“If I hear the word ‘provisional’ one more time I’ll scream”

An impressive debut show that marks affinities with two of the reviewer’s favorite painters

A tribute to the painter and writer who died last week.

Le Tableau at Cheim & Read, through September 3, curated by Joe Fyfe

A geographically and historically wide-angled summer group exhibition.

While Fyfe has worked with combining more traditional methods of painting with textile collages for years, it is through the overt focus on counterparts in this exhibition, contrasting the more serious with the playful and the reserved with the whimsical, that Fyfe reveals both the diversity of his artistic interests and the extent of expressive versatility he has reached in his work.

Lothar Baumgarten at Marian Goodman, Sue Coe at Gallerie St. Etienne, Ron Gorchov at Nicholas Robinson, and Elizabeth Peyton at the New Museum

ROBERT MANGOLD: COLUMN STRUCTURE PAINTINGS PaceWildenstein until March 10 (545 W22nd Street between 10 and 11 Avenues, 212 989 4263) MARK GROTJAHN; BLUE PAINTINTS LIGHT TO DARK ONE THROUGH TEN Anton Kern until February 28 (532 W20th Street between 10 and 11 Avenues, 212 367 9663) JOE FYFE James Graham until March 10 (1014 Madison … Continued

Gilbert and George at Lehmann Maupin and at Sonnabend, Jesper Jest at Perry Rubenstein, Richard Tuttle at the Drawing Centre and Sarah McEneaney at Gallery Schlesinger

“Robert Ryman: Works on Paper, 1957-1964” until September 25 (closed for August, 99 Wooster Street, between Spring and Prince, 212-343-0441). “Band of Abstraction” until August 14 (819 Washington Street, between Little W. 12th and Gansevoort Streets, 212-243-8572). A painterly equivalent to the truism that the child is father to the man is that an artist’s … Continued