A current of anxiety and disquiet pulses through the work of the American artist Bill Adams, who makes paintings, drawings, and porcelain objects. His messages are wrapped up in satire, whimsy, and upturned symbolism, but his concern about the events and spirit of our time is urgent — and heartfelt.

The New York-based, Romanian-born artist, writer, and performer Ella Veres has just presented her cheecky-serious “Earth Burial” performance-art event over the Labor Day weekend on a grassy stretch of Governors Island in New York Harbor. Long live Mother Earth!

In a summertime, multi-artist exhibition at The Blacksmith’s Shop Gallery in a small town near York, in northern England, the British artist Sally Taylor’s mixed-media, abstract works made with repurposed cardboard stood out with their bold colors and strong sense of design and composition. Report by Cathy Ward.

The artist Stuart Shepherd, a New Zealander who lives in a coastal town south of Auckland, is a former art teacher and an avid researcher-collector in his country’s outsider art field. Recently, an extended stay in faraway Iowa, in the U.S.A., jump-started his creative mojo. Shepherd returned home with a batch of new paintings and ceramics — and a deep appreciation for the value of a good getaway.