Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Monday, April 29–Monday, July 29
Jean-Luc Moulène, Study for More or Less Bone (Formal Topological Optimization) (Paris-NY, 2018-19). Courtesy of the artist and Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York; Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris; and Thomas Dane Gallery, London and Naples.
1. “Jean-Luc Moulène: More or Less Bone” at SculptureCenter
Jean-Luc Moulène’s first North American institutional solo show since 2011 features a monumental new work crafted in collaboration with engineers from France’s Aerospace Valley. The 40-foot-long fiberglass and epoxy paint work is the result of 3-D modeling and fabrication, and looks to solve an engineering problem posed by the artist: to find the most efficient form combining the shapes of a sphere, a knuckle bone, and a spiral staircase—abstract, organic, and constructed forms, respectively.
Location: SculptureCenter, 44–19 Purves Street, Long Island City, Queens
Price: $10 suggested contribution
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Thursday–Monday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Third Thursdays 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
—Tanner West
Tuesday, April 30
2. artnet Galleries x High Line Nine, An Exclusive Evening Celebrating Frieze Week
Join artnet Galleries at High Line Nine, the newest destination for art and design in Chelsea, for an evening of cocktails and browsing at the unique space, a reinvention of the European arcade model that showcases a collective of galleries representing the vanguard of contemporary art. rsvp@artnet.com
Location: 507 West 27th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
—Cristina Cruz and Neha Jambhekar
Izumi Kato: Drawings and Paper Works. Photo courtesy the artist and Galerie Perrotin.
3. Izumi Kato Book Release at Perrotin
Perrotin celebrates the launch of the book Izumi Kato: Drawings and Paper Works with a book signing with Japanese artist Izumi Kato. The evening will also include a tour of the gallery’s current exhibition “We are the baby gang” with artist Paola Pivi.
Location: Perrotin, 130 Orchard Street
Price: Free
Time: Book signing, 6 p.m.; exhibition tour, 6:30.m.–7 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Tuesday, April 30–Wednesday, June 12
Renato Leotta, Notte di San Lorenzo. Courtesy of Casa Italia.
4. “Renato Leotta” at Magazzino Italian Art Foundation and NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò
Renato Leotta, the Italian Fellow in Visual Arts at the American Academy in Rome, is also doing an artist’s residence at the Magazzino Italian Art Foundation in upstate New York. He’s created a site-specific installation on the grounds there, and is staging at solo show down in the city at Casa Italiana. Inspired by the forces of nature, Leotta’s new work responds to the coastlines of Long Island, New York City, and the Hudson Valley.
Location: Magazzino Italian Art Foundation, 2700 US 9, Cold Spring, and NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, 24 West 12th Street
Price: Free
Time: Casa Italia, Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Magazzino, Thursday–Monday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Tuesday, April 30–Saturday, June 29
Tomashi Jackson. Courtesy of Tilton Gallery.
5. “Tomashi Jackson: Time Out of Mind” at Tilton Gallery
Tomashi Jackson has incorporated photographs into her latest abstract geometric paintings, which are inspired by incidents, both present-day and historical, in which black property owners have been forced to turn their land over to the city of New York. The artist, who will be featured in next month’s Whitney Biennial, has delved into the city archives to identify the individuals in Seneca Village, founded by free African Americans, who were forced out by eminent domain to create Central Park. She compares this displacement with the current Third Party Transfer Program—which allows the city to foreclose on properties with unpaid real-estate taxes—citing newspaper reports that claim that it disproportionately affects the black community.
Location: Tilton Gallery, 8 East 76th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Monday by appointment
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, May 1
Dan Colen and Nate Lowman, Love Roses. Photo courtesy of Planned Parenthood.
6. Planned Parenthood’s Spring Into Action Gala at Center415
This year’s gala for Planned Parenthood of New York City honors Deja Fox, Tonya Lewis Lee, and Spike Lee. Artists Nate Lowman and Dan Colen’s Love Roses, a 2008 work made from the glass flower vases sold at bodegas, will serve as a photo backdrop for the event and will be for sale for $200,000. Lowman has also designed a VIP limited-edition gift bag for the occasion, inspired by bodegas’ soon-to-be extinct plastic “thank you” bags. Questlove is hosting the after party.
Location: Center415, 415 Fifth Avenue
Price: Dinner tickets starting at $1,500; after party starting at $175
Time: Cocktails, 6:30 p.m.; dinner, 8 p.m.; after party, 9 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, May 1–Saturday, May 4
Images from the Ad Art Show will appear on the screens at the Oculus at the World Trade Center throughout May.
