“Stray Light Grey: Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe”
Through Oct. 27
Marborough Chelsea
545 W. 25th St.
212-463-8634
These two American artists have a reputation that precedes them. After turning an exhibition space into a meth lab at Art Basel in 2008, they take over this Chelsea gallery in which they’ve installed a mysterious, psychedelic and mildly menacing underworld that takes up a series of rooms in what is described as a spatial collage.
“Stephen Powers: A Word is Worth A Thousand Pictures”
Through Sept. 29
Joshua Liner Gallery
548 W. 28 St., 3rd Floor
212-244-7415
Philadelphia native Stephen Powers burst onto the art scene tagging walls in Philly, Brooklyn and Manhattan as “ESPO” in the early ’90s, and for the past few years has transferred his messages onto a more legal canvas: signs. In his latest exhibition, the former graffiti artist continues to explore sign paintings, typography, bright colors and word play (“I paid the light bill just to see your face.”) with a series of works on metal sheets painted with enamel that range in size from 10 x 8 inches to 10 x 10 feet.
“A Visual Essay on Gutai”
Through Oct. 27
Hauser & Wirth
32 E. 69th St.
A movement that grew out of a desolate post-WWII Japan, this group of forward-thinking artists sought to create works of art that would take their culture beyond the fog of war by challenging convention and forcefully innovating a new relationship between the self and art. This stunning collection of 30 works highlights the best of what this group had to offer.
Thomas Hirschhorn: “Concordia, Concordia”
Through Oct. 20
Gladstone Gallery
530 W. 21st St.
212-206-9300
Inspired by images from the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship earlier this year, Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn set about recreating the unsettling vision of a perfectly curated space turned upside down by disaster, with a series of large-scale collages and written statements.
Antonio’s World
Through Oct. 20
The Suzanne Geiss Company
76 Grand St.
212-625-8130
Iconic fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez’s famous drawings appeared in publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and The New York Times in the 1970s and 1980s, but his influence went far beyond his pen. He was the cool den father to models like Pat Cleveland and Jerry Hall, helping launch their careers. He was also a major style influencer whose creative circle included Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent. This month, his contribution to the fashion world gets recognized courtesy of a new book from Rizzoli — “Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex & Disco,” and a corresponding exhibition at the Suzanne Geiss Company. The show will highlight three decades of Lopez’s work.
