You’ve very likely seen Tom Otterness’s trademark figures—a carnivalesque collection of mischievous characters—without even knowing it. His permanent installation entitled Life Underground (2004), which fills the 14th Street/8th Avenue subway station, often prompts hasty New Yorkers and tourists alike to stop and snap a picture, or watch tenderly as their children attempt to converse with a statue.

Ozbolt’s new exhibition at Hauser & Wirth, Ozbolt manipulates art-historical categories and source materials that rework traditional expectations about painting. He alludes to the punk aesthetic that I consider understated subversion—irreverence combined with a sophisticated and technically proficient practice.