7. Ad Art Show at various LinkNYC locations and the Oculus at Westfield World Trade Center
What better place for a show of art made by people in advertising than on the streets of New York City, home to billboards and flashing signs galore? You know what they say: If your work can stand out here, it can stand out anywhere. At least, that’s the thought behind the Ad Art Show, which is relaunching in its sophomore year as a digital-only initiative during Frieze Week. Art by 100 artists who also work in advertising will be shown at 22 digital kiosks across Manhattan for four days this week and on the mammoth screens at the Westfield World Trade Center for the entire month of May. If you spot something you like, you can purchase it online.
Location: Various locations
Price: Free
Time: May 1–4, 5 p.m.–7 p.m. at various LinkNYC locations; May 1–31, Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. and Sundays, 11 a.m.–7 p.m., at the Oculus at Westfield World Trade Center.
—Julia Halperin
Thursday, May 2
Shuta Hasunuma, Someone’s public and private/Something’s public and private. Courtesy of the artist.
8. “Shuta Hasunuma: Someone’s public and private/Something’s public and private” at Tompkins Square Park
Japanese composer and artist Shuta Hasunuma will enlist passersby to participate in a musical performance he will stage in Tompkins Square Park, in front of the giant American elm tree where the Hare Krishna movement first publicly chanted back in 1966. “Music is born out of our everyday lives, originating in the individual, ultimately returning to individual,” Hasunuma says.
Location: Tompkins Square Park, East 10th Street
Price: Free
Time: 12 p.m.–4 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, May 2–Thursday, May 16
Shenglin Wang, Feather Brooch. Courtesy of HUMANMAKES.
9. “HUMANMAKES: The Imperial Artisans of Modern China” at HUMANMAKES
Beijing’s the Recharge Foundation, founded by Chinese collector Lorin Gu, is touching down in New York with a new commercial space called HUMANMAKES. The inaugural exhibition, showcasing contemporary interpretations of Chinese artistry, features works by Shenglin Wang, Chu Yan, Lu Meiying, and the Beijing Oriental Crafts Treasure Filigree Inlaying Plant. On Friday, May 3, from 3 p.m.–5 p.m., Chu and Shenglin Wang will speak with fellow artisans Xin Song and Leslie Dill in a panel discussion moderated by Barbara Gifford, assistant curator at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design.
Location: HUMANMAKES, 555 West 25th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Nan Stewert
Friday, May 3
Fei Liu, Build The Love You Deserve. Photo courtesy of TRANSFER #ONCANAL.
10. Build the Love You Deserve at TRANSFER #ONCANAL
Artist Fei Liu presents a performance based on her semi-fictional relationship with Gabriel2052, her non-humanoid robot boyfriend. The event is part of “Forging the Gods,” an Artificial Intelligence-inspired group show curated by Julia Kaganskiy.
Location: TRANSFER #ONCANAL, 423 Broadway
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: Private view, 7 p.m.–9 p.m.; performance 8 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
—Tanner West
Friday, May 3–Sunday, December 8
Garry Winogrand, Untitled (New York) (1960). Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.
11. “Garry Winogrand: Color” at the Brooklyn Museum
This is the first devoted exhibition of color photography by Garry Winogrand, who is best known for defining an exuberant black-and-white style of snapshot. Winogrand produced nearly 45,000 color slides in the 1950s and ‘60s, which have remained unseen, simply because he lacked the funds to print them (color was a pricier option at the time). This eye-opening exhibition curated by Drew Sawyer presents 400 rarely or never-before seen color photographs as projections and asks those familiar with Winogrand’s work to reimagine the poetics of mid-century Manhattan life.
Location: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway
Price: $16 suggested admission for adults; $10 for students and seniors; Free for people under 19
Time: Friday–Wednesday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m; Thursday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
— Katie White
Saturday, May 4
Artist Ayana Evans. Photography by Bob Krasner, courtesy of EFA.
12. “Ayana Evans: My Colonial Get-Away, Fu** It, I Ain’t Budgin’” at NADA House
As one of the rising talents exhibiting in NADA’s new summer-long program on Governors Island, cross-disciplinary artist Ayana Evans has engineered a “feminist takeover” of part of the alliance’s temporary installation space in three historic houses. For one afternoon only, Evans will lead a participatory, mobilized performance that brings to life her show’s interest in re-examining social frameworks, leveraging the aspirational value of fantasy, and honoring a cat-suited, tiger-striped defiance that can create real change against all odds.
Location: Nada House, House 403, Colonels Row, Governors Island
Price: Free
Time: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
—Tim Schneider
“Keys to the City: The Ultimate New York City Scavenger Hunt” from the Museum of the City of New York.
