Art Around Town

THE BENEFITS OF EXHAUSTION

Matthew Ryan Sharp's creatures have bad skin, rickety teeth, and crossed-out eyes, but their rugby shirts and argyle sweaters make them plenty lovable all the same. Sharp returns to William Rupnik's gallery this week with a new show called The Benefits of Exhaustion. It must have been exhausting to put together: In addition to nearly 80 paintings, he'll drop a 120-page self-published book chronicling his work and life for the past six years. And did we mention he'll be selling limited-edition handmade plushies, art flasks, and iPod cases? The Benefits of Exhaustion opens with a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and is open by appointment through October 31 at William Rupnik Gallery (1667 East 40 St.). There's also an after-party starting at 10 p.m. at the Lava Lounge (1307 Auburn Ave.) in Tremont. For more information, call 216-533-5575 or go to wrgcleveland.com. — GillOn view now at area galleries and museums:

ArtsCollinwood: Hope for the Picture Guild: Matt Dibble is a roofer, and about as regular a guy as you could meet. But Del Rey Loven, director of the art school at the University of Akron and the curator of a show of Dibble's recent works, describes his paintings as anything but regular. "High-risk aesthetic adventurism" is his term for Dibble's expressive compositions, which marry the texture and depth of painting with the linear precision of drawing. Through October 17 at 15601 Waterloo Rd.; call 216-692-9500 or go to artscollinwood.org.

Bonfoey Gallery: The Long Road: A couple of early 20th-century modernists from Cleveland inevitably have a lot in common, but August F. Biehle Jr. and Carl Gaertner came from different backgrounds and saw their city from different perspectives. See them both in this show, which begins with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, October 15, and continues through November 13 at 1710 Euclid Ave. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, till to 5 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Call 216-621-0178 or go to bonfoey.com to learn more.

Cleveland Artists Foundation: Abel Warshawsky: The Pennsylvania native spent his childhood in Cleveland, eventually studying at the Cleveland School of Art, where he met famed interior designer Louis Rorimer, who financed Warshawsky's travels to Europe. Warshawsky would take France as an adopted home and spent twenty years there, painting impressionistic scenes of Paris, Normandy, and Brittany, and making regular return trips to Cleveland. The Cleveland Artists Foundation presents a selection of his work from that time. Through November 13 at the Cleveland Artists Foundation at Beck Center for the Arts (17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood). Call 216-227-9507 or go to clevelandartists.org.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Midwest Modern: The Color Woodcuts of Mabel Hewit: Cleveland artist Mabel Hewit uses her woodcuts to show scenes of remote areas of the United States, such as views of Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Saugatuck, Mich. Through October 24. Also: Andrew Borowiec: Cleveland Photographs: The Akron native documents the Flats through black-and-white photography. Through October 17 at 11150 East Boulevard. Open Tuesday-Sunday at 10 a.m. Closes at 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, and at 5 p.m. all other days (closed Mondays). Call 216-421-7350 or visit clevelandart.org.

Heights Art Gallery: Glass artist Rene Culler, a lifelong Clevelander who recently moved to head a new glass program at the U. of Southern Alabama at Mobile, presents works from her Byzantium series — layered colors of glass fused into a topography that suggests landscapes. Through October 23 at 2173 Lee Road in Cleveland Hts. Call 216-371-3457 or visit heightsarts.org.

Museum of Contemporary Art: An Invitation to Lubber-Land: Duke Riley brings his interest in people living in the margins of society to Cleveland's famed "Torso Murders" and the former shantytown that sprung up along the now-buried creek known as Kingsbury Run. This installation incorporates video, mosaic, drawing, found objects, and sculpture to reenvision Elliot Ness' historic purge of the so-called hobo jungle. Through January 9 at 8501 Carnegie Ave. Call 216-421-8671 or visit mocacleveland.org.

1.618 Gallery: The Colors of Life: Sid Rheuban has a modest view of his wildly colorful paintings on Plexiglas. "I realize that the art I produce interests only a segment of the art appreciating public," he writes. "I try to capture the emotion of a moment and hope that it will stimulate a response in the minds of some viewers." Rheuban's paintings have a primitive quality that's associated with so-called "outsider art." By appointment through November 7 at 1.618 Gallery (6421 Detroit Ave.). Call 216-281-1618 or go to 1point618gallery.com.

Shaheen Gallery: Etant Donnes: T.R. Ericsson's graphite-powder silkscreen creations involve a labor-intensive process that yields photographic images with an ethereal, dream-like quality. This new series of eight drawings takes its name from Marcel Duchamp's final major work — a female figure visible through peep holes in a door. Ericsson's figure isn't hidden behind a door, but is presented large (six by eight feet) and in the open. The sensuality of the naked woman in the woodland scene is undercut by the starkness of the black-and-white medium. She's draped like litter across the edge of a small waterfall. Is she dead? Sleeping? Is she that comfortable in the water? Through November 12 at 740 W. Superior; call 216-830-8888 or visit shaheengallery.com.

SPACES: Fall exhibits include: A Vague Whole, featuring Benjamin Bellas, Steffani Jemison, and Clinton King tinkering with and rearranging common objects as collage; world artist program resident Paul Druecke exploring how landmarks function within social spaces; and Cleveland artist Wes Johansen creating a TV room for group watching and discussion about the strength of TV as a cultural addiction. Through October 22 at 2220 Superior Viaduct. Call 216-621-2314 or visit spacesgallery.org.

Zygote Press: Take It: Terry Schwarz sees a parallel between a market flooded with too much housing and the idea of making multiple prints of an image. But if too many buildings devalue the real estate market, she hopes making lots of prints and giving them away has an opposite effect for artists in town. Through October 16 at 1410 East 30th St. Call 216-621-2900 or go to zygotepress.org.