Top five shows: Nov 29–Dec 5, 2012

The best of the week in art.

By Howard Halle Thu Nov 29 2012

Photograph: Courtesy Cleveland Museum of Art

George Bellows at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Though Bellows is generally considered the greatest 20th-century American Realist after Edward Hopper, this survey provides a much-needed reappraisal of his career, showing that his work was all about America’s rawboned dynamism. Through Feb 18
Photograph: Courtesy the artist

Vaginal Davis, “HAG–small, contemporary, haggard” at Participant Inc
The irrepressible queercore performer presents her first major solo exhibition of visual art. Through Dec 16
Photograph: Courtesy Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Keltie Ferris at Mitchell-Innes & Nash Gallery
This young Brooklyn painter and Yale M.F.A. grad combines acrylic, oil and spray paint into allover compositions with the visual impact of street art. Thu 29–Jan 12
Photograph: Courtesy Paul Kasmin Gallery

David LaChapelle, “Still Life” at Paul Kasmin Gallery
The creepy meets the uncanny in the celeb photog’s latest images of shattered waxwork figures, including effigies of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Michael Jackson. Through Jan 19
Photograph: Courtesy Gladstone Gallery

Huang Yong Ping at Gladstone Gallery
This founding member of China’s Xiamen Dada group presents new works, tackling such topics as order and chaos, religion and power, and art’s relationship to each. Through Jan 19

Photograph: Courtesy Cleveland Museum of Art

George Bellows at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Though Bellows is generally considered the greatest 20th-century American Realist after Edward Hopper, this survey provides a much-needed reappraisal of his career, showing that his work was all about America’s rawboned dynamism. Through Feb 18