Top Four

“Objects USA” showcases the work of 61 artists working in the craft tradition, expanding and updating a historic exhibition staged under the same title in 1969 at the Smithsonian. The new show argues for a coherence between successive generations of artists drawing a line that tells us “things changed after this happened.”

In Shaghayegh Cyrous’ multimedia installation “Breathe the Sun” a vivid cast of characters perform ritualized movements in a wall-length video projection. This is an immersive, ritualistic space that acknowledges and bridges the physical and cultural distance between North America and her native Iran.

Is it possible to be nostalgic about nostalgia itself? This question is explored by Stefan Kürten and Sarah M. Newton, both haunted by the forlornness of the now, thus undercutting if not outright mocking any aspiration for a utopian future.

“Light Beneath,” draws together three decades of work highlighting Richard Sheehan’s longstanding focus on the urban landscape, particularly his two major sources of inspiration, roadway architecture and commercial signage.

An old art-world joke defines sculpture as the thing you bump into from behind as you back away to better view a painting. The mixed-media wall sculptures of Chris Dorosz turn that trope on its head: to take in the entirety of these works you must get up close to these intricately crafted figures.

“Poetics of Memory” gradually reveals stories from Mildred Howard’s life as seen through her art, while leaving room for us to construct narratives of our own. The work has a specific personal and historical references.