characters from steel (that originally appeared in historically important texts) fusing them into this elegant, dynamic drip of water. (At Chelsea’s Sundaram Tagore Gallery through Oct 10th.)

Zheng Lu, Water Dripping – Splashing, stainless steel, 181.1 x 131.9 x 114.2 inches, 2014.

Alicia McCarthy at Jack Hanley Gallery

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San Francisco Mission School artist Alicia McCarthy presents signature grids and more at Jack Hanley on the Lower East Side, including this pulsing lattice, marred (or made perfect?) by a blur of grey paint. (Through Oct 11th).

Alicia McCarthy, Untitled, gouache and spray and latex paint on wood panel, 96 x 96 inches, 2015.

‘In Appearance of Order’ at 247365

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Normally, this tiny art gallery exists on-line only as virtual gallery ‘Water McBeer,’ run by artist Henry Gunderson. On the occasion of Gunderson’s solo show in 247365 Gallery’s main space, it has stepped into the realm of the real to show miniature artwork by an impressive roster of artists including Carol Bove’s caterpillar, recognizable from bigger versions on the High Line. (Through Oct 11th).

‘In Appearance of Order,’ including work by Carol Bove, Ajay Kurian, Nathaniel de Large, and Jessie Stead, Sept 2015.

Elias Sime at James Cohan Gallery

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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.

FAILE and BAST at the Brooklyn Museum

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Brooklyn art duo FAILE and artist friend BAST put a new spin on the old question, ‘what is art?’ by teaming up at the Brooklyn Museum to present a free arcade decorated in their signature posters. According to the museum text, they aim to relieve ‘the pressure of a traditional gallery environment,’ which they do in spades – it’s hard to remember you’re in a museum. (Through Oct 4th).

Installation view of the FAILE and BAST Deluxx Fluxx Arcade, Brooklyn Museum, September, 2015.

Billy Childish, Sunflowers at Lehmann Maupin

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It comes as no surprise that British artist Billy Childish counts Van Gogh as an influence. By putting these sunflowers in a vessel that recalls Gauguin’s ceramics, Childish marries two artists who lived outside of conventional society in an image that pulsates with pattern. (At Lehmann Maupin’s West 22nd Street location through Oct 31st).

Billy Childish, Sunflowers, oil and charcoal on linen, 60.04 x 42.13 inches, 2015.

Kyle Staver at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects

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A faintly suggested head of blond hair and delicate facial features on Ganymede as he is abducted by Zeus – an eagle with a wizened expression – succinctly tell an ancient tale in Kyle Staver’s graphically simple, wonderfully imagined reworking of the Greek myth. (At Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects on the Lower East Side through Oct 11th).

Kyle Staver, Ganymede, oil on canvas, 68 x 58 inches, 2015.

Bayne Peterson at Kristen Lorello

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Biomorphic abstraction becomes even more a treat for the eyes under the hand of Rhode Island based artist Bayne Peterson as he morphs materials like plywood died in layers and powdered granite into sensuously curvy sculptures at Lower East Side gallery Kristin Lorello. (Through Nov 1st).

Installation view of Bayne Peterson and Nadia Haji Omar at Kristin Lorello. Foreground: Bayne Peterson, Untitled (Greens, Wood and Stone), dyed plywood, dyed epoxy, powdered granite, resin, 10.5 x 6 x 8 inches.

Markus Brunetti at Yossi Milo Gallery

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You don’t necessarily have to visit Europe to marvel at the scale and detail of its cathedrals; German photographer Markus Brunetti brings the experience to New York in a show of stunningly detailed, 10 foot tall prints at Chelsea’s Yossi Milo Gallery. Here, he gives the Ulm Munster his signature treatment – photographing the building in minute detail, then creating a crystal-clear digital collage. (Through Oct 17th).

Markus Brunetti, Ulm, Munster, from the series FACADES, 62 15/16 x 32 5/8 inches OR 118 3/16 x 59 1/16 inches, archival pigment prints, 2007-2014.

Takuro Kuwata Abstract Ceramics at Salon94

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If you need evidence that ceramics don’t need to have use-value, check out Japanese artist Takuro Kuwata’s latest show of amazing abstract forms at Lower East Side gallery Salon94. In the foreground here, Kuwata uses ‘ishihaze’ or ‘stone explosion’ technique by which he adds stones to his clay, which then erupt during firing. (On view through Oct 24th).

