Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Monday, June 19–August 11
Carsten Höller’s Giant Triple Mushrooms (2010). © Carsten Höller.
1. “Carsten Höller: Reason” at Gagosian
Cartsen Höller hasn’t been back to New York since his hit 2011 New Museum show. For his eagerly awaited return, Gagosian promises a playful array of “towering mushroom collages, a maze of mirrored panels, abstract paintings, hyperreal little fishes, [and] an environment for children in the form of a huge dice.” The gallery almost certainly has an Instagram hit on its hands.
Location: Gagosian, 555 West 24th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Tuesday, June 20
Lee Friedlander, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (1996). Courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery.
2. “Lee Friedlander with Giancarlo T. Roma: Passion Projects” at the New York Public Library
Pioneering American photographer and bookmaker Lee Friedlander speaks with his grandson Giancarlo T. Roma at the New York Public Library. It’s the artist’s first time speaking in public in more than 30 years, and is timed to the revival of his self-publishing company, Haywire Press, now offering new editions of Friedlander’s work, which has documented life across the US from the 1950s through today.
Location: New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Celeste Bartos Forum, 476 Fifth Avenue at West 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue
Price: $40
Time: 7 p.m.–9 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Jillian Mayer. Courtesy of the artist.
3. “Summer of Know: Artist Jillian Mayer and Lawyer Carrie Goldberg Talk Online Sexual Harassment” at the Guggenheim
Online sexual harassment is one of the most pressing issues to arise in the Internet era, and in the first event in the Guggenheim’s Summer of Know programs, artist/filmmaker Jillian Mayer and Carrie Goldberg, victim’s rights lawyer, will be at the Guggenheim for a discussion of the problem. Joining them are Guggenheim artistic director Nancy Spector and chief curator David Stockman.
Location: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue
Price: Free with admission, but seating is limited
Time: 6:30 p.m.
—Brian Boucher
Tuesday, June 20–Friday, June 23
Shamier Johnson, Four Flowers. Courtesy of Shamier Johnson.
4. “P.S. Art 2017: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of NYC Kids” in Times Square
The Times Square Advertising Coalition has teamed up with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to present 27 works of art from New York City public school children on the Clear Channel Spectacolor sign. The display is timed to the Met’s annual juried exhibition “P.S. Art 2017: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of NYC Kids” (June 13–October 29), now in its tenth year. The 103 works on view were chosen from over 1,000 works by students ranging from pre-K through 12th grade.
Location: Times Square, West 43rd and 44th Streets on Broadway
Price: Free
Time: 2 p.m. June 20; four minutes per hour beginning 12 a.m. June 21
—Sarah Cascone
Tuesday, June 20–Thursday, August 31
Alessandra Sanguinetti, Camila (1999). Image © Alessandra Sanguinetti.
5. “Women Seeing Women” at Staley-Wise Gallery
Staley-Wise Gallery and Magnum Photos present “Women Seeing Women,” an exhibition that includes 12 photographers from the Magnum Photo cooperative working in documentary and fashion photography, along with 12 photographers from across the world, who focus on the arenas of editorial and advertising photography. The dialogue that arises from the juxtaposition of these artists reveals a complex and wide-ranging vision of femininity across the world.
Location: 100 Crosby Street, Suite 305
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Wednesday, June 21–Friday, August 18
Sophie Calle’s The Blind. Sheep, Delon, my mother (1986). Courtesy Perrotin.
6. “Fond Illusions” at Galerie Perrotin
A group show featuring an array of artists—both art world veterans and emerging talents, including Kathryn Andrews, Sophie Calle, Leslie Hewitt, Bharti Kher, Alicja Kwade, B. Ingrid Olson, Cornelia Parker, Gala Porras-Kim, and Tatiana Trouve. The works on display encompass a broad range of themes and include photography, sculpture, and installation; each of the works has been selected for its unique approach and unconventional materials that reveal new perspectives on viewing two-dimensional and three-dimensional works.
Location: 130 Orchard Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Wednesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. *Beginning July 10, summer hours will be Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Wednesday, June 21–Sunday, August 20
7. “Ugo Rondinone: I ♡ John Giorno” at Multiple Locations
On the evening of June 21, the summer solstice, 13 institutions across NYC will celebrate a collaborative exhibition of the artist John Giorno, organized by his husband, Ugo Rondinone. Giorno is a poet and performance artist, and was the subject of Andy Warhol’s iconic Sleep film. The sprawling show “unfolds in 18 chapters, each a distinct exhibition sited in a non-profit or alternative space in Manhattan. Every chapter takes the form of an immersive installation designed by Rondinone and dedicated to a body of work, an interest, a relationship or a collaboration that has marked Giorno’s life.” Events will continue to take place over the course of the exhibition; visit the dedicated website for complete information.
