David Lyle’s collection “Everyone’s a Critic,” is his latest contribution to the broad field of photorealism. “Everyone’s a Critic” is currently on display at the Lyons Wier Gallery on West 24th Street.

The gallery presents itself as a historic revisionism of sorts, presenting pictures reminiscent of the ’50s and ’60s that have been altered to add a dimension of subversiveness. One could easily assume that the gallery was created from photos that were simply painted over, but closer examination reveals that it is actually all painted. Lyle’s ability to create lifelike humans figures is astonishing, yet the paintings are just stylized enough to create a middle ground between the real iconic images and the realm of the surreal.

The Lyons Wier Gallery is a rather small gallery, with 12 works placed in a single white room. Most of the pieces seek to comment on the process of critiquing and selling art. For example, a work titled “The Masterpiece” has three children taking notes for a canvas that only has the words “This is Important” on it. A standout piece was “The Forgery,” which depicts a monkey creating Pollock-like work

The works’ angsty, antagonistic vibe give the gallery the proper tools to make this type of modern art a success. In this sense, the works are angry and mostly hostile toward the traditional idea of art.

The use of graffiti throughout the piece also contributes to the anti-establishment theme. Half of the works have some form of graffiti scribbled on them, which is bothapt and impressive, given that Lyle had to paint the artwork. In this context, it is fitting to make an extraordinary yet believable contrast with the real pictures. Most iconic images of the era — mostly in the 1950s and 1960s — always seemed to have this pristine, idyllic mood that captured the homogenized white-picket-fence attitude that came to define the post-war era. The use of graffiti art subverts that era with its outlandish, weird look.

Despite its small size, “Everyone’s a Critic” presents immensely creative, energetic works. The entirely black and white exhibit succeeds in bringing forth its artist’s colorful personality, and Lyle definitely captures the mindset of this style.

“Everyone’s a Critic” is on display in the Lyons Wiers Gallery on 542 W. 24th St. until March 14.

A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Feb. 25 print edition. Email Carter Glace at [email protected].