7 Art Shows to See in New York This February

Kurt Lightner: Spark

This small exhibition on West 22nd Street is jammed with vibrant artworks that are, according to the artist, built through improvisation—though that’s hard to discern as a viewer. Focused on forest floors and their layers of vegetation, Kurt Lightner renders the plant world in a kaleidoscope of color. Lightner’s keen ability to capture each branch, leaf, and plant in a way that maintains its elegant individuality without succumbing to the chaos all around is visually impressive. Life and death intermingle freely (though there are no signs of animal life from what I could see) and the results are these dense, almost transparent surfaces that call attention to the overlooked and ask us to find the vibrancy beneath our feet—Hrag Vartanian

Harper’s
534 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through February 17