Todd Norsten, “Safety Club”

Norsten is one of those Minneapolis painters whose many, quiet years spent with his nose to the grindstone are paying off with higher-profile recognition of late: a slot in the Whitney Biennial earlier this year and a new affiliation with a New York gallery. Some (okay, it’s those dealers in New York) associate Norsten and his cranky, caustic, and often quite funny paintings with the likes of Robert Ryman, Blinky Palermo, Richard Tuttle, and Philip Guston. We’d venture a certain affinity with Raymond Pettibon, if only because both artists have their own strange obsession with, and take on, phenomena that are distinctly American. 527 2nd Ave S.E., Minneapolis, 612-605-4504; www.midwaycontemporaryart.org”