RENAISSANCE MAN

Prolific British punk rocker Billy Childish, 52, has recorded more albums than the number of years he’s been alive (at last count, it was more than 120). But it’s his paintings that are the subject of this latest exhibition, titled I Am the Billy Childish, at Lehmann Maupin Gallery. Often compared to Edvard Munch and van Gogh, Childish uses swirling brushstrokes to create a range of quiet subjects, from shepherd boys in the field to mountain climbers. In other words, the work may not strike you as especially “rock ’n’ roll.” But don’t think curator Matthew Higgs forgot the punk: Upstairs is a display of the versatile artist’s gritty records, books, and poems.

Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m. Starts: Jan. 10. Continues through Jan. 21, 2012