Paul Kos and Jim Melchert at Paule Anglim, Shahzia Sikander at the Art Institute

Artists and scholars let rip at SVA, the Studio School, the National Academy, et al, with new season of lectures and panels around town.

Among thirteen tapestries commissioned from contemporary artists, the most interesting are those in which the medium adds a level of meaning to the image.

Brilliantly colored, covered with decorative motifs and gestural abstractions, the work suggests a gorgeous manuscript, a place where the politics of place and the pain of indifference no longer exist.

Shahzia Sikander at Brent Sikkema, Robert Gober at Matthew Marks, Harriet Shorr at Pelavin, Magnus von Plessen at Barbara Gladstone