Kokoon Arts Gallery's Eternal Vibrations is an exhibition three generations in the making. Gallery owner William Scheele has assembled works by three artists — Ernie Horvath, Susan Squires, and Darren Waterston, born in the '20s, '40s, and '60s, respectively — who draw upon mystic spiritual traditions for their inspiration. "Each fits with the other two in some ways. They're all artists exploring the unknown, mostly not representationally," says Scheele. Horvath, who passed away last year, took a contemplative turn in the '70s, after his discovery of the Armenian spiritualist George Gurdjieff. His brilliantly colored, multilayered tessellations create the illusions of depth and movement. Waterston's images, though still abstract, are the most suggestive of objects: globule organic forms and great forbidding spaces like those imagined by French surrealist Yves Tanguy. Squires' encaustic paintings draw on the geometric mysticism of Kabala, but she is not beholden to its formality. Her works, including Pisa II (left), are partly intuitive, partly drawn from life. During a recent visit to her studio, Squires pointed to one austere shape inspired by a floor tiling pattern; made to stand for cosmic truths and primordial elements, the piece joins the mundane and the metaphysical. "We need to take a look at the sacredness of everything that exists in our world, and how we can perpetuate that feeling," she says. An opening reception will be held Friday, May 20, from 5 to 9 p.m. The show runs through July 9 at 1305 West 80th St. For more information, go to kokoonarts.com. — Joseph Clark
Akron Art Museum: M.C. Escher: Impossible Realities. This crowd-pleasing show features more than 130 of Escher's works, including such instantly recognizable pieces as "Drawing Hands." Extended through June 5. Also: All-Star Jazz. Jazz history comes to life in the black and white photography of Herman Leonard, who captured greats like Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra in moments of staged glory and private vulnerability. Through July 10 at 1 South High St.; call 330-376-9186 or go to akronartmuseum.org.
Artists Archives of the Western Reserve: May Members Show. Featuring works by 45 of AAWR's member artists, this show reflects the collective's depth of creativity and diversity of expression. Through June 17 at 1834 East 123rd St. Call 216-721-9020 or go to artistsarchives.org.
Bonfoey Gallery: In, Around & About. Painter Randall Tiedman creates sprawling, fantastic cityscapes based on the industrial districts of Cleveland. Though colored in rusty, muddy browns and shades of twilight, spare points of light suggest enduring and dynamic life. Through June 1 at 1710 Euclid Ave.; call 216-621-0178, or go to bonfoey.com.
Cleveland Museum of Art: The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Designed to illuminate the intricate connections between Chinese poetry and its reinterpretation as visual art by Japanese and Korean artists, this exhibition features 80 diverse works spanning nearly seven centuries; almost all of the pieces are drawn from the museum's preeminent collection. Through August 28. Also: Indian Kalighat Paintings. Highly stylized and brightly colored, these works were originally created as souvenirs for 19th-century tourists. Today, they are highly regarded as marking the beginning of modernism in Indian art. Through September 18 at 11150 East Blvd. in University Circle; call 216-421-7340 or visit clevelandart.org.
CSU Art Gallery: Presence. This exhibition features works in a variety of media by artists Phillip Buntin, Blake Cook, Jeesun Park, Dan Tranberg, and Lizbeth Wolfe. Opening reception May 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. Through June 18 at 2307 Chester Ave. Call 216-687-2103 or go to csuohio.edu/artgallery.
Harris Stanton Gallery: Extraordinary Environs. Artists Charlotte Lees and Linda Zehler approach nature through diverse media — sculpture and oil paintings — yet each comment on the relationship between humanity and nature. Through June 4 at 2310 West Market St. Call 330-867-0590 or go to harrisstantongallery.com
Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery: Transmutations. John Nativio exhibits paintings, drawings, and sculpture, including his signature surrealistic paintings of powdery pastel furniture and everyday objects containing miniature landscape scenes, meant to signify, among other things, the intended and unintended consequences of urbanization and the marginalizing of the rural and unspoiled. An opening reception will be held May 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the gallery, located at 1305 West 80th Street. The show runs through July 2. For more information, call 216-631-6719 or go to kennethpaullesko.com.