13. “Keys to the City: The Ultimate New York City Scavenger Hunt” from the Museum of the City of New York
Most fundraisers are stuffy. But the Museum of the City of New York is hosting a scavenger hunt with clues leading participants to sites across the Lower East Side, Two Bridges, the Financial District, DUMBO, and Brooklyn Heights. Teams of three to 10 players earn points by tracking down each location and posting photographs of all players in front of the landmark on Instagram. And there’s an after party where the museum will hand out prizes, including tickets to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Location: Throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, with mandatory lanyard distribution at Pier 16 between John and Fulton Streets
Price: $50
Time: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Saturday, May 4–Friday, May 24
Julie Bell, Lush (2019). Image courtesy of Rehs Contemporary Galleries and Julie Bell.
14. “Julie Bell: Lush” at Rehs Contemporary
This series of new works marks the artist’s first solo show and represents the culmination of more than a year’s work. “Lush” takes the viewer on a journey through fantasy worlds shaped by Bell’s compositions and reflect her love for exotic animals, wildlife, and nature settings.
Location: Rehs Contemporary, 5 East 57th Street, 8th Floor
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception 1–6 p.m.; Monday—Friday 10 a.m. – 5:30 pm.
—Eileen Kinsella
Saturday, May 4–Saturday, June 22
Idris Khan, The calm is but a wall (2019). Courtesy of Sean Kelly.
15. “Idris Khan: Blue Rhythms” at Sean Kelly
Memory, time, and writing collapse in a thoughtful synthesis in Idris Khan’s second exhibition with Sean Kelly. The artist’s paintings, photographs, and sculptures are conceived in layers, as he imposes poems, musical scores, and images repeatedly upon one another, building into complex palimpsests. Here, Khan has moved away from his earlier starburst shapes toward linear arrangements that encourage the viewer to endeavor in reading the works, a complex and imperfect mission similar in experience to trying to remember a long-gone moment or a once-heard song. As the exhibition title, “Blue Rhythms,” would imply, the works here are composed primarily of the color blue, calling to mind both the work of Yves Klein and the musical genre of the blues. But even more so, one is reminded of the ocean, and of waves, which over time have a power to efface, but here, in Khan’s world, that seems a creative, generative, act.
Location: Sean Kelly, 475 Tenth Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Opening, Friday May 3: 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Katie White
Through Sunday, May 5
Gerhard Richter, Youth Portrait, one of the 15 oil paintings in the series “October 18, 1977” (1988). Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art. ©2019 Gerhard Richter.
16. “The Long Run” at the Museum of Modern Art
The MoMA dives deep into its collection to consider artists who have had particularly long, sustained careers, celebrating their tireless creativity and experimentation. The show, which features the likes of Joan Mitchell, Louis Bourgeois, Philip Guston, and Gerhard Richter, is something of a test run for the museum’s plans to tell new stories by regularly rotating its collection hang. (That will start in earnest come October, following a four-month closure that kicks off June 15.)
Location: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street
Price: $15
Time: Saturday–Thursday, 10:30.m.–5:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Through Sunday, May 26
Installation view of Sarah Trigg’s “Territorial Expansion of the Innermost Continent” at Black Ball Projects.
17. Sarah Trigg’s “Territorial Expansion of the Innermost Continent” at Black Ball Projects
For her first solo show in New York in six years, the artist and writer Sarah Trigg has returned with a series of primordial looking ceramic sculptures splashed with jolts of bright acrylic colors, making them look like something one might find at an archaeological dig in the future. The visible layers of materials—clay, aluminum, paint, resin—expose the layers of Trigg’s artistic process, which is particularly fitting given her longstanding interest in artistic habits and processes, culminating a few years back in her book Studio Life: Rituals, Collections, Tools, and Observations on the Artistic Process (from Princeton Architectural Press).
Location: Black Ball Projects, 374 Bedford Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
—Rachel Corbett
Through Friday, June 28
Jaume Plensa, Behind the Walls (2019), at Rockefeller Center, New York. ©Jaume Plensa Studio. Photo by Christopher Burke Studio, courtesy of the artist and Richard Gray Gallery.
18. “Frieze Sculpture” at Rockefeller Center
The inaugural edition of Frieze Sculpture presents work by the likes of Joan Miró, Hank Willis Thomas, and Walter de Maria in an indoor/outdoor sculpture park. Brett Littman, director of the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and the Garden Museum in Long Island City, has curated the exhibition of 20 public works.
Location: 45 Rockefeller Plaza
Price: Free
—Sarah Cascone