Benjamin Butler started painting trees about 15 years ago. At first they appeared in recognizable landscapes, sometimes with snowy mountains or by the sea, but they quickly shed their worldliness in favor of a minimal, partly abstracted tree-ness with which they could also masquerade as multicolored snake skins, veiny leaves backlit by the sun, or esoteric chemical diagrams.

In his latest show, at Klaus von Nichtssagend, Mr. Butler has narrowed his focus even further, to thrillingly psychedelic effect: His work now seems balanced on a razor blade between Conceptual practice and “The Starry Night,” but at the same time, somehow, it has ample room to move. Read More