Legation: New Works. Gallery owner Hilary Aurand makes the familiar alien in her series of paintings examining the transformations of objects in the orange gloom of sunsets, and in nightime's manmade light. An opening reception will be held May 20 in the gallery from 5 to 11 p.m. at 1300 West 78th Street. The show runs through July 2. For more information, call 216-650-4201 or go to legationagallery.com.
O Gallery: On the Wall/Off the Wall: A Functional Art Show. Russian-born artist Alice Kiderman reasserts the value of art in hard times by producing a series of abstract sculptures with every-day functional applications. On May 21, an opening reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in the galley at 2101 Richmond Rd, Beachwood. The show runs through July 1. For more information call 330-921-1234 or go to kocustoms.com
Pop Shop Gallery: 6 Degress of Juxtaposition. The Pop Shop celebrates its sixth year with this retrospective featuring more than 20 artists, including some who were there at the beginning. Also: Connect the Dots. A "rad" exhibit at next-door's (art)ificial gallery inspired by the pop art of the '80s and '90s. Through June 4 at 17020 Madison Ave. in Lakewood; 216-227-8440, popshopgallery.com, or whatisartificial.com
River Gallery: Ceramics Invitational. Local ceramic artists of every stripe showcase a diverse selection of functional yet decorative pieces at this exhibition. Through June 11 at 19046 Old Detroit Rd. in Rocky River. all 440-331-8406 or go to rivergalleryarts.com.
The Sculpture Center: Locating Eden. Annie Strader combines sound, video, and subtly but profoundly altered everyday objects to embody, explore, and vindicate the experience of nostalgia. Also: Declarations of Truth. The discovery of historical revisionism inspired Elaine Hullihen to engineer this participatory piece providing a space for attendees to make their own "declarations" of truth from their perspective. Both shows run through June 4 at 1834 East 123rd St.; call 216-229-6527 or go to sculpturecenter.org.
Shaheen Gallery: Oil Studies 2006- 2010. Faris McReynolds' paintings range from caricatured representation to the expressionistic and borderline abstract, often featuring groups of bare-limbed young people in dynamic action. The exhibition continues through May 27 at 740 West Superior Ave. Call 216-830-8888 or go to shaheengallery.com for details.
SPACES: Pink Milk Mild. Rainbow Lightning, the creative duo of Chelsea Blackerby and Erica Hoosic, sew memories into a tunneled environment that is traveled and experienced rather than viewed. Also: All That Glitters. Tamar Harpaz combines sculpture and projection to create shifting patterns of line and shadow as part of a 9-week residency exploring parallels between Western and Israeli cultures. Also: Farmed: The New Agronomists. This hands-on educational exhibit seeks to de-romanticize farming via a series of workshops and lectures by international and local horticulturalists. All three of the exhibitions continue through July 10 at 2220 Superior Viaduct. For more information, call 216-621-2314 or go to spacesgallery.org.
Tregoning & Company: Aspects of Modern Life. Matt Dibble's abstract works use thick, muscular brushstrokes to transcribe a simple vocabulary of rough geometric forms from which emerge striking compositions. The exhibition continues through May 31 at Tregoning's North Gallery, 1300 West 78th St.; call 216-281-8626 or go to tregoningandco.com.
Zaller Gallery: Clampdown: Labor, Management, and the Recession. Twenty regional artists address issues of unemployment, wages, and the value of work, in hopes that through art they can contribute to the larger dialogue about labor-management dynamics. Noon to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through May 21 at 16006 Waterloo Rd.
William Busta Gallery: Memory's Witness: Pamela Dodds, known largely as a painter of pastel-bright but quietly dignified works, departs from the familiar with dark woodcuts exploring loss and anguish. Through June 9. Also Passionate Blessings: Mark Howard eschews narrative for a sequence of free-standing "signs" which refocus the viewer on the use of meaning in social interactions, media consumption, and personal reflection. Through June 1 at 2731 Prospect Ave. Call 216-298-9071 or go to williambustagallery.com.
Zygote Press: Three Artists: One Exquisite Wall. Corrie Slawson, Melissa Daubert, and Melinda Placko were given free access to a bare wall to build off of the others' contributions with paint, wire, and sculpting materials. See the result through June 11 at 1410 East 30th St.; call 216-621-2900 or go to zygotepress.com.
