Contributed by James J. A. Mercer / Mythological characters and creatures from antiquity populate Jennifer Coates�s beguiling solo show �Lesser Gods of Lakewood, PA� at High Noon Gallery on the Lower East Side. Dryads (wood nymphs) peer out of underbrush. Layers of washy acrylic carve out sapphire chambers for bacchanals. An LED Diana hunts herds. The references are not only mythological, however. The figures� proportions and contours trace long paths through art history, from Greco-Roman sculpture to Matisse’s nudes.