Takuro Kuwata, installation view of ‘Dear Tea Bowl’ at Salon94 Freemans, September 2015.

Julia Bland at On Stellar Rays

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Titles like ‘Spring Shadow’ or ‘Noon Ashes’ evoke places and moods beyond the everyday in Julia Bland’s show of attractive, fabric-based constructions. Here, ‘Lines from Memory’ suggests a series of portals constructed from an arrangement of dyed textile and lattices. (At On Stellar Rays on the Lower East Side through Oct 25th).

Julia Bland, Lines from Memory, silk, linen, wool, oil paint, and dye, 88 ½ x 83 inches, 2015.

Mark Barrow and Sarah Parke at Elizabeth Dee Gallery

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Painter Mark Barrow and textile designer Sarah Parke collaborate on painted, hand loomed fabrics that are so labor intensive, they’ll blow your mind. Here, the duo dye fabric, then reweave either the warp or the weft into a different material, thread by thread. (At Elizabeth Dee Gallery through October 24th).

Mark Barrow and Sarah Parke, detail of Reweave 7, hand dyed linen, 19 x 17 inches, 2015.

Denise Kupferschmidt at 11 Rivington

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One wall is not enough for Denise Kupferschmidt’s abstracted human figures at Eleven Rivington. On the gallery floor, two feet and a head lie like scattered afterthoughts while solid figures run along the wall as if rendered in an extra bold font. The effect is strong yet comic, drawing us into Kupferschmidt’s imagined population. (On the Lower East Side through Oct 18th).

Installation view of wall mural and sculpture by Denise Kupferschmidt at Eleven Rivington Gallery, Sept 2015.

Tricia Baga at Greene Naftali Gallery

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It’s post-apocalypse in Trisha Baga’s imagination – Florida has mostly sunk into the sea and the array of artifacts left behind, including this Doritos bag and chips, have been rendered in ceramic and put on display. In the video at rear, peacocks pick at a seed portrait of Rosie O’Donnell. Baga’s rich imagination makes an unknown world all the stranger. (At Greene Naftali Gallery in Chelsea through October 3rd).

Trisha Baga, Doritos bag with 4 doritos, glazed ceramic, 2 ¾ x 9 x 6 inches, 2015. Background: Peacock Museum. The Department of Education, video installation, 4 mirrors with fava beans, 18 min, 44 sec, each 23 ½ x 19 1/8 inches, 2015.

Ron Nagle at Matthew Marks Gallery

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Like inedible confections, the surfaces and strange forms of San Francisco artist Ron Nagle’s tiny ceramic sculptures are delectations for the eye. But for every attractive, shiny surface, there’s an opposite impulse to reject clashing color combinations and oddly suggestive bodily forms. (At Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 24th).

Ron Nagle, Long Good Friday, ceramic, porcelain, glaze, catalyzed polyurethane, epoxy resin, 3 ¾ x 2 ½ x 3 ¾ inches, 2015.

Roy Lichtenstein at Gagosian Gallery

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The pyramids meet a great big expressionist splash of paint in a recreation of a mural by Roy Lichtenstein from 1983, which brings together references from art history and Lichtenstein’s previous work in a size XXL jumble. Originally installed for six weeks at Leo Castelli Gallery before being painted over, Gagosian Gallery is currently hosting a redo, accompanied by paintings and sculpture that flesh out Lichtenstein’s subject matter, from a Picasso head to a piece of Swiss cheese. (In Chelsea through Oct 17th).

Roy Lichtenstein, Greene Street Mural, 1983 (replica, 2015).

Barnaby Furnas Paintings at Marianne Boesky

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From 17th century Dutch paintings of the countryside to sublime Hudson River views by mid 19th century Americans, landscapes unspoiled by development have been a favorite subject in art. Barnaby Furnas’s new paintings at Chelsea’s Marianne Boesky Gallery go back further in time, imagining the drama of a planet at the moment of creation, here on ‘The First Morning.’ (Through Oct 10th).

Barnaby Furnas, The First Morning (Fire Toads), acrylic, dispersing pigment, pencil, colored pencil on prepared linen, 99 1/8 x 104 inches, 2015.

