The mind’s eye

Often when you go into a gallery featuring three or so artists, you’ll pick a favorite based on personal taste or gut reaction. The problem with the current show at the Exploding Head Gallery at 924 12th Street, titled Naïve Perceptions, is that it’s hard to single any of them out. The fluid video installation by Lfour is perhaps the most instantly seductive, because of its moving images exploring how we sense night going into day, the coldness of machines, solitude and other abstract aspects of our daily lives, blended with music that moves along with a heartbeat momentum. Then, if you spend a second with Shannon Richardson’s personal, narrative-driven, dreamlike paintings, you have a hard time pulling yourself away. Also, the stark, skeleton-esque photographs by Pete Eckert are intriguing on their own, but once you find out that he’s legally blind, and the gallery owners explain a little of his process, the images take on a whole new meaning. Go ahead: Try to pick a favorite. The show ends February 28.