"The gallery scene on Manhattan's Lower East Side

LISA COOLEY, one of a bunch of galleries now gathering on Orchard Street, is showing colorful work by a Texas sculptor named Andy Coolquitt. Sitting somewhere between found-object assemblage and eco-friendly design, Coolquitt's works tend toward head-high sticks that lean against the wall, often with fixtures and light bulbs attached -- as though he'd had to cobble together a floor lamp from fragments of old canes, broom handles and piping. The smallest, simplest work in the show somehow manages to hold its own, and provoke a smile: It's nothing more than a tiny swatch of aquamarine nylon, less than an inch by an inch, pinned in place with a clear-plastic thumbtack. If there's already too much junk in our consumerist world, Coolquitt manages to add as little to it as possible -- without entirely abandoning the material pleasures of art. At 34 Orchard St. through June 27. Call 212-680-0564 or visit http://www.lisa-cooley.com."

-Blake Gopnik