Confrontational art about racism is so commonplace that it usually has no more effect than the harangue of a street-corner preacher. Perhaps that’s why Gary Simmons is such an alluring figure. His chalk “erasure” works are steeped in issues of race and class, yet he relishes ambiguity. By creating more questions than answers, he teases apart the didactic air of certainty that dead-ends most political art.
Gary Simmons
Studio Museum in Harlem
October 9 to January 5