Ken Price Sculpture at Matthew Marks Gallery

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Ken Price’s blob of shiny weirdness is an enticement to venture into Matthew Marks Gallery’s back gallery. A standout in this low-key exhibition of work by gallery artists, the shimmery, seductive surface contrasts the suggestion of an unknown organic substance moldering. (In Chelsea through Oct 24th).

Ken Price, Untitled, fired and painted clay, 18 x 17 x 16, 1996-2011.

Robert Overby at Andrew Kreps Gallery

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This washed out figure is a faded but haunting recurring image in Andrew Kreps Gallery’s retrospective of work by San Francisco-based artist and graphic designer Robert Overby. Based on a 16th century Madonna by Albrecht Durer, Mary’s imposing, weirdly angled eye suggests an oddly provocative madness. (In Chelsea through Oct 31st).

Robert Overby, detail of ONE EYED-GRID, offset lithograph on paper on plywood, 18 ½ x 14 ¾ inches, 1975.

Philip Taaffe at Carolina Nitsch

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Inspired by a stone carving of the feathered dragon Quetzalcoatl, painter Philip Taaffe had the shape recreated in Spanish alabaster, which he then painted and printed. In the paper collage in the background, concentric circles give the illusion of a spiral echoing the coils of the serpent. (In Chelsea at Carolina Nitsch through Nov 7).

Philip Taaffe, Hodi Mihi, Cras Tibi (#2/8), hand carved Spanish alabaster, poppy seed oil, hand stamped and painted with oil paint, signed, numbered, dated below, 17 x 17 x 15 inches, 2015.

Sarah Sze at Tanya Bonkadar Gallery

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Sarah Sze’s installations have been characterized as organized chaos; her latest solo show aims to bring the mess and spontaneous decision-making of an artist’s studio into the gallery, yet the feeling of control is palpable. Torn paper, carefully spilled paint, and hanging sheets of plastic suggest a carefully arranged work in progress. (At Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea through Oct 17th).

Sarah Sze, installation view at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Sept 2015.

Dana Schutz at Petzel Gallery

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Dana Schutz’s ‘Fight in an Elevator,’ the title piece for her show at Chelsea’s Petzel Gallery, recalls NFL player Ray Rice’s scandalous attack on his fiancée in a hotel elevator but levels the playing field as an abstracted man and woman give as good as they get in a futurist-inspired rumble. (Through October 24th).

Dana Schutz, Fight in an Elevator, oil on canvas, 96 x 90 inches, 2015.

Christian Marclay, Surround Sounds at Paula Cooper

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Christian Marclay’s 24-hour video of collaged clock-related film clips from 2010 was so engaging that his subsequent photo projects and onomatopoeia paintings have sometimes seemed bland by comparison. The standout piece in his latest solo show at Chelsea’s Paula Cooper Gallery corrects that trend, however, by animating words from cartoons in an eye-popping immersive installation that, though soundless, communicates loudly. (Through Oct 17th).

Installation view of Christian Marclay’s ‘Surround Sounds,’ at Paula Cooper Gallery, September 2015.

Doris Salcedo at the Guggenheim Museum

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Doris Salcedo’s interconnected concrete-filled wardrobes are a standout in her beautiful, somber show at the Guggenheim Museum; using personal possessions, Salcedo uses the furniture to speak to the suspended lives of political detainees and the ‘disappeared’ in her native Columbia. (Through October 12th).

Doris Salcedo, installation view of Untitled Works, 1989-2008, Sept 2015.

Michael Vasquez in ‘Portraiture Now’ at the Americas Society

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The street and gang life surrounding Miami painter Michael Vasquez as he grew up without a father have become subject matter for his large-scale, bold paintings based on friends, family and acquaintances. A standout in the Americas Society’s show of self-portraits by U.S. Latino artists, the dark background of this touching painting of a man and boy is foreboding. (Through October 17th).

Michael Vasquez, The Neighborhood Tour, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2007.

Yutaka Sone in ‘Panorama’ on the High Line

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Every bridge, pier and building in Manhattan at the time of making is included in this marble rendition of the island by Japanese artist Yutaka Sone on the High Line. Isolated from the rest of the map, and created of white stone, Manhattan resembles a shrouded corpse. (Through March 2016).

Yutaka Sone, Little Manhattan New York, New York, marble, 2007- 2009.

Albert Oehlen at the New Museum

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Influential German painter Albert Oehlen’s huge, boldly messy paintings put representational drawing, expressionism, color experiments and more in the blender, challenging how much ‘bad’ a ‘good’ painting can accommodate. (At the New Museum through Sept 13th).

