Interrupting a nude with Linder-esque provocation. Birdhead in the Renew – A Recent Survey of Chinese Contemporary Photography group show at Eli Klein Gallery.
Adding playful physical performance to a Minimalist sculpture motif. Charles Ray (from 1973) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The shifting impermanence of a barbecue with dancing legs. Robert Therrien in the Places, Faces, Traces group show at Janet Borden.
Women walking to the sea like a flock of dark birds. Shirin Neshat (from 1999) in the Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians—The Mohammed Afkhami Collection group show at the Asia Society.
Posing with a bike, but not allowed to ride it in public. Shadi Ghadirian (from 1998) in the Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians—The Mohammed Afkhami Collection group show at the Asia Society.
The austere simplicity of trees in winter. Abbas Kiarostami (from 2010) in the Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians—The Mohammed Afkhami Collection group show at the Asia Society.
Boldly rebelling against the strict cultural codes constraining the public appearance of Iranian women. Shirin Aliabadi (from 2008) in the Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians—The Mohammed Afkhami Collection group show at the Asia Society.
Florals, nudes, cats, and city views in a densely sensual array of 500 Polaroids. Nobuyoshi Araki (from 2003-2006) at Yoshii Gallery.
The elegantly rigid geometries of back-to-back schoolchildren. Fan Ho (from 1949) in the Empire: Impressions from China group show at Sous Les Etoiles Gallery.
Using window reflections to build up a mood of urban glamour. Lisette Model (from 1939) in A Female Gaze at Howard Greenberg Gallery.
A top down view of sidewalk jumprope. Ruth Orkin (from c1950) in A Female Gaze at Howard Greenberg Gallery.
Kaleidoscopic multiple exposure shards of the city. Barbara Morgan (from 1943) in A Female Gaze at Howard Greenberg Gallery.
A filmstrip-like composition with a melancholy stare. Esther Bubley (from 1947) in A Female Gaze at Howard Greenberg Gallery.
Jean Cocteau with the blank eyes and feathered wings of the sphinx. Lucien Clergue (made on the set of Testament of Orpheus in 1959) at Westwood Gallery.
Tiny delicate blossoms, as captured by the early American cyanotypist. Bertha Jacques (from 1907) in the Pairings group show at Hans P. Kraus Jr. Fine Photographs.
Positive and negative views of the Taj Mahal (from 1864), with black ink overpainting to clarify the sky. Dr. John Murray in the Pairings group show at Hans P. Kraus Jr. Fine Photographs.
Searching eyes, bathed in a warm glow. Arlene Gottfried, from her intimate portraiture project Midnight, at Daniel Cooney Fine Art.
A surreally flared still from the artist’s Blackalachia project. Moses Sumney at Nicola Vassell Gallery.
The complicated aesthetics of performance. James Van Der Zee in the Toni Morrison’s Black Book group show at David Zwirner.
Mixing family photographs into the patterns of African wax fabrics. Modupe Lanikanra in the NYU Tisch BFA thesis exhibit at Microscope Gallery.
