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A powerful new exhibition at New York’s Sean Kelly Gallery, Ravelled Threads brings together work by ten African artists utilizing fabric in different ways. Cloth has cultural and spiritual significance throughout Africa, with a long history of use in storytelling, historical record keeping, political activism, and cultural expression.
Opening at Friedman Benda this week, the London-based artist Jonathan Trayte invites you into an alternate universe of bizarre but friendly furnishings. In his first US solo exhibition, Fruiting Habits, Trayte creates a world of his own, filled with idiosyncratic functional objects with multiple uses. With a background in fine arts as well as in food service and as a foundry worker, Trayte brings a sense of humor and a playful interest in texture to this collection. Objects range from tables and chairs to beds, lamps, and poofs, each with their own unique personality and charm.
Paul Kasmin Gallery is opening a summer group show this week fit for the solstice. On June 21st, SEED debuts. As its title implies, themes of fertility, the body, sexuality, and the natural world abound. Curated by Yvonne Force, the 29 artists in the show work with variations of these themes in a range of media and styles.
Now at the Long-Sharp Gallery, Tarik Currimbhoy’s first solo exhibition, Sway, fascinates viewers with over a dozen kinetic sculptures, ranging from 9" in diameter to 3' tall. Crafted from stainless steel and bronze with mathematical precision, the sculptures draw on Currimbhoy’s experience as a designer and architect. Expertly fashioned, their sleek, geometric shapes balance or rock in response to gravity and compression. They look striking both at rest and in motion. 
In a new exhibition and accompanying book, Double Vision: The Photography of George Rodriguez, offers a retrospective that covers the dual histories of Los Angeles. George Rodriguez, who has been capturing quintessential American images since taking a photography class to fulfill a high school elective requirement in 1954, has been documenting LA life from the gritty streets to the glitz of Hollywood for over four decades.
Now at Denver’s Robischon Gallery, Amy Ellingson has a thought-provoking solo exhibition. Ellingson’s title, “Sweetbitter Beast” refers to ancient Greek poet Sappho's Fragment 130, translated by Willis Barnstone. “Eros loosener of limbs once again trembles me, a sweetbitter beast irrepressibly sweeping in.”
Opening this month at Kavi Gupta in Chicago is a new exhibition of works from Mission School painter Clare Rojas. Egret includes a range of works, representative of Rojas’ diverse practice, which has encompassed printmaking, painting, murals, and sculpture. Included in this exhibition are 100 small abstract sketches in gouache, created by Rojas as part of her daily practice. There are also nine large oil paintings and several sculptural works. In the past, Rojas’ work reflected her interest in folk art and folklore.
A fixture in modern art since 1954, Alex Katz’s radically cropped portraits and bold landscapes foreshadowed Pop Art. His wide brush strokes and meticulous composition combine abstraction and representation, with a style faintly reminiscent of woodblock prints. Approaching his 90th birthday, Katz began applying to unmistakable style to landscapes, diverging from the portraiture he’s known for. The resulting exhibition, Grass and Trees, explores three motifs: grasses, roads and trees.
Chun Kwang Young’s solo show, Aggregation, opened May 3rd at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York. Chun’s otherworldly assemblages incorporate both sculpture and painting. His freestanding sculptures and low-relief wall hangings are crafted of triangular cones of antique mulberry paper, or hanji, tinted with tea or pigment.
This month at Carpenters Workshop Gallery is an exhibit of decadent works from Italian designer Vincenzo De Cotiis. As the name suggests, “Baroquisme” is the designers reimagining of the Baroque aesthetic for the 21st century. Known for its ornate designs in rare and fine materials, Baroque may seem at odds with much of the sleek, modern design of the recent past. Handmade by skilled artisans, this collection of seating, lighting, tables, and cabinets offers the textures and luxury of Baroque, with clean modern lines.