Dana Schutz at David Zwirner Gallery

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The Face, one of the first works in Dana Schutz’s absorbing show of recent paintings and bronzes at David Zwirner Gallery, pictures a surreal scene of figures supporting and hiding under a huge mask.  Barely able to control the giant visage, one character bends over to pick up a rock, perhaps intending to fire it in anonymity at a foe (us?) from behind the face.  Rife with allegory, Schutz’ new work configures various groupings of individuals in unclear yet meaningful interactions – gathering to paint together, sitting on a couch as if on a talk show or clustered together in a circle, arms on shoulders.  Crowded into the picture plane, dynamic and rendered in vibrant colors, the figures recall not only the exaggerated features of Italian Commedia dell’arte masks but theatrical storylines that foreground human folly.  (On view in Chelsea through Dec 16th).

Dana Schutz, The Face, 108 x 138 inches, oil on canvas, 2023.

Stefan Rinck at Nino Mier Gallery

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With only fossilized remains to go on, how do we know what dinosaurs actually looked like?  German sculptor Stefan Rinck asks (and answers) this tongue-in-cheek question to humorous effect in a show of stone sculpture featuring cute lizards, now on view at Nino Mier Gallery’s Tribeca space.  Though the ancient reptiles have been fashioned of even more ancient material – stones including sandstone, marble and limestone, their look is decidedly contemporary – some even sport Crocs.   In the case of ‘Baguettesaurier,’ a horned creature of polished diabase, who’s to say dinosaurs didn’t also pick up a baguette on the way home?  (On view through Dec 16th).

Stefan Rinck, Baguettesaurier, diabase, limestone, 31 ½ x 18 7/8 x 19 ¾ inches, 2023.

Farah Atassi in ‘The Echo of Picasso’ at Almine Rech

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Fifty years after Picasso’s death, international gallery Almine Rech launches its new Tribeca space with ‘The Echo of Picasso,’ a group exhibition of work by contemporary artists whose work converses with their influential forebear.  Farah Atassi’s ‘Reclining Woman with Oranges’ at the gallery’s entrance juxtaposes various grids – rectangular picture frames, grey lines against a peach-toned background and angular patterns on the central figure’s dress – with curving, organic forms that include a chaise longue and scattered oranges.  In a show heavy on the human figure, artists from Karel Appel to Rashid Johnson explore contemporary consciousness through distortions pioneered in the early 20th century.  (On view through Dec 16th).

Farah Atassi, Reclining Woman with Oranges, oil and glycerol on linen, 63 x 78 ½ inches, 2023.

Yinka Shonibare at James Cohan Gallery

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Known for sculpture and 2-D work that incorporates textiles originally inspired by Dutch wax printed fabrics, British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare gives new life to his signature material in pieces that resemble flying cloth at James Cohan Gallery.  Shonibare has explained that his new bronzes came from thinking about the wind that filled the sails of ships involved in transatlantic trade and forced migration in past centuries.  Now, the dynamic pieces resemble dancing forms as they elegantly and energetically swirl on their pedestals in the gallery.  (On view in Tribeca through Dec 22nd).

Yinka Shonibare, Abstract Bronze I, bronze sculpture, hand-painted with Dutch wax pattern, 78 ¾ x 57 ¾ x 49 ¾ in, 2023.

Katherine Bradford at Canada New York

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New York painter Katherine Bradford’s swimmers – a recurring subject – include ephemeral, washy suggestions of submerged figures and bolder, mostly visible individuals standing still in the water.  New work at Canada in Tribeca favors more dominant figures, filling the space of the canvas with their solid forms and often expressionless faces.  ‘In the Lake,’ features individuals who float, walk or stand in dark water perhaps lit by the moon, each in their own space; with their arms outstretched, several figures appear to be relaxing while an orange-topped figure waits and a man starts to exit the scene to the right.  Bradford excels at complex realities, as past shows suggest – e.g. the terror and pleasure of waves in 2016 or the comforting and confining closeness of mothers and children in 2021.  Here, mostly placid faces suggest tranquility but closeness and individual isolation among the swimmers leaves room to wonder.  (On view through Dec 22nd).

Katherine Bradford, In the Lake, acrylic on canvas, diptych: 80 x 136 inches, 2023.