Location: Howl! Happening, Hunter College Art Gallery, The Kitchen, Red Bull Arts New York, Swiss Institute, White Columns, 80WSE Gallery
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 5 p.m.–8 p.m.; hours vary
—Caroline Goldstein
Thursday, June 22–Friday, July 28
Miguel Calderón, installation view of “Caída Libre“, 2017. Image courtesy of the artist.
8. “Miguel Calderón: Caída libre (Free fall)” at Luhring Augustine
Exhibited in collaboration with kurimanzutto, Mexico City, “Caida Libre” follows a man living amidst violence and strife, who temporarily escapes his vicious lifestyle when he takes his falcon hunting every morning. In the foreground of the installation, Calderon has assembled abandoned falcon perches, signifying the loss of the animal—and the hope that it will return.
Location: 25 Knickerbocker Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, *Wednesday, June 21 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Wednesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Meschac Gaba, Glue Me Peace – We beg for Peace (2005). Image courtesy of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.
9. Meschac Gaba at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
Although the specifics regarding this show of are not yet known, any presentation of the contemporary African artist is worth checking out. Meschac Gaba is a conceptual artist whose masterwork to date is the Museum of Contemporary African Art (1997–2002). Comprised of 12 individual parts, the work evolved as a sort of biographical lens on African culture, impacting Gaba’s own personal life, and drawing from the generalities of black experience in the West.
Location: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, 521 West 21st Street
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Thursday, June 22–Friday, August 11
Wendell Castle’s Dante’s Heaven (2015).
10. Wendell Castle: Embracing Upheaval at Friedman Benda
Designer Wendell Castle continues to blur the boundaries between furniture and sculpture with two new bodies of work. The more abstract “Freeform” series is inspired by music, while the artist uses wood to create the slab-like pieces that make up his “Block” series.
Location: 515 West 26th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Photo: courtesy of Lisson Gallery.
11. “Aspects of Abstraction” at Lisson Gallery
The exhibition at Lisson Gallery’s latest New York space at 138 10th Avenue will be a summer group presentation featuring works by Marina Adams, Paul Feeley, Joanna Pousette-Dart, and Leon Polk Smith. The show encompasses a selection of paintings and drawings by the artists, showcasing their use of color and composition.
Location: Lisson Gallery, 138 10th Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Henri Neuendorf
Friday, June 23–Saturday, July 1
David Michalek with Yvonne Rainer, “SlowDancing/TrioA” (1966/2017).
12. David Michalek in collaboration with Yvonne Rainer Slow Dancing/TrioA at Danspace Project
SlowDancing/TrioA is a new video installation by David Michalek, produced in collaboration with iconic choreographer Yvonne Rainer. Rainer’s work in the 1960s revolutionized dance as performative art and changed audience’s perceptions about the medium. This newly conceived project seeks to create an unusual motion picture record of Rainer’s iconic dance work, Trio A (1966).
Location: 131 East 10th Street, St. Mark’s Church
Price: Free
Time: Friday, June 23, 6–10 p.m., full schedule of performances available here.
—Caroline Goldstein
Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 15
Shelagh Patterson, “This House Is an Essay” for Writing on It All (2016). Courtesy of Writing on It All.
13. “Anthony Rosado: TestOURmonials of the Great Turning” in Writing on It All on Governors Island
Now in its fifth year, Writing on It All allows visitors to Governors Island to turn an empty house into a canvas, writing freely over walls, stairwells, and other surfaces. Each weekend, a different artist takes over the property, restoring it to a blank canvas where participants can contemplate different issues.
For this season’s last session, multidisciplinary artist and education Anthony Rosado will host a series of activities exploring issues of gentrification, racism, and classism as they relate to housing and social justice.
Location: Governor’s Island, Nolan Park, House 11
Price: Free, with $2 ferry ride
Time: 10 a.m.–7 a.m.; last ferry from Manhattan, 5:30 p.m., and Brooklyn, 5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Saturday, June 24–Monday, July 10
Todd Merrill Studio. Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio.
14. Summer Show at Todd Merrill Studio in Southampton
For the third straight year, Todd Merrill Studio is opening its Hamptons space to the public for the summer. To kick off the space’s 2017 programming, Merrill is pairing the work of 94-year-old Abstract Expressionist Knox Martin, working since the 1940s, with that of his mentee, Ezra Cohen, a painter born exactly 70 years later. The show also shines a spotlight on design, with outdoor furniture and lighting by Chris Rucker and ceramic and glass sculpture from Shari Mendelson.
Location: Todd Merrill Studio, 11 South Main Street in Southampton, New York
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Thursday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone