See and Be Seen

Helen Frankenthaler, at Gagosian

The work of the late, lyrical Color Field painter Helen Frankenthaler is always worth revisiting. A new show focuses on the work she made between the years of 1962 and ’63, when she “composed” purely with color, rather than line. The effect is of paint spilt in the most poetic way possible. Gravity has never looked better.

Helen Frankenthaler, Pink Lady, 1963. Acrylic on canvas. 84 x 58 in. © Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

“Composing with Color: Paintings 1962 – 1963” is on view from September 11 – October 18, at Gagosian Gallery, 980 Madison Ave.

Jason Rhoades, at David Zwirner

There was always a finely tuned method to Jason Rhoades’ inspired madness. For the first time since its original incarnation traveled from New York to Vienna to Liverpool, the late artist’s seminal installation PeaRoeFoam— made of green peas, salmon eggs, and beaded foam— will be on display.

“Jason Rhoades: PeaRoeFoam” is on view from September 11 – October 18, at David Zwirner Gallery, 537 W. 20th St.

Jose Parla, at Bryce Wolkowitz

Jose Parla has come a long way since his days writing graffiti in Miami. There is little of street art’s bravura attitude in the Cuban-American artist’s introspective new paintings—which he says are a diaristic chronicle of his life—but there is plenty of style.

“Jose Parla: In Medias Res” is on view September 12 – October 18, at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, 505 W. 24th St.

Gustav Klimt’s “Adele Bloch-Bauer II,” at MoMA There are even more tall women in opulent dress this week in New York than usual, but there are no street style pictures as stunning as Klimt’s “Adele Bloch-Bauer II,” one of two portraits the Austrian painter made of his most statuesque patron.

“Adele Bloch-Bauer II” has recently been loaned to the Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., where it is now on view indefinitely.

Rob Pruitt, at Gavin Brown In the four years since he last showed in New York, Rob Pruitt has been apparently doing more than designing shoes and organizing awards shows. His new solo show moves on from his signature pop aesthetic, but as always there is something catchy that will also make you slightly uncomfortable—such as a series of gradient paintings, which suggest high-up windows one wants to look, and maybe jump, through.

“Multiple Personalities” is on view September 13 – October 25, at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, 620 Greenwich St.

“(Nothing But) Flowers,” at Nathalie Karg This fine group show is organized around the idea of degradation and decay, but the standout pieces are abstract-looking wooden sculptures by Lisa Williamson that feel strangely alive—such as this one, which somehow recalls a tall, lithe woman with an unnecessarily slimming belt.

“(Nothing But) Flowers” is on view through October 11, at Nathalie Karg Gallery, 41 Great Jones St.

Stephen Shore, at 303 For his new solo show, the photographer Stephen Shore traveled to the West Bank, and to visit Holocaust survivors in the villages of the Ukraine—two territories whose history and politics can turn any conversation into hysteria. But as always, Shore focuses on the commonplace and the everyday—a place of hummus, a bustling intersection—to bring a little humanity to the scene.

“Stephen Shore” is on view from September 11 – November 1, at 303 Gallery, 507 W. 24th St.