Albert Oehlen has pledged to reveal his own history of abstraction in this exhibition of paintings and drawings, “Abstract Reality.” Most ofthe paintings were made in 2008, but the “history” here is provided by a handful of paintings made since 1989. It is not easy to discern what kind of history Oehlen wants to convey, apart from showing that he has been making large abstract paintings for most of his career but has in recent works lightened his palette, begun to incorporate posters and other collaged elements, and turned from “bad” to “beautiful” painting. Indeed, in an interview with the

Igor Ansoff, applied mathematician and management theorist, introduced to the business world in 1957 the Product-Market Growth Matrix, a schema that mapped the risks and advantages of diversification—developing new products for new markets—for a single company. Ansoff also served for a time as the vice president of Lockheed Corporation, one of the preeminent profiteers of the past four American wars. That fact adds a sinister edge to his pragmatic aptitudes—an edge that also informed Joe Scanlan’s latest exhibition, “Diversification.” Despite the simultaneous generosity and market savvy proffered