The Japan Society shows off the pop art influence of classic Japanese prints.

This is no Instagram filter.

Richard Serra’s massive sculptures may be the purview of public art commissions and the Eli Broads of the world, but not every Serra consists of one hundred tons of bent steel.

What is a family? One old lady? Fifteen fruit trees and a big cactus garden?

Recent exhibitions are revealing a seeming divergence in what art is intended for. On the one hand, there are Damien Hirst spot paintings scattered throughout Larry Gagosian’s global franchise in a spectacular staging of world domination through art—a show/ploy that sits tentatively on the fine line between art and pure marketing. On the other, smaller arts organizations like the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts zeroes in on socially relevant issues and promotes art as activism through programs and exhibitions, such as their current Sound of Silence: Art During Dictatorship (on view January 27 through March 10). It then came as a pleasant surprise to discover what MoMA has in store for the next few months.