Man alive

Judith Bernstein's paintings of male and female genitalia are, in her words, feminist with a capital F. Pat Steir has pushed the definition of gesture in abstract painting to new levels for nearly five decades. Rosson Crow and Liz Markus merge art and fashion seamlessly in paintings that seem to disembowel canonized painting with raw, expressive candor. Abstract painters Keltie Ferris, Joanne Greenbaum, and Ruth Root aren't looking to embellish the foyer or match the sofa, but rather to consistently redefine the boundaries of taste and propriety. Brenna Youngblood tackles identity by way of the everyday object, pushing tactile surfaces against familiar collaged images. And not every important moment comes at high volume, as evidenced by the eerie cast silicon works of Kaari Upson and the subtle oil paintings of Nathlie Provosty. The figurative painters in 'Man Alive' are leading the charge of redefining canonized subject matter. Jordan Casteel, a keen observer, tells a story of black men's lives that is not often told in portraiture. Marilyn Minter, once shunned by the art world for being too explicit, deals out a warrior's critique of representation and consumption. In Mickalene Thomas's works, black women take the place historically reserved for Western art history's leading men. In the crisp, cinematic, photo-based works of Julia Wachtel, appropriation is near weaponized. The bold, raucous paintings of Nina Chanel Abney approach subjects such as police brutality head-on, turning white, male-dominated art historical tropes inside out and upside down. Wendy White's painting celebrates First Lady Michelle Obama. Rochelle Feinstein highlights the paradox between the viewer's cognitive and visual responses, while Sue Williams uses high-key perversion to fearlessly distill the decorative and the hardcore.