Mother Boat
Opening Thursday, March 12 at Pintô International, 6 pm to 9 pm. On view through April 30.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot to feel nervous about nowadays. One ever-present problem that only seems to be worsening is the issue of ocean pollution. As it’s basic knowledge that most of the world is covered in water, this is a global issue—at East Village space Pintô International, artists focus on how this issue has affected the Philippines, which is an archipelago. The four participating artists explore how plastic waste and other refuse has impacted the shores and waters, with several creating sculptures or installations from found discarded materials. Others shine a light on Filipino tradition and how the ocean plays a crucial part within that. Collectively, they work to demand a more sustainable, compassionate future all over the world.

SATURDAY

Kosmos Invers: The Morphology of XOS
Now through March 14 at HERE, various times: $25

It’s relatively easy for the average person to forget about puppets. They were probably a part of your childhood in some way, but nowadays you don’t see them much, aside from that one time you and some friends went to go see Avenue Q. However, puppetry as an art form is multifaceted and flourishing. If you want an example of some of the most innovative and experimental puppetry happening today, look no further than Kalan Sherrard. The visual artist, street performer, and puppeteer has been a unique presence in the city (and around the world) for years, and now he’s bringing his latest solo piece to HERE in Tribeca, telling a philosophical, environmental, and visceral tale of two planets that oscillate between demonic and heavenly. More →

It’s Lit
Opening Tuesday, March 3 at 64 White Street, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through April 25.

On Tuesday, R and Company’s gallery at 64 White Street gets lit. Only it’s not the kind of lit you think. Unless you’re thinking of the literal definition of the word and not the slang version, in which case you’d be right. Indeed, this is an exhibition of creations that also act as lamps and other various lighting. The selection of illumination on display far exceeds anything you’d typically run into at a furniture store, but the gallery will feel like one, with everything arranged like a surreal, shining showroom. There are lamps that look like taxidermy chicken and swirling granite sea anemones, the kind of streetlights that would feel at home in a video game with quaint villages made from clay, and much more to behold. It will certainly be lit.

The Center Cannot Hold
Opening Wednesday, February 12 at Equity Gallery, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through March 7.

So many variations in culture can be traced back to perspective, be it metaphorical or literal. The latest group show at Equity Gallery, The Center Cannot Hold, assembles 17 artists and six curators to grapple with the topic from all angles, and the variety will ensure there’s plenty of different perspectives to explore perspective from. How meta! More specifically, these artists are interested in what happens when perspective and spatial reasoning becomes skewed and illogical, resulting in landscapes and creations that break with most known conventions of what things should look like. As some say, they only way to progress is to discard the rules and norms and start anew.