EXHIBITIONS

CENTER FOR jEWISH hISTORY, Yeshiva University Museum: A JEWISH ARTIST’S JOURNEY HOME, A spiritual and geographic journey traces photo-realist Max Ferguson’s roots back to his great grandparents in Eastern Europe. Memoir-like notes accompany the artist’s paintings which capture images and sites integral to New York and Jewish culture in the U.S. and Europe. Thru Jan. 29.

The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster St., 212-219-2166: PERSISTENT VESTIGES, Drawings from the American-Vietnam War; Features American artists actively involved in questioning the war, artists who traveled with the North Vietnamese Army during the war and young Vietnamese-American artists who address the war and its aftermath; Thru Feb. 11. ACUTE ZONAL OCCULT OUTER: SELECTIONS WINTER 2006, An exhibition that brings together drawing, sculpture, action, endurance and sound art through a combination of installation and performance works by nine international artists. The exhibition aims to make visible the often unseen threads that connect installation art and live art. Opening reception Jan. 6 from 6pm -8pm. Continues thru Feb. 11.

Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., bet. 5th & 6th Aves., 917-606-8200: AMERICAN JEWISH LIVES, 1654 to the present, The profiles offer a glimpse at ways to define the balance between American and Jewish as devised by nine American lives from the colonial period to the late 20th century; Thru Dec. 30.

DENISE bIBRO fINE aRT, 529 W. 20th St., 4th floor, 212-647-7030: HEAD OVER HAND, Pushing the limits of paint. Featuring works by Kathleen Kucka, Greg Stone, William Wood and more. Thru Jan. 28.

Educational Alliance Art Gallery, 197 East Broadway, 212-780-2300 x378: BIRDS AND INSECTS, Metal sculpture made from found objects such as forks, knives, spoons, nails and bolts by Martin Holiday. Thru Jan. 14.

JUNE KELLY GALLERY, 591 Broadway,212-226-1660: ANOTHER LIFE, This collection of paintings and watercolors is the first New York exhibition by poet, playwright, essayist and Nobel Laureate Derek Wolcott. Thru Dec. 30. ANAM CARA, An exhibition of paintings by Posoon Park Sun that display a magical realist style and reveals Park Sung as a consummate dreamer and symbolist. Jan. 6 – Feb. 7.

KENKELEBA GALLERY, 214 2nd Ave. 212-674-3939: AFFIRMATIONS OF LOVE: AL LOVING 1935- 2005, a memorial exhibition consisting of nine large works spanning the years 1969-2004 and four of the works Loving was constructing when he became suddenly ill this past April. Thru Dec. 31.

LOCATION ONE, 26 Greene St. 212-334-3347: SOMNAMBULIC, Recent sculpture, video and photographs by Canadian artist Martin Beauregard. Thru Feb. 4.

Lower East Side Tenement Museum, 90 Orchard St., 212-431-0233, www.tenement.org: VISITORS’ CENTER, Tour carefully restored tenement apartments and learn about the lives of actual past residents. Thru June 14, view "Coming Home," an installation of art work by artist Aresh Javadi and English as a Second Language students that illuminates the concerns of immigrants today.

New York Downtown Hospital, 170 William St., Main Lobby: WINDOW COLLECTION II, Recent work created for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Swing Space Residency Program by Pamela Lawton. Thru Jan. 12.

NEW YORK STUDIO SCHOOL OF DRAWING PAINTING AND SCULPTURE, 8 W. 8th St. 212-673-6466: MILTON RESNICK: LATE WORKS, thirty works on paper from Resnick’s final years. These previously unexhibited works explore his last theme, the X-space. Thru Feb. 4.

Pratt Manhattan Gallery, l144 W. 14 St.: SPEAK – NINE CARTOONISTS, An exhibition that celebrates the current golden age of North American comics with a diverse group of comic book artists represented. Opening reception is Jan. 19 from 6-8 p.m. Continues thru Feb. 25.

RAMAKRISHNANANDA CENTER, 96 Avenue B, 646-436-7010: SACRED ART COLLECTION, A gallery of Far East Art portraying gods and demigods, deities, mythological narratives, sacred characters and meditative items from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Ave. 212-255-7740: THUMB-BOX SHOW, Featuring small paintings and drawings in oil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic and graphics. Thru Dec. 30. Free.

Soho Photo, 15 White St., 212-226-8571: PORTRAITS, PORTRAITS, PORTRAITS, A series of portraits taken by 15 members of the Soho Photo Gallery designed to show the artists’ varied approaches to the art of portraiture. Thru Dec. 31.

Staley Wise Gallery, 560 Broadway.212-966-6223: David LaChapelle: Pictures for ITALIAN VOGUE, A collection of color photographs that combine LaChapelle’s genius for invention with the polish and elegance of fashion photography. Thru Jan. 28.

Sunshine Factory Café and Gallery, 11 Essex St. 212-420-7240: CAST OF CHARACTERS: Part II, An exhibit of comic and comic-inspired artwork by over twenty artists that challenges the parameters of conventional comic art. Thru Dec. 31.

Washington square windows, 80 Washington Square East: UPROOTED, Artist Hyungsub Shin presents twisted tendrils of wire that climb up walls in an interlaced, sylvan domain. Much like the twining tree roots that inspired their creation, these plastic-coated filaments cling to all surfaces. On display 24 hours a day thru Feb. 6.

Westbeth Gallery, 55 Bethune St., 212-989-4650: HOLIDAY SHOW, Part Two, Painting, Watercolor and Fine Art Prints. Thru Jan. 1.