Margarita Cabrera at Jane Lombard Gallery

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Expanding concentric circles of flamenco dresses surround a soft sculpture of a Spanish ship in an eye-catching installation in Margarita Cabrera’s current solo show at Jane Lombard Gallery.  The abundant dynamic ruffles of the dress material suggest that though small, the ship is making its presence felt from Spanish arrival in the Americas to the present day.  Crafted from material used for US/Mexico border patrol uniforms, the ship and the show’s other engaging sculptures invite discussion of migration past and present.  (On view through Oct 26th).

Margarita Cabrera, installation view of El Vaiven del Mar, Flamenco dresses, uniform fabric, 120 x 168 x 36 inches, 2024.

Paul Anthony Smith at Jack Shainman Gallery

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It’s carnival season in Jamaica-born, Brooklyn based multi-media artist Paul Anthony Smith’s latest body of work now on view at Jack Shainman Gallery in Chelsea.  Starting with photos he took during celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago, Smith manipulates the images, prints them, adds paint and employs his signature picotage technique by which he creates patterns of tiny tears in the surface of the painted photographs.  Here, as in many pieces, the tear patterns take the form of fences or walls constructed of patterned concrete blocks.  Placed between viewers and the celebrants, the barriers allow looking but give viewers pause to question what kind of access we have to the places and cultures pictured.  (On view through Oct 26th).

Paul Anthony Smith, To be titled, unique picotage and spray paint on inkjet, print mounted on Dibond, acrylic paint, 51 ¼ x 81 x 2 ¼ inches, 2024.

Magdalena Suarez Frimkess at Kaufmann Repetto

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Magdalena Suarez Frimkess’s lively and charming ceramic sculptures, now on view at Kaufmann Repetto in Tribeca, feature popular cartoon characters rendered in an expressive style.  Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and the Chilean character Condorito, the artist says, “…are the masters of everything for me…they know all the answers for everything. They make fun of everything.  Nothing is so serious.”  Additional tiles, plates, vessels and sculpture feature Aztec motifs and other indigenous American imagery speak to Suarez Frimkess’ diverse interests and influences over her 95 years of creativity.  (On view through Oct 19th).

Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Untitled, glazed ceramic, 2 x 6.1 x 6.4 inches, 2022.

Nengi Omuku at Kasmin Gallery

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Pretty, peachy-pink tones pervade Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku’s paintings on Yoruban sanyan fabric to otherworldly and calming effect in her first New York solo show at Kasmin Gallery.  But while several works feature scenes of respite in a garden or enjoyment of community, others hint at troubled political times in Nigeria.  Here in ‘Orange Bougainvillea,’ Omuku surrounds faintly visible individuals with flowers as if to engulf them in the beauty of the landscape.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 19th).

Nengi Omuku, Orange Bougainvillea, oil on sanyan, 86 5/8 x 87 3/8 inches, 2024.

Suzanne Jackson at Ortuzar Projects

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After standing out in the 2024 Whitney Biennial and in the Shah Garg Collection’s Chelsea exhibition last winter, Suzanne Jackson’s hanging environmental installations and works on paper at Ortuzar Projects offer a more in-depth look at the artist’s remarkable assemblage.  Jackson has likened her studio to a compost heap where materials are broken down and recomposed; here in ‘9, Billie, Mingus, Monk’s,’ she repurposes many different kinds of paper and cloth along with her signature acrylic gel medium in a dense yet floating record of marks and decision-making.  Praised for its music-like fragility and manifestation of joy by Hilton Als in the New Yorker recently, the piece’s earth-toned colors and solid presence are a standout in the show.  (On view through Oct 19th in Tribeca).

Suzanne Jackson, 9, Billie, Mingus, Monk’s, acrylic, acrylic gel medium, flax paper, Bogus paper, Stonehenge paper, tissue, linen, nursery burlap, produce bag netting, canvas and wood, double-sided, 64 x 65 x 5 ½ inches, 2003.