ART

THE PASSION OF ARMENTIA An exhibit of works by Gustavo López Armentía, on view at the Reece Galleries, has been extended through next month. The Argentinean artist is best known for his mixed-media paintings, bas-reliefs, and sculptures. In his 11th solo show at the gallery, Mr. Armentía combines stark simplicity with high detail, often painting tiny human figures onto knives and forks and stretching his steel sculptures into wiry lines. The artist’s process involves pouring a mixture of marble dust, quartz powder, cement, gesso, and other elements into a mold, then casting it. While it is still wet, he paints and sculpts into it, sometimes incorporating found objects and photo transfers that follow his frequent narrative of dreams, travel, and immigration. Through Saturday, February 9, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Reece Galleries, 24 W. 57th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-333-5830, free.

YOUNG AT HEART Khalif Kelly makes his New York debut with his first solo exhibit, “Recess.” Mr. Kelly counts Jacob Lawrence and George Pal among his influences, and his brightly colored figures bear that out. The images on view recall the artist’s early childhood interactions with youngsters his own age, and the rituals that make those experiences memorable, if a bit awkward. Through Sunday, February 10, Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Thierry Goldberg Projects, 5 Rivington St., between Chrystie Street and the Bowery, 212-967-2260, free.

SOMEWHERE OUT THERE Photographer Jaishri Abichandani immigrated to Queens from India when she was 14. Her latest work, featured in the exhibit “Reconciliations,” speaks directly to her migration experience. Ms. Abichandani creates collages from appropriated photographs of cities, employing Photoshop software to build scenes that address social and political issues. Through Sunday, March 23, Wednesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon–5 p.m., Queens Museum of Art, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Grand Central Parkway and Roosevelt Avenue, 718-592-9700, $5 general, $2.50 seniors, free for children.

EYE ON SOUTH AMERICA In the exhibit “New Perspectives in Latin American Art, 1930–2006: Selections from a Decade of Acquisitions,” the Museum of Modern Art turns its focus to the early rise and development of the Constructivist movement in Latin America — a movement that concentrated on infusing politics and social issues into art. But as John Goodrich wrote in the November 29 New York Sun, “Visitors expecting abundant signs of social ferment … will be disappointed. Many of the drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, and sculptures have an introspective, cosmopolitan air, though tinged with an earthier lyricism than their North American and European counterparts.” Through Monday, February 25, Saturday–Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Friday, 10:30 a.m.–8 p.m., MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-708-9400, $20 general, $16 seniors, $12 students, free for children and members.

FAMILY

THE PLANT DOCTOR In “The Life and Work of George Washington Carver,” the New York Botanical Garden celebrates the remarkable work of this black botanist and researcher. After cotton crops were devastated by disease and insect damage, Carver taught former slaves how to plant alternative crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. The botanical garden is housing this exhibit in its Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, including “lab” experiments focusing on the various uses of the crops Carver espoused. Tuesday–Friday, 1:30–4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, through Friday, February 22, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m., NYBG, 2466 Arthur Ave. at 200th Street and Kazimiroff Boulevard, the Bronx, 718-817-8700, $13 general, $11 students and seniors, $5 children (2–12 years), free for children under 2 and members.

MUSIC

HUNGRY FOR BRAHMS Violinist Viviane Hagner gives a recital at the 92nd Street Y. The performance comes on the heels of Ms. Hagner’s debut with the New York Philharmonic earlier this month. Russian pianist Tatiana Goncharova joins the Munich-born Ms. Hagner. She performs three selections by Brahms — Scherzo in C minor, “Hungarian Dances,” and a world premiere of Detlev Glanert’s arrangement of waltzes, Op. 39 — as well as Bartok’s Sonata for Solo Violin and Bach’s Chaconne in D minor. Tomorrow, 8 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $40 general, $25 for ages 35 and under.

MENDELSSOHN AND MORE The chamber music ensemble Lautreamont Concerts performs a program of Mendelssohn at the Chelsea Art Museum. The program features two works written before the composer had reached the age of 30: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor and String Quartet No. 3. Pianist Steven Graff also performs a musical intermission of works by Fauré and Satie. Other members of the ensemble — all international soloists from the Juilliard School and the Paris and Moscow conservatories — include violinists Steven Zynszajn and Francisco Salazar, cellist Alistair MacRae, and violist Whitney LaGrange. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Chelsea Art Museum, 556 W. 22nd St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-255-0719, $15 general, $10 students and seniors.

PHOTOGRAPHY

LAST MOMENTS Nicholas Nixon’s latest portraiture series, “Patients,” was completed over a three-year period, with Mr. Nixon visiting three hospitals in the Boston area and photographing patients suffering from serious illnesses, and their families. Mr. Nixon is best known for his ongoing collection “The Brown Sisters,” in which every year since 1975 he has photographed his wife and her three sisters. Selections from “Patients” include “Jim, Ben and Cian Crowley, Boston” (2007), above. Through Saturday, February 16, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Yossi Milo Gallery, 525 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-414-0370, free.

READINGS

EAST SIDE STORY “Lower East Side Stories,” presented by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, offers audience members an opportunity to weave tales about their own memories of the historic neighborhood. The session is led by H.R. Britton, a local storyteller and monologist, whose most recent monologue, “From Madison to Madurai: 134 Days in Mother India,” details a four-month stay in the subcontinent. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Lower East Side Tenement Museum, 108 Orchard St. at Delancey Street, 212-982-8420, free.

TALKS

OWNING JAZZ The director of the jazz studies program at Rutgers University, Lewis Porter, leads a panel of jazz experts in a discussion that asks, “Is Jazz Black Music?” and probes the history of the genre. Mr. Porter is the author of “John Coltrane: His Life and Music” (University of Michigan). The assembled panelists debate the provenance of jazz and question whether any one group can lay claim to it. While jazz has been considered a black innovation, some historians argue that certain elements of jazz, such as improvisation and call-and-response, have their roots in other cultures and musical forms. Speakers include clarinetist Don Byron, saxophonist Daniel Carter, and a longtime critic and columnist for the Village Voice, Nat Hentoff. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Irene Diamond Education Center, Broadway at 60th Street, 212-721-6500, $10.

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