In previous times, writers like Joan Didion and Walker Percy anticipated a looming disintegration of American life and culture that never quite came to pass. What we got instead was global warming and the natural and technological disasters we have come to know all too well. Hurricanes, floods and oil spills have had a bracing effect on the art of Krista Jurasich, whose flair for reconfiguring chaos into distinctive collages and mixed media concoctions is evident in works like Round Town, top, even as she takes a socially critical turn

Although every New Orleanian experienced a Katrina odyssey of sorts, Justin Forbes lived first hand what many only saw on TV. After long days in the Superdome, he and his girlfriend ended up in Denton, Texas, where they made a new life and got “right with God.” If his pre-K paintings resembled an insider's view of hipster life not unlike a localized update of Jack Kerouac's ON THE ROAD, the work in this new show is similar yet somehow different. The crazies and riffraff that populate his paintings are much the same, but it no longer feels like an insider perspective. Here a sense of new beginnings is palpable, and it will be interesting to see where this new odyssey takes him. ~Bookhardt
The Theatre of Cultural Strata: Mixed Media Works by Krista Jurisich, Through May 2
Halcyon Days: Paintings by Justin Forbes, Through May 8
Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, 400A Julia St., 522-5471; www.jonathanferraragallery.com