Technically, James Benjamin Franklin is a painter. But the artist also makes the canvases he paints. As he told Bomb in 2019, “Being gnarly with textures and materials led to the idea of making my own canvases with foam core and epoxy.” For recent works, he’s made “canvases” from used carpets, bath mats, and kitchen rags. Inspired by Alexander Calder, Agnes Martin, and Shirley Jaffe, Franklin paints his textural pieces with bright, geometric shapes. His third solo show is staged in the city where he lives and works: Detroit. —J.D.