20 Paintings Shows You Must See In April

Our Publisher, Steven Zevitas, has narrowed down our April Must See List even further on the Huffington Post. After the jump, find out what he thinks are the top 20 painting exhibitions around the country. Original Post can be found on the Huffington Post.

Anna Conway. Courtesy of American Contemporary, New York, NY.

April is another strong month for painting around the US. At 20 shows, this is the largest list that I have published to date, and it could have easily been longer. The recent trend of solid shows by mid-career artists continues. Be sure to catch veteran painter McArthur Binion's first solo at Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago. Across town at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, another Chicago-based artist, Phyllis Bramson, presents a new group of her hallucinatory works. In Los Angeles, emerging artist Rashid Johnsonhas organized a finely tuned exhibition of works by legendary Washington School painter, Sam Gilliam, and in Philadelphia, Robert Straight is on view at Schmidt/Dean Gallery. Two artists who are firmly on my "completely under-recognized" list, New Orleans' native, Jim Richard, and long-time University of Iowa Professor, John Dilg, can be seen at Inman Gallery in Houston and Regina Rex in Queens, NY, respectively.

Elliott Hundley. Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY.

The number of painting shows at New York galleries this month is even more overwhelming than usual. McKee Gallery is presenting a centennial exhibition to honor Philip Guston -- his influence on a younger generation of artists cannot be overstated. Wayne Gonzales looks good at Paula Cooper Gallery, as does B. Wurtz at Metro Pictures. If emerging artists are your thing, then you have a lot of looking to do this month. Among the dozens of shows on view in New York that are focused on younger artists, be sure to see Cordy Ryman at Dodge Gallery, Scott Lyall at Miguel Abreu Gallery, Elizabeth Neel and Sikkema Jenkins & Co., Zach Harris and Zach Feuer, and one of my personal favorites, Scott Olson at Wallspace.