From the Floor

“Dating Data” at Josée Bienvenu. One of the most interesting group shows to be mounted this year, “Dating Data” presents works on paper by 18 artists who struggle to turn data into information. Including pieces by Mark Lombardi, Danica Phelps, Beth Campbell (detail from gallery website at right), and Type A, this exhibition presents interesting takes on what is probably the major, yet most unquestioned, task that humans perform in their daily lives today.

Nicholas Di Genova at Fredericks Freiser Gallery. Simultaneously graphic, surreal, and narrative, Di Genova’s drawings on multiple layers of Mylar merge the mythological Minotaur with the World War I Canadian battleship HMS Minotaur to create threatening battle robot figures that appear to have unique personalities. The complexity of these pieces should repay multiple viewings over time.

Günter Brus, “Dirty Embellishments” at Mike Weiss Gallery. So much of what gets shown in Chelsea has a slightly provisional feel, as if the artists are testing new ideas. This exhibition of works by the established Viennese Actionist displays none of that tentativeness. These performance photographs and drawings show a strength of conviction and maturity of practice that are more typically seen in major museum retrospectives than in gallery environments.