It’s always fascinating to see how freely today’s painting deals with stories, including its own. Take, for example, Verne Dawson’s exhibition, in which various modes of painting combine to evoke a complex, inward-looking worldview, replete with layers of reference: In Venus (all works 2003), the goddess, born of foam, is painted as a figurine on a coastline. Venus appears next to Mars, a painting of the red planet on a black quadrant of interstellar night. Nearby are John Giorno, a portrait in profile; Vase, a still life of a richly ornamented little vessel against a bright sky; Three Rats, a

There has been a renewed emphasis on object making among younger artists, and Eva Rothschild’s exhibition was a virtuoso demonstration of their broad, no-holds-barred reinterpretation of sculpture. Employing walls, floor, and ceiling without recourse to frames or supports, the work immediately conjures myriad references, from the severity of Minimalism to the kitsch playfulness of designer accessories, incorporating both industrial production techniques and a crafts aesthetic.

Each of the three rooms here included both types of work that Rothschild has been developing—abstract geometric sculptures