Installation view of Albert Oehlen: Home and Garden at the New Museum, July 2015.

John Singer Sargent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Performers give it their all in one of the best galleries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s John Singer Sargent show, focusing on non commissioned (hence less restricted) portraits of friends and colleagues. Here, after meeting musical patron and singer Mabel Batten, Sargent persuaded her to pose for this incredible portrait of singing abandon. (Through Oct 4th).

John Singer Sargent, Mrs George Batten Singing, oil on canvas, 1897.

Damian Ortega in ‘Panorama’ on the High Line

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Mexican artist Damian Ortega finds a new to suspend his sculpture in space (last winter he created an explosion of tools at the Cooper Hewitt Museum) in this graffiti made of rebar, as if he’s managed to tag the sky. (On the High Line in Chelsea through March 2016).

Damian Ortega, Physical Graffiti #3, steel, 5 ft 10 ¾ inches x ¾ inches x 7 ft 9 ¼ in, 2015.

China: Through the Looking Glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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One of the most divine dresses in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition of China-inspired Western fashions is this evening gown by Guo Pei in the museum’s Chinese Buddhist sculpture galleries. Though the model’s dress incorporates a lotus throne like the sculpture, it doesn’t seem to advocate any rejection of worldly pleasures. (Through Sept 7th).

Guo Pei, Evening Gown, spring/summer 2007, Haute Couture, gold lame embroidered with gold and silver silk, metal and sequins.

Teresita Fernandez, ‘Fata Morgana’ at Madison Square Park

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Titled after mirages that form on the horizon line, Teresita Fernandez’ ‘Fata Morgana’ in Madison Square Park playfully imagines what it would be like to inhabit the mirage. Her sprawling, 500 foot long installation of golden, mirror-polished metal covers the park’s walkways, creating both a dappled pattern on the ground and a through-the-looking-glass effect in the reflective surface overhead. (Through winter ’15-‘16).

Teresita Fernandez, Fata Morgana, Madison Square Park, through winter 2015-16.

Leonor Antunes at the New Museum

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Inspired by film and fiber art, Portuguese artist Leonor Antunes’ site-specific installation at the New Museum turns hand-made, hanging forms into an architecture perceived by the body as it moves through the installation. (At the New Museum through Sept 6th).

Installation view of Leonor Antunes at the New Museum, July 2015.

Pierre Huyghe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The most understated Met Museum Roof Garden commission in recent memory, French artist Pierre Huyghe’s installation features a chunk of bedrock set on the museum’s stone tile roof within site of a tank populated with primordial-looking tadpole shrimp. In contrast to the spectacle of luxury condo growth seen just south of the park, the low-key intervention on the Met’s roof is almost disorienting. Weeds sprouting from removed floor tiles suggest a dereliction far from the norm, a crack in the Met’s perfect public face. (At the Metropolitan Museum of Art through Nov 11th).

Pierre Huyghe, Roof Garden commission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.

Ryan Gander in ‘Panorama’ on the High Line

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It’s creepy, but a steady stream of visitors to the High Line can’t resist taking a sip from Ryan Gander’s fountain, designed so that a stream of water flows from the mouth of a woman rendered in marble. The sculpture is a provocative update on traditional ‘garden of love’ imagery given that the model was Gander’s wife, leaning in for a kiss. (On the High Line Park in Chelsea through March 2016).

Ryan Gander, To employ the mistress…It’s a French toff thing, marble, stainless steel, copper tubing, 1 ft 4 inches x 1 ft 4 inches x 5 ft 4inches, 2015.

Sarah Charlesworth at the New Museum

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For her last series, late Pictures Generation photographer Sarah Charlesworth used available light coming from her studio window to illuminate carefully chosen objects. Here, a glass holding a sphere has the meticulous quality of product photography, but it sells nothing, instead it turns everyday objects into something serenely magical. (At the New Museum through Sept 20th).

Sarah Charlesworth, Carnival Ball, from the ‘Available Light’ series, Fuji Crystal Archive prints with lacquered wood frames, 2012.

Amilcar de Castro in ‘Empty House/Casa Vazia’ at Luhring Augustine Gallery

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Like sketchbook pages mounted to the wall, Brazilian Neoconcretist sculptor Amilcar de Castro’s model-like Corten steel sculptures resemble drawings for future pieces as well as typography, recalling the artist’s graphic design background. (At Chelsea’s Luhring Augustine Gallery through Aug 28th).

