CIA Faculty Show -- Far-out both conceptually and technically, the first exhibit of the academic year at CIA is as confusing as it is impressive. Each piece occupies its own aesthetic world, and the effect is akin to dozens of voices speaking at once. Some make absolutely no sense: Kevin Kautenberger's "Field Screen" is a rack of wooden boxes filled with alfalfa, and Kristen Baumlier's "Kerosene Camera" consists of a plastic gasoline can tipping into a pair of jeans, which house a video camera scanning the gallery entrance. Still, the dazzle meter runs high in works like Kathy Buskiewicz's "The Eyes of George Are Upon You," which consists of a scarf intricately woven from shredded dollar bills, and Sarah Kabot's innocently humorous "Blank," a piece of ruled notebook paper with its lines surgically removed. The rippling, sun-dappled liquid surfaces of Gretchen Goss' "Waterview Series" are exquisite in their own right. Nancy McEntee, too, probably struggled over the lighting effect in her black-and-white "Garden Series: Book" photograph (the only light in the scene appears to emanate from a book), but the composition is both deep and easy to grasp. Through October 1 at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Blvd., 216-421-7407, www.cia.edu. -- Zachary Lewis
Hadley Conner -- Local artist Hadley Conner's photographs look as if they date from a 1950s edition of Life magazine when, in fact, she took them in the past year. Therein lies her artistic identity: Conner is fascinated by the continuing popularity of rockabilly culture in modern society, and she successfully passes on that curiosity to viewers through this set of black-and-white gelatin prints. Her pictures document people who, not unlike Civil War reenacters, gather around antique cars and dress as if it were still 1957. In "Lay Tracks," an old hot rod burns rubber at a stop sign while a man in jeans and white T-shirt stands by, looking impressed. Faces are rarely Conner's focus; she's more interested in bodies and their proximity to one another: We see the jeans-wearing man only from behind, with the car far in the background. She also excels in conveying a sense of atmosphere: Almost every picture depicts a sunny, hot day, and the featured event takes place in some vast deserted area. Only occasionally does Conner leave clues to the real date. In "Girl Talk," for instance, the action takes place in front of a relatively modern high-rise apartment. All told, her photographs fit perfectly at Bela Dubby, which itself is designed like a 1950s soda shop. Through September 30 at Bela Dubby, 13321 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-221-4479. -- Lewis
ONGOING
Markus Pierson: Know Limit -- Painter-sculptor-writer Markus Pierson is known for his coyotes -- fun-loving, well-dressed, elongated, Joe Camel-like creatures inspired by the Joni Mitchell song "Coyote," which serve as ongoing allegories for humanity. They inhabit a dark, Tim Burton-like world, riding motorcycles and sipping martinis. Pierson often attaches texts with poetic observations about life or love. In "Know Limit," an oversized coyote pushes the edge of the frame while text relates the artist's surprise at his own success: "I can't believe what I've done, where I've been, and so I say to you these two simple words. Not no limit but know limit." Driving home the messages are small objects -- a pearl, for instance, in a painting called "Renaissance" that alludes to "pearls of wisdom" -- carefully set into the canvas. The obstacle to appreciating Pierson's work is its cartoonish appearance. Ingenious and unique as many of the pieces are, they would be oddities in anyone's home. (Consider "Homage to Magritte: This Is Not a Coyote," a Dadaist sculpture balanced on one foot, a train running through its body and a fish in its coat pocket.) Pierson's creations fetch big dollars; you'll probably be content just fetching a look. Through September 19 at the Contessa Gallery, 24667 Cedar Rd. (Legacy Village), Lyndhurst, 216-382-7800, www.contessagallery.com. -- Lewis
Sculpture Garden -- The small sculpture garden at Atmosphere's new Tremont digs is filled with engaging sights. Alex Stoll's burnt-steel dragonflies and squirrels hover over shrubbery like busy real-life creatures. A large insect with brightly colored metal bars for legs oversees the garden's back half. Near the front, Lothar Jobczyk's "Garden Spirits" -- sandstone blocks with craggy, totemic faces -- poke their heads above the plants; commendably, Jobczyk managed to give each one a personality without squandering their dense, stony qualities. But the sculptures by Frank Brozman and Jerry Schmidt are the kings of this jungle. Brozman's are abstract realizations in brown steel of familiar materials and physical processes. Ornate flower planters are among his more obvious examples, but he can be subtler: At first, his "Insatiable" looks like nothing more than a large flat piece of steel connected to its stand by a metal coil. Viewed from the side, however, it becomes a face and stomach trapped in a cycle of feeding and regurgitating. Schmidt's "Photogenic" compares in size to the giant insect, but surpasses it conceptually: A circle of blue steel punctures a large, flesh-colored plate, like a lens coming out of a camera. Not only does it evoke photography in this way; the whole, curvaceous, semi-animate thing appears to be posing for a picture. Atmosphere Gallery, 2379 Professor Ave., Suite 1, 216-685-9527. -- Lewis
The Sidekick Show -- He's scratching their backs, and they're scratching his. That's the idea behind this motley display of work by local artists organized by Pop Shop owner Richard Cihlar. Some artists, including Jeremy Mann and Joshua Shark, could hold their own at higher-profile locations. Mann earns the gallery's central display with an abstract watercolor on canvas titled "Current," which depicts a huge astral explosion in hues of peach and black. Shark scores with "Touch," a spectacularly detailed drawing in colored pencil of a hand with long fingernails resting on a plush green pillow; upon closer inspection, it might be a knotted tree stump with extended roots. In Shark's "Ada Chino Hanabi Takai," a pretty girl in a kimono smokes a cigarette beneath an ornately dappled sky dotted with fireworks; the visual conflict here between tradition and modernity is striking. Also visually remarkable is Tim Collins' "Shingles," a wonderfully blinding geometrical abstract best described as interlocking rows of multicolored zippers. Graffiti artist Bob Peck, woodcarver Joseph Smith, and Baroque-style printmaker Ginger Wankewycz -- some of Cihlar's other "sidekicks" -- also offer welcome contributions. Through September 17 at the Pop Shop, 17020 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-227-8440. -- Lewis
