The cobblestones and starchitect-designed condo buildings lining Chelsea’s gallery district are an unlikely destination for those looking to commune with nature. Yet, at Hauser & Wirth’s latest exhibition, “The Flesh of the Earth,” curated by Enuma Okoro, that’s exactly what they’ll find. The photography, paintings, sculpture, and, crucially, poetry and literature on view explores works by Rashid Johnson, Lorna Simpson, Jenny Holzer, Olafur Eliasson, and more as a conduit for better understanding our relationship with the natural world.

One of the most resonant ways this is illustrated is at the show’s midpoint. A dramatic Lorna Simpson screenprint evokes standing at the edge of a cliff face, peering into the ocean below. Nearby, a massive limestone bench by Holzer is inscribed with “Rapture screamed towards the clouds,” a line excerpted from Anna Świrszczyńska’s poem “Earth and Sky” in Building The Barricade, a book of poetry about serving as a nurse during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Hayley Mellin’s hyperreal painting Cerro Amay, Guatemala depicts detritus in the mountainous cloud forest the painting is named for. Each work is captivating on their own, the deeper context behind them illuminating, and taken in together, they offer reassurance that despite death, war, age, and humanity’s continued incursions into nature, she perseveres.

It’s a gobsmacking debut for Okoro, a writer, educator, and now curator. Few curators begin by working with the likes of Johnson, Simpson, Holzer, and Eliasson, but more than that, Okoro teamed with the gallery to provide a library of thematic texts and a dedicated reading area within the show. It invites viewers to plumb a literary collection including Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider, poetry anthology Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry, Kathryn Yusoff’s A Billion Black Anthropocenes or None, and come back again to see how their understanding of the artworks has evolved.

Surface spoke with Okoro on her curatorial debut, the interplay between visual art and literature, and her recommended reading.

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Our Valentine’s Day gift guide is geared toward a discerning consumer who, like us, tends to cringe at the thought of a sappy Hallmark holiday. Spanning everything from Luis Morais’s locket necklace and Venus et Fleur’s floral-shaped champagne flutes to uplifting prints inspired by a Marina Abramović manifesto, our selections are covetable and on-theme, sans the cheese. Which is to say, any of the items on this list are desirable no matter what day it is.

Schlepping around an airport usually isn’t synonymous with words like “warm,” “soothing,” and “indulgent,” but those exactly come to mind with LaGuardia’s new Chase Sapphire lounge designed by Icrave and Corgan. The space channels spa-like bliss with cascading greenery, oak-slatted walls, and plush, enveloping seating in common co-working spaces, lounge areas, and private suites.

Giant tree-like sculptures in the bar and dining room relieve the din of travel and forge a more peaceful air—if only until the next boarding call. Also of note: a “secret” vintage arcade gives the chance to blow off steam with a round of pinball or shuffleboard. For the privacy-inclined, bookable Reserve suites offer an enviable environment in the form of exclusive menus, hotel-inspired comfort, and rain showers with towel warmers.

Our weekly roundup of the internet’s most preposterous headlines, from the outrageous to the outright bizarre.

Ranch-Flavored Lip Balm Was an April Fool’s Joke. Now It’s Sold Out. [Washington Post]

San Francisco Tried to Build a $1.7 Million Toilet. It’s Still Not Done. [New York Times]

The Internet Is Trauma-Dumping on Elmo [The Hollywood Reporter]

Pennsylvania Man Arrested After Allegedly Killing His Father and Displaying His Decapitated Head on YouTube [NBC]

Indian Police Clear a Suspected Chinese Spy Pigeon After 8 Months in Bird Lockup [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

60-Year-Old Woman Compacted by Garbage Truck After Falling Into a Dumpster [Jalopnik]

The wondrously ornate Tiffany-inspired lamps made by Autumn Casey enchant like stained glass, but they’re actually more akin to painting. Animated by charming canopies of apple blossom, wisteria, sunflowers, and pond lilies, the Miami designer’s illuminated sculptures gather elegantly around light and always evoke emotion, whether adorned with hand-painted fabrics from her dollmaker grandmother’s collection or depicting two detachable songbirds perched beneath a verdant shade.

This week, the Whitney Museum of American Art celebrated its annual Art Party, where young patrons, emerging artists, and guests from the worlds of art, fashion, business, philanthropy, and entertainment gathered for a lively evening in support of the museum’s renowned Independent Study Program. Guests congregated in the museum’s ground floor in the Kenneth C. Griffin Hall for a botanical-themed evening of dancing, Casa Dragones cocktails and signature mocktails by Natalie Ball and Kambui Olujimi, and DJ sets by MGMT and Samantha Urbani.

When was it? Jan. 30

Where was it? Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

Who was there? Scott Rothkopf, Salman Toor, Alice Gao, Eny Lee Parker, Beverly Nguyen, Hannah Gottlieb-Graham, Wes Gordon, Olivia Palermo, Cynthia Rowley, Ashley Longshore, Ethan James Green, and Lola Flash.

Ornare, well-established in the design market with a decades-long tradition of craftsmanship, brings legacy in architecture, design, and décor to customized luxury built-in furnishings. Specializing in utility and craft to outfit luxury residences, the brand is based on high standards, state-of-the-art technology, and quality.

Surface Says: With its numerous collaborations and reach across global epicenters of culture, Ornare’s status as a leader in built-in furnishings is a no-brainer.

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Maurice Sendak’s studio remains exactly how he left it—teeming with wild things.

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