Leila Cartier: An Imaginary Land of Promise
Through Jan. 24
Schmidt Dean Gallery
1719 Chestnut St.
Free, 215-569-9433
One 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 Age
Through Feb. 21
Locks Gallery
600 Washington Square South
Free, 215-629-1000
There’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.