Written by James Lettiere, Investment Banker and Art Specialist

Oct. 15, 2014: Editor's note: James Lettiere describes three exhibits currently on view in Manhattan.

Dear Mr. Thanatos: Modern and Contemporary Art from Latin America
Until December 13, 2014

A provocative group exhibit whose artists explore some of the most controversial issues facing societies in contemporary Latin America. The reference to Mr. Thanatos comes from Sigmund Freud's theory of thanatos, the inclination toward aggressiveness as the opposite of eros, the tendency toward the affirmation of life.

All of the artists except the Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada and the well-known Cuban-born Ana Mendieta continue to work today. They use various media, including sculpture, oil painting, video, and sound to create their art.

Violence, both institutional and personal, features prominently in the works on view, but considering them is well worth the effort. Just as the artists use their work as a way to come to terms with the wrongs inherent in their communities, we can remind ourselves that human beings can resist violence through them.

The Cristin Tierney Gallery
540 West 28th Street
NY, NY
Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 am–6:00 pm

FIRE
Until November 1, 2014

This is an entertaining group show featuring works that are, as the name suggests, achieved with the use of heat. Porcelain, glass, ceramic, stoneware, and clay are used to create abstract and figurative shapes. The show includes two well-known artists. Ai Weiwei's porcelain works focus on the big themes he is known for. One is a take on oil spills while the other comments on the tsunami in Japan. Sterling Ruby contributes ceramic sculptures that are similar to but smaller than the large-scale pieces that were part of the most recent Whitney Biennial.

Venus Over Manhattan
980 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor
NY, NY
Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 am–6:00 pm

Thread Lines
Until December 14, 2014

Another group show currently at The Drawing Center continues this wonderful institution's exploration of what constitutes drawing. Employing such skills as sewing, knitting, and weaving, the sixteen artists explore various expressions of "line," the central concept of drawing.

Located in SoHo, The Drawing Center's galleries provide an intimate and human-scale viewing experience--the better to appreciate these drawings created through textiles. They are colorful and tactile, almost like vertically hung sculpture.

In the spirit of full disclosure, The Drawing Center is a personal favorite that recently went through major renovations. If you were familiar with The Drawing Center prior to the renovations, I think you would agree that the space has been enhanced 100% without losing its essential spirit.

The Drawing Center
35 Wooster Street
NY, NY
Wednesday–Sunday, noon–6:00 pm | Thursday, noon–8:00 pm

Photo courtesy James Lettiere, Investment Banker and Art Specialist