In collaboration with the New Museum Ideas City Festival, gallery nine5 will host “Surge Protection,” a solo exhibition from Pop Realist Steve Ellis. Inspired by “renewable energy sources” and education through art, Ellis’ new paintings have a somewhat dystopian feel, depicting urban fables through “ripped magazines, disposable lighters, nesting birds, and a broken snow globe.” The goal is to transform the gallery into a space for “reflection on the future,” which, the works seem to suggest, is looking pretty grim. Be prepared for some freaky visualizations of the many potential ways that nature may ultimately kick NYC’s unsustainable ass. “Surge Protection,” Steve Ellis, May 1- May 31, gallery nine5, SoHo
