Here is a selection our favorite of shows by emerging artists, who are proving again that painting is very much alive and kicking. Maximilian Toth creates large-scale canvases of sketchy figures on chalkboard-black grounds, while Esther Tielemans stitches together panoramic "object-paintings." William Daniels re-creates still life objects from famous art historical paintings using found paper and common household objects... and then creates complex and realistic small-scale paintings of these re-created objects as his final piece. Christian Hellmich's paintings explore the roles of and relationship between painting and architecture. Peter Peri's abstract paintings are... well... cool – and we're glad to see his work on this side of the pond.

Recommended Shows

• Maximilian Toth "Little Beasts" at Fredericks & Freiser (through January 30)
• Esther Tielemans at Zurcher Studio (January 9 - February 14)
• William Daniels "Paintings" at Luhring Augustine Gallery (January 9 - February 6)
• Peter Peri at Bortolami Gallery (January 8 - )
• Christian Hellmich "The Array/Transfer-Domino" at Lehmann Maupin Gallery (January 14- February 20)

Each of these Gallery and Museum shows, scientifically determined as a "Can't Miss" by our Art Experts, has actually been missed by at least one person in our office.  Whether or not you've made a New Year's Resolution to make the most of New York's Art scene, this is your last-chance reminder to catch-up with some buzzworthy exhibits.

Museums

• Georgia O'Keeffe "Abstraction" at the Whitney Museum of American Art ( closes January 17 )
• Kandinsky at the Guggenheim Museum ( closes January 13 )
• Paul Sietsema at the Museum of Modern Art  ( through February 15 )
• Urs Fischer: "Marguerite de Ponty" ( through January 31 )

Galleries

• Helio Oiticica "Drawings, 1954 - 58" at Galerie Lelong ( through February 6 )
• Alighiero e Boetti "Mappa" at Gladstone Gallery ( through January 23 )
• Felix Gonzalez-Torres & Jim Hodges "Floating a Boulder" at Flag Art Foundation ( through January 31 )

Starting the New Year right isn't just about getting current with Last Year's shows -- it's about not missing the pre-ordained Can't Miss shows from this year.  MoMA offers an exhibit of Brazilan sculptor Ernesto Neto's  Navedenga - which was produced in 1998, acquired in 2007, but on view for the first time in the Galleries this month.  Next month marks the official start of the Whitney's Biennial... but this month "Collecting Biennials" opens to offer a historical survey of pieces included in Biennials over the last 80 years.  Inka Essenhigh isn't well known amongst the masses (yet), but art enthusiasts around the world are well versed with her work... which is featured in the Whitney, PS1, Tate and Saatchi Gallery; Ms Essenhigh exhibits at the 303 Gallery later this month.  Damien Hirst never ceases to attract attention, and "End of an Era" is set to offer a selection of the artist's more iconic works at the Gagosian Gallery.

Museums

• Ernesto Neto: "Navedenga" at Museum of Modern Art (January 20 - April 26)
• "Collecting Biennials" at the Whitney Museum of American Art (January 16th - November 28th)

Galleries

• Inka Essenhigh at 303 Gallery (opens January 23 - February 20)
• Damien Hirst "End of An Era" at Gagosian Gallery (opens January 30 through March 6)

January 28th brings an (unlikely) mix of Art, Fashion, and Hedge Funds in a benefit party for the charities A Leg to Stand On and Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families .  Promising an evening of "Top fashion designers, hors d'oeuvres & cocktails; A party with art world luminaries, hedge fund managers and investors" The evening will feature an exhibit and charity-benefitting sale of Hye Rim Lee's artwork ( artist details below ), and has been co-curated by Mie Iwatsuki.  Ms Iwatsuki was also co-curator of the art festival "The Drop NYC", which featured works ranging from established artists such as Yoko Ono to emerging artists like Seth Carnes .   ArtWeLove is proud to be a Media Sponsor of this event.  Tickets are $250.  For more information, please click here.

Esther Tielemans paints new age landscapes, just as seductive as they are unsettling : the portrayal of nature at any rate appears distorted, sometimes convex, sometimes concave, "replicated" even, following a symmetry reminiscent of the Rorschach test. Mutant forms proliferate - layers of epoxy resin whose shiny, smooth look contrasts sharply with areas of shadow with indistinct edges - the image of a virtually "enchanting" landscape but vitrified by all sorts of manipulations (from the biological field to the image itself) and, henceforth, uninhabitable for man.  (Read More)

Hye Rim Lee was born in Seoul, Korea. She received her BFA from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She is known for exploring issues of femininity, plastic surgery, projection of desire, and technological manipulation through her computer-generated female cyborg TOKI. Her ongoing TOKI/Cyborg Project challenges what she calls the "phallic motivations" of dominant cyber culture, computer gaming, and animamix. Lee's work has been exhibited extensively in Asia and Europe. She currently lives and works in New York. ( Read More )