Amilcar de Castro, Untitled, 140 sculptures of Corten steel, 9 inches – approx. size, c. 1990. (background) Paulo Monteiro, Untitled, bronze, 28 11/16 x 35 3/8 x 35 3/8 inches, bronze.

Santiago Calatrava on the Park Avenue Malls

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Seven striking new aluminum sculptures by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava are a bold contrast in color and form to the buildings lining Park Ave (even elegant Lever House in the background). They’re reminiscent of Calatrava’s evolving transportation hub downtown, designed in a similarly organic form to suggest the wings and flight of a bird. (On view on the Park Avenue Mall between 52nd and 55th Streets through early November.)

Santiago Calatrava, S4, painted plate aluminum, 2015.

Agnes Denes at Socrates Sculpture Park

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With its view of Manhattan just across the East River, Long Island City’s tranquil Socrates Sculpture Park plays perfect host to Agnes Denes’ ‘Living Pyramid.’ Created from wood and soil, flowers and grasses in the form of some of the world’s earliest monumental architecture, it’s a provocative foil to the city’s skyscrapers. (Though August 30th).

Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid, flowers, grasses, soil, wood, paint, 30 x 30 x 30 feet, 2015.

Jacob Aue Sobol at Yossi Milo Gallery

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Gritty doesn’t begin to describe Danish artist Jacob Aue Sobol’s photographs taken along the Trans-Siberian Railway, now on view at Yossi Milo Gallery in Chelsea. This man’s face and the wall behind him are marked with use; the alarmed person in the line drawing begs the question of the man’s psychological state. (Through Aug 28th).

Jacob Aue Sobol, from the series Arrivals and Departures, Untitled #16, gelatin silver print, 24 x 20 inches, 2012.

Eric Cahan at Benrubi Gallery

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Starting with a solarized photo of water in which the dark tones have turned light, Brooklyn artist Eric Cahan scans and prints each image, attacking it with bleach and altering it in Photoshop. In a time when web users spend just seconds looking at images, Cahan’s practice questions what abstract art should offer the viewer. (At Benrubi Gallery through Aug 22nd).

Installation view of Eric Cahan, ‘Data Mining’ at Benrubi Gallery, July 2015.

Yutaka Sone in ‘Tiger Tiger’ at Salon94 Bowery

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Paintings of jungles, tropical fruit, and monkeys and sculptures of snakes and strange flora make ‘Tiger, Tiger’ at Salon94 Bowery one of the lushest shows open in New York this summer. Yutaka Sone’s folk-art inflected rattan and steel palm in the foreground sets the laid-back tone. (On the Lower East Side through August 21st).

Installation view of Tiger, Tiger at Salon94 Bowery, July 2015. (foreground: Yutaka Sone, Tropical Composition/Traveler’s Palm #1, rattan and steel, 143 x 165 x 24 inches, 2011.

Bryan Graf in ‘A Room of One’s Own’ at Yancey Richardson Gallery

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In this detail of a photogram by NJ/Maine artist Bryan Graf, the artist’s hand reaches into the frame, conjuring swirls of mesh into a dynamic design. In the accompanying Polaroid (not pictured here), we see a straight shot of the artist revealing his magic as he holds screen material in front of light sensitive paper. (At Yancey Richardson Gallery through August 21st).

(Detail of) Bryan Graf, Shot/Reverse Shot (Corner Piece #2) December 18, 2012, Polaroid and two gelatin silver prints, Polaroid: 3.5 x 4.5 inches, Gelatin silver diptych: 24 x 40 inches, unique.

Fiona Connor at Lisa Cooley Gallery

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Visit a New York City park in the summer and you’ll find clusters of kids filling water balloons at fountains identical to LA artist Fiona Connor’s handmade replica of a cast concrete water fountain. Connor’s indoor version offers more peaceful and contemplative refreshment, however, on its own in the back room of Lisa Cooley Gallery. (On the Lower East Side through August 21st).

Fiona Connor, On What Remains (fountain), concrete, EPS foam, antique brass hardware, plumbing supplies, steel, ply, paint and coatings, car battery, Jabsco pump, potable water, 36 x 24 x 36 inches, 2015.