Found objects have been a part of the artistic conversation at least since Marcel Duchamp, whose infamous “Fountain,” a recycled urinal, debuted in 1917 to quite a stir. An artist using found objects must lift the material from mundane to metaphorical. “Pure Smoke Culture,” a sharp, riveting group show at Anthony Greaney put together by artist Nick Kra-mer, spotlights work in which workaday stuff transcends trash without losing a grip on where it came from.

Sean Kennedy and Sarah Braman, will have work in the upcoming “PAINT THINGS: beyond the stretcher,” opening later this month at the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. That exhibition addresses how painting is moving in a sculptural direction.