Spring is here and so are some compelling new exhibitions in Chelsea. Highlights this week included Pinaree Sanpitak’s Mats and Pillows and Vessels, a relaxing escape from the urban landscape with a sitting area installation that invites visitors to take a moment to sit and enjoy their surroundings in a zen-like matter, amongst a series of the artist’s ever-varying geometric vessel drawings. Pete Dreher’s exhibition Behind the Mirror at Koenig + Clinton celebrates the veteran artist’s masterful variations on the human skull, a keystone of art history as well as Dreher’s oeuvre. Another standout exhibition was Melvin Edwards’ In Oklahoma at Alexander Gray Associates, featuring sculptures composed of found industrial materials – chains, barbed wire, and steel parts – from Oklahoma scrap yards. The pieces dangle from the ceiling, fill walls and cross corners, offering a powerful statement about the rural African American experience during the twentieth century.