Josh Tonsfeldt at Simon Preston Gallery

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 at Luhring Augustine

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

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

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 at Sikkema Jenkins & Co

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.