Using the world’s first cellphone as the basis for abstract patterning. Doug Aitken at 303 Gallery.
Turning a mother’s clothes into a swirling mass of patterned abstraction. Keisha Scarville at Lesley Heller.
Using overlaid captions to playfully interrupt controlled glamour. Cary Leibowitz at Invisible-Exports.
A tender embrace, echoing Joseph taking Jesus down from the Cross. Em Rooney at Bodega.
Cleverly using light to activate a silk screened protest image. Hank Willis Thomas at Jack Shainman Gallery.
Finding wordplay in classroom desk graffiti. Erica Baum in the Hours and Places group show at Bureau.
The elemental forms of massive electricity towers. Early work from Bernd and Hilla Becher at Paula Cooper Gallery.
The wary trepidation felt at birthday time. Osamu James Nakagawa at sepiaEYE.
A bathtub toe with film noir echoes. Maggie Steber at the Half King.
Searching for ghosts in Sally Mann’s developer tray. John Cyr at Elizabeth Houston Gallery.
Fake dating a slippery ashtray still life. Nobuyoshi Araki at Taka Ishii Gallery.
Building up layers of graphic shapes. Stephen Frailey in the Guarded Future II show at Downs & Ross.
Blonde hair interrupted by metal letters, eroded craters, and an air vent. Borden Capalino at Lyles & King.
When symbols lose their decipherability. Shannon Ebner in the Mark group show at Team Gallery.
Meticulous radiating lines surrounding a glowing orb. Marsha Cottrell at Van Doren Waxter.
Reinterpreting the racism of a 1950s anthropological study of rural Brazil. Jonathas de Andrade at Alexander and Bonin.
Covering Karlie Kloss with a swirling painted-eye veil. Patrick Demarchelier at Staley-Wise Gallery.
Using stencils to undermine a handgun ad. Fred Cray, found tucked in a book at Printed Matter.
Reversing the agency in the upskirt photo. Noritoshi Hirakawa in the A Colossal World: Japanese Artists and New York, 1950s-Present group show at WhiteBox.
Constructing elemental simplicity via light through a cut-paper door. Mayumi Terada in the A Colossal World: Japanese Artists and New York, 1950s-Present group show at WhiteBox.
