Once again, ARTINFO has sent its intrepid staff into the streets of Chelsea, charged with reviewing the art they saw in a single (sometimes run-on) sentence. (To see our One-Line Reviews as an illustrated slideshow, click here.)
Billy Childish, “paintings that change the universe like digging in the gutter with a broken lolly stick,” at Lehmann Maupin, 540 West 26th Street, through April 20
Billy Childish is known for his one-man-band, its prolific annual output ranging from self-produced albums to whimsical paintings, so in the scheme of things this show of large-scale canvases is a welcome pause and a logical extension of what has come before it: a serene, dream-like, visually transporting narrative featuring simple pairings of figures in boats on the water, rendered loosely yet portraying the enviably quaint lives of these strangers richly. — Alanna Martinez
“F.A.T. GOLD” at Eyebeam, 540 West 21st Street, through April 20
Don’t let the crazy whimsical nature of this show fool you — the works within are a collectively scathing critique of the commercialization and commodification of the world’s most valuable public good: knowledge. — Shane Ferro
Elliott Hundley at Andrea Rosen Gallery, 525 W 24th Street, through April 27
An anarchic, dumpster-dive aesthetic meets Greek tragedy in Elliott Hundley’s collages, where strata of fringe, scintillating doodads, painted gestures, inkjet prints, and magazine cutouts pinned to the surface of the canvas dissolve into a Boschian aggregate of fleshy chaos. — Chloe Wyma
“Ladies & Gents” at Salomon Contemporary, 526 West 26th Street #519, through April 27
I assumed the press release's vague description of “Ladies & Gents” as a show that “highlights a selection of female and male artists who portray their own gender,” belied something deeper than it stated, and while some works — like Judith Hudson's “Bribe,” Hilary Harkness's “Pearl Trader,” and Scott Hunt's “Jacob's Pillow” — provocatively explore conceptions of gender, it feels like a generic theme for a forced show of works in which the artist and subject just happen to be of the same gender. — Sara Roffino
Gordon Matta-Clark, “Above and Below” at David Zwirner Gallery, 519 West 19th Street, through May 4
Focusing on negative space as much as positive, Gordon Matta-Clark's films and stills in this exhibition move from above-ground New York City to subterranean Paris, highlighting circular cutouts in buildings and manholes in New York — especially 1970s Soho — and the square and rectangular tunnels and passages of Paris's historical catacombs and underground cellars. — Terri Ciccone
Julie Schenkelberg, “Hearsay” at Asya Geisberg Gallery, 537B West 23rd Street, through April 20
Continuing her practice of destroying and deconstructing domestic spaces and objects into beautiful disjointed ruins united by a pastel palette, Julie Schenkelberg has toned down the installation component in her latest exhibition to focus on the careful and often-minute havoc she wreaks, making for a less immediately catchy, but ultimately more satisfying experience than her previous shows. — Benjamin Sutton