Leila Cartier: An Imaginary Land of PromiseThrough Jan. 24Schmidt Dean Gallery1719 Chestnut St.Free, 215-569-9433www.schmidtdean.comOne function of art is to show us familiar things in new and strange ways, and this is what Leila Cartier achieves with her paintings of flowers. With their highly saturated colors and eye-locking intensity, they make the flower, usually an unthreatening sign of beauty, into something almost depraved — the ruthless seducer of the plant kingdom.A Golden AgeThrough Feb. 21Locks Gallery600 Washington Square SouthFree, 215-629-1000www.locksgallery.comThere’s a cynical twist on the Golden Rule that goes like, “Whoever has the gold makes the rules,” but for this artists in this show, whoever has the gold makes cool art out of it. It’s an opportunity to look at gold not as a coveted currency, but simply as a luminous, supremely malleable material with seemingly endless possibilities.
