On the Money

Mario Ybarra Jr., "Thug" (2008). Available at Lehmann Maupin for $7,000 (including Plexiglas and wood vitrine)

Through August 8, the L.A.-based artist and recent Whitney Biennial alumnus Mario Ybarra Jr. presents his latest brand-making installation, "The Black Squirrel Society," at Lehmann Maupin’s Bowery satellite.

These quirky sculptures, paintings, and custom-made objects cast a group of anthropomorphized black squirrels in an absurd but convincing ghettoized version of Dr. Seuss.

“Thug” is a hilarious but deadly vignette in which a bandana-wearing, gun-toting gangster holds up a gold-chain-clad homeboy.

Courtesy Lehmann Maupin