Photographer Nick Stern stages eight real-life versions of Banksy’s most iconic stencils.

There’s been a recent surge in defiant, conceptually-driven work coursing through the contemporary art community in Miami: the fancies of dictators, Suprematist echoes, environmental outcry, deadened didactics, and disused technologies have all come forward. As the season draws to a thunderous close, artists and gallerists alike are making sure they’re taking an audible, pre-Basel deep breath.

Both halves of Ryan McGinley’s bi-pronged photographic practice can currently be seen in two different exhibitions on view this month at Team Gallery. It’s the first time Team has given over both its locations to a single artist since opening its second location on Wooster Street last year.

At first glance, it seems certain that either a cast of a glacier, a mountain, or a cumulus cloud has invaded Houston’s Rice University Art Gallery. Yet upon closer inspection (which is encouraged), the installation actually consists of mere sheets of plastic suspended from the ceiling with nylon thread and wisps of black hot glue.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), we can’t all afford to go to art school. But now there’s a much cheaper way to learn from the likes of John Baldessari or Liam Gillick. The Brooklyn-based contemporary art journal Paper Monument, a sister publication of literary magazine n + 1, has released Draw It with Your Eyes Closed: The Art of the Art Assignment, which proves that the studio classroom isn’t the only place to learn about making art.

An art historian and an art editor have teamed up to produce Information Graphics, a new Taschen publication (slated for release on May 27) that encyclopedically chronicles the images that make sense of the torrent of data rushing past us. The book itself provokes information overload with four hundred infographics about subjects from sleep to politics and four essays about the history of graphic design. Preview a few highlights from the collection below.

One year ago, a curious intervention popped up overnight on the Williamsburg Bridge: egg-shaped swatches of green, yellow, blue, maroon, purple, red, and blood-orange lined the beams above the bike lane, a subtle yet peppy addition to commutes and weekend rides. Such is the work of Brooklyn-based artist Peter Brock, who founded the ongoing project known as Baji Lives! with the M.O. of brightening public spaces (and eliciting the occasional smile).

Marissa Textor and Ryan Travis Christian are not only long-time friends, but also share a serious love for graphite. Textor’s painstakingly photorealistic graphite drawings depict forces of nature at their most ruthless and unsympathetic. Christian makes work that mix ’30s cartoons with ’80s design, evoking reactions ranging from humor to disgust.

Once a heavily industrial area, Long Island City has been experiencing rapid change over the past few years. As many formerly commercial neighborhoods are being rezoned as residential, community activists and developers are at odds as to the best way to reinvigorate the area. Among the most contested issues is the development of the waterfront, which is both a vital public space and plum property for high-rise residential construction.

British artist Tacita Dean is widely recognized for her work in a quickly disappearing medium: 16mm film.

A new monograph marks the tenth anniversary of Henrik Vibskov’s eponymous label and examines his twisted yet compelling creative vision.

Among the many and varied pieces on show at this year’s New York Frieze Art Fair were several works by Indian-born British sculptor Anish Kapoor. Kapoor, who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since beginning his career, had three pieces on show, under the representation of the Lisson Gallery.