UES/LES: April Showers Bring May Flowers

Polke at MoMA

Gorgeous Polke paintings

Detail

One of the greats--these purple-black abstractions, and bitumen abstractions, were superb--but photography is not allowed.

Elsewhere at MoMA, Michalangelo Pistoletto. What I could not photograph at all was the excellent Jasper Johns show--understated and elegant gray paintings and prints based on Lucien Freud's wall of rags.

At the Whitney Biennial, Dan Walsh

Whitney Biennial, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, best painting by her I've seen: a NO painting

Sterling Ruby's micro worlds--more Ruby below

Louise Fishman

Amy Sillman

Sillman collaboration with Pam Lins

Jacqueline Humphries. Someone should do a show of silver paintings, with this, Rosie Keyser, Ryan Sullivan, other artists working with metallics...

Overview of fourth floor, middle room

Looking left, and

Weird painting on right wall summoning 1960s and 70s children's book drawings...

Laura Owens

Dona Nelson, a frontrunner

Ken Lum

Sarah Charlesworth

Phil Hansen

Phil Hansen

Shio Kusaka

Zoe Leonard

Camera obscura with an iPhone

David Diao

Diao reminding me of Polke's early works and early Baldessari, too

Amazing Rebecca Morris

Slightly reminiscent of Avery

Rebecca Morris

Detail

Elijah Burgher

Downtown, Laura Sharp Wilson at Valery McKenzie, reviewed by Thomas Micchelli here: http://hyperallergic.com

Pat Place at Jane Kim

Place's iPhone photos arranged by pattern narrative...harking back to earlier works of film stills, shown in the back room for context. The beauty in these is their demand to be observed, and the shock of light illuminating cloud. Rich results from an economy of means.

At Brian Morris, a stunning three-person show with Liz Markus, Judith Linhares and Ashley Garrett

Garrett

Linhares

Markus, Linhares

Garrett

There is another show I want to talk about, but have no images of, and cannot find any: SUMMER WHEAT at POCKET UTOPIA (191 Henry St., LES). This show snapped its fingers in my face and shouted, WAKE THE HELL UP! There is no online evidence of it that I can find but it is easily one of the best and weirdest shows I have seen in a very long time. This is a painter who puts you inside a replicated world that hybridizes Bonnard, Vermeer and Matisse. Go see it.