Keith Mayerson at Marlborough Gallery

Dozens of paintings stacked floor to ceiling on all four walls of Marlborough Gallery’s main space are a portrait of New York artist Keith Mayerson’s life and mass media influences. Judy Garland as Dorothy, MLK, JFK and James Dean make starring appearances in images that establish common ground between viewer and artist by way of our pop culture heritage. (In Chelsea through Dec 23rd).

Keith Mayerson, installation view of ‘My American Dream,’ at Marlborough Gallery, Nov 2015.

Katy Grannan at Salon94 Bowery

Taken in what photographer Katy Grannan calls ‘spontaneous collaborations,’ photos of anonymous subjects on the street from 2012-13 lend a heroic quality and astounding dignity to Californians on the margins. (At Salon 94 Bowery on the Lower East Side through Dec 20th).

Katy Grannan, Anonymous, Modesto, CA, archival pigment print on cotton rag paper mounted to Plexiglas, 55 x 41 inches, 2013.

Ruby Sky Stiler at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

From straight on, Ruby Sky Stiler’s large new sculptures of female heads and bodies look like bronze architectural features intended for the metalwork of a gate or fence. Actually made of wood with two intersecting perpendicular panels, their legibility morphs as the viewer walks around them; clustered in pairs or groups, they suggest a silent community of watching women. (At Nicelle Beauchene Gallery through Dec 20th).

 Ruby Sky Stiler, Head, stained Baltic birch, 36 x 24 x 13 inches and Wave Head, stained Baltic birch, 46 x 30 x 15 ½ inches, 2015.

Miranda Lichtenstein at Elizabeth Dee Gallery

The ‘you’ in this photo by New York artist Miranda Lichtenstein points in several directions; most obvious is a shaming of the plastic bag user, more concerned with convenience than environmental responsibility. It also leads away from Lichtenstein herself, considering that the image is a manipulation of a work by artist Josh Blackwell, whose practice involves layering and sewing on plastic carrier bags. It’s hard to tell where one artist’s work begins and the other ends, but both come out ahead – Lichtenstein for her generosity in sharing her platform and Blackwell for his creativity. (At Elizabeth Dee Gallery in Chelsea through Dec 19th).

 Miranda Lichtenstein, You!, archival pigment print, 40 x 26 ½ inches, 2015.

Mary Heilmann at 303 Gallery

Mary Heilmann’s paintings lead viewers down the road, but a scattering of brightly colored chairs designed by the artist and installed in Chelsea’s 303 Gallery invites us to stay a while. Titled Maricopa Highway, this painting ignores the view to either side of this scenic California roadway, instead taking us straight into a washy blue heavens. (Through Dec 19th).

 Mary Heilmann, Maricopa Highway, acrylic on canvas, 42 x 42 x 1 ½ inches, 2015.