Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.

Monday, March 26

Delano Dunn, Yesterday’s Chicken, Today’s Gravy. Collage on board. Courtesy of Long Gallery Harlem.

1. Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Delano Dunn in Conversation Hosted by SĀNAA Contemporary at Long Gallery Harlem
In his current exhibition, “No One Can Be This Tomorrow,” Delano Dunn confronts his audience with a harsh reality: disillusionment from a dream of social equality that never fully materialized for African-Americans, even in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement.

Known for his contribution to the study of American and African-American history, Harvard professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad is dedicated to shedding light on the crossroads of race, ethnicity, and public policy. He and the artist will discuss the idea of the false promise of freedom and full citizenship addressed in Dunn’s work. The artist’s seemingly buoyant collages juxtapose images sourced from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where Muhammad was director, with rainbows that conjure joyful but probably naive moments.

Location: 2073 7th Avenue at 124th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

—Kiki Olmedo

Wednesday, March 29

Consent and Dissent. Courtesy of the 8th Floor.

2. Consent/Dissent: A Talk by Aliza Shvarts and Emma Sulkowicz at the 8th Floor
Feminist performance artist Emma Sulkowicz, best known for her powerful thesis project Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight), talks with artist, writer, and scholar Alia Shvarts about the concept of consent, both as part of the democratic ideal of reaching a group consensus and in the context of sexual assault.

Just as important, however, is its inverse, dissent. Responding to recent political events, particularly what they call the “minimization of sexual assault in the 2016 presidential election,” the panelists look to explore the right to protest and the ways in which women can exercise resistance.

Location: 17 West 17th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 6 p.m.–8 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Recommended Reading

National Organization for Women Gives Emma Sulkowicz ‘Courage’ Award

By Sarah Cascone, Jun 27, 2016

Matthew Israel, The Big Picture: Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists. Courtesy of Prestel Publishing.

3. The Big Picture, an Art Book Series Event at the New York Public Library
Matthew Israel talks with Nicholas Baume of New York’s Public Art Fund, Adrienne Edwards of New York’s Performa and Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center, and Jens Hoffmann of New York’s Jewish Museum on the occasion of the publication of Israel’s new book, The Big Picture: Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists. The author examines how seminal pieces like Kara Walker’s massive sugar sphinx can help us to understand the broader state of contemporary art.

Location: The New York Public Library, 476 Fifth Avenue (42nd St and Fifth Ave)
Price: Free
Time: 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Wednesday, March 29–Saturday, May 6

Keltie Ferris, Backlash (2017). Photo: Mark-Woods.com, courtesy of the artist.

4. “Keltie Ferris: M\A\R\C\H” at Mitchell-Innes & Nash
In a continuation of her “body-print” paintings, Keltie Ferris continues to explore the nature of her own corporeality as both a means for creation, and the central theme of her work. While visually similar to Yves Klein’s “Anthropometries,” Ferris’s works are fully realized compositions that take the body as a point of departure and not a foregone conclusion.

Location:1018 Madison Avenue, New York
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception: 5 p.m.–7 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Caroline Goldstein

Thursday, March 30–Saturday, May 6

Betty Tompkins, “Sex Paintings.” Courtesy of P.P.O.W.

5. “Betty Tompkins: Virgins” at P.P.O.W.
Feminist painter Betty Tompkins reclaims pornographic imagery in her monumental “Fuck Paintings,” shown alongside a new installation of “Pussy Paintings.” Unafraid of engaging with sexual taboos, Tompkins sees the beauty and power of the female body, embracing the humanity of sexual intercourse.

Location: 535 West 22nd Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, March 30–Saturday, May 13

Max Ernst. Courtesy of Paul Kasmin, © 2017 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris Photography by Christian Baraja.

6. “Max Ernst, Big Brother: Teaching Staff for a School of Murders” at Paul Kasmin
Max Ernst gets his second show at Paul Kasmin, featuring his 1967 monumental bronze sculpture series “Corps enseignant pour une école de tueurs (Teaching Staff for a School of Murderers).” The gallery notes that the sculptures “transcend personal significance and make pointed commentary on the modern social and political climate.”

Location: Paul Kasmin, 515 West 27th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, March 30–Friday, May 26

Erwin Wurm, Head TV One Minute Sculpture . Photo courtesy Lehmann Maupin.

7. “Erwin Wurm: Ethics demonstrated in geometrical order” at Lehmann Maupin
Become a work of art, at least for a minute. Erwin Wurm brings his audience-activated “One Minute Sculptures” to Lehmann Maupin this week, marking the 20-year anniversary of their creation. Each piece has a drawing of instructions on how you should pose, for 60 seconds, with the objects displayed, which include fruit, sneakers, and mid-century modern furniture. Wurm will also show five new sculptural works in cast bronze and mixed media.

Location: 536 West 22nd Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception: 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarbani Ghosh

Thursday, March 30

Sean Scully, Blue Note (2016) ©Sean Scully. Courtesy the artist and Cheim and Read.

8. “Sean Scully: Wall of Light” at Cheim & Read
In this show of new paintings, drawings, and sculpture, Scully, known for his large, luminous paintings, underscores the interplay between his two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, using an array of forms and materials, including oil and spray paint, watercolor, graphite, pastel, and oil stick, as well as aluminum, bronze, copper, and Corten and stainless steel. Blue Note (above), which is one of the largest works in the show, is a monumental painting on six joined aluminum panels. The artist used oil paint on four of the panels and acrylic spray paint on two, a combination inspired by his own work from the 1970s.

Location: 547 West 25th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Eileen Kinsella

Jackie Saccoccio, Apocalypse Confetti (2017). Courtesy of the artist and 11R Gallery.

9. “Jackie Saccoccio: Sharp Object & Apocalypse Confetti,” at 11R Gallery
This exhibition of recent works by Saccoccio comprises two distinct groups: large-scale abstract paintings on linen and a new series made with ink on Yupo polyethylene.

Installed across the gallery’s two spaces, the show “visually dissects aspects of her own painting ” into two distinct bodies of work, according to a curatorial statement from the gallery. In the first gallery are calligraphic portrait drawings, while the second gallery features diaphanous group portraits.

Location: 11R Gallery, 195 Chrystie Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception: 6 p.m.–8 p.m., Wednesday–Sunday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

—Eileen Kinsella

Friday, March 31–Sunday, April 16

“What You Learn While You’re Here” poster. Courtesy of Pratt Institute.

10. What You Learn While You’re Here at the Boiler
Second-year MFA candidates at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute show their work in this group show curated by Kalia Brooks. Full disclosure: artnet News intern Sarbani Ghosh is among the participating artists.

Location: The Boiler, Pierogi, 191 North 14th Street, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception 7 p.m.–9 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Brenna Youngblood, Ransom Note Effect (A FECTION) (2017). Courtesy the artist and Tilton Gallery.

Through Saturday, April 15

11. “Brenna Youngblood: Affection” at Jack Tilton
This new body of work from LA-based artist Brenna Youngblood is a continuation of the artist’s multidisciplinary practice—in this series, elements of painting, photography, and found materials all converge. Viewed individually, each work functions as a sort of archaeological site, revealing everyday detritus and potential narrative strands.

Location: Tilton Gallery, 8 East 76th Street
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Caroline Goldstein