James Kalm is cycling down for the summer, but before being immersed in the art world doldrums, he ventures into Chelsea for one more Thursday night gallery crawl. "Reflexive Self" at Mike Weiss Gallery features a collection of images of the macabre. Large drawings by Dead Dads Corporation have the shocking presence of crime scene photos. Kim Dorland and Stefanie Gutheil peruse chunky colorful expressionism, while Marc Seguin leavens his austere canvases with conceptual content and blobs of oil paint and elicits a spontaneous diatribe from Daniel Larkin on his use of Hitler as subject. . Okay Mountain's "Benefit Plate" at Freight+Volume, is the latest offering by this Austin Texas based collective/gallery. These ten artists have received much attention for their whimsical humor combined with critical representations of American culture. Includes interviews with Carlos Rosales-Silva, Corkey Sink and Josh Rios.

James Kalm believes in the serendipity of fate, and sometimes, despite the best laid plans, ends up turning on the camera and capturing intriguing happenings. Such was the case when he popped into view a debut exhibition by Trudy Benson. The artist uses thick slabs of oil paint in coloristically rich pictures that verge on relief. Trudy discusses her "fetishization" of paint, and her painterly influences in a brief chat.

Heading east we visit NURTUREART to partake in the opening of "Who's Afraid of Ornament?" curated by Natasha Kurchanova. This show investigates decoration and ornament and bares testament to the reemergence of the Pattern & Decorative movement from the late seventies.