Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Tuesday, September 20–Saturday, October 29
Yves Klein, Monique (1960). © Yves Klein/2016 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris 2016
1. “Nude: From Modigliani to Currin” at Gagosian Gallery
“The limitations that constitute the medium of painting—the flat surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment—were treated by the old masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only by implicitly or indirectly,” Clement Greenberg wrote in 1960. “Under Modernism these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly.”
Over a half century later, the latest exploration of modernism’s legacy is channeled through the nude at Gagosian’s uptown location, and includes artists from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Egon Schiele. Although expansive in theory, the show skews overwhelmingly white, and male; out of 30 artists on view, only two—Louise Bourgeois and Jenny Saville—are women. (It appears modernism may not be so modern after all.) But the works on view are worth a visit, to see art history’s heavy-hitters during these moments of discovery.
Location: 980 Madison Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Opening Reception 6:00–8:00 p.m, Tuesday–Saturday 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
—Kathleen Massara
Thursday, September 22–Saturday, October 29
View of Julie Mehretu’s new work (2016). Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery.
2. Julie Mehretu, “Hoodnyx, Voodoo and Stelae” at Marian Goodman Gallery
New abstract paintings and drawings, along with an etching titled Epigraph, Damascus (2016), take over Marian Goodman’s West 57th Street location. According to Emily-Jane Kirwan, the gallery’s associate director, these new works, which Mehretu executed within the last year, are “much more abstracted than previous bod[ies] of work.” Though the artist continues her exploration of grisaille, or monochromatic painting, Jane noted that “color has begun to be reintroduced, but in the most hazy way.”
Location: 24 West 57th Street #4
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception 6:00–8:00 p.m, Monday- Friday 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
—Rain Embuscado
Thursday, September 22–Monday, September 26
Views of Fray new work (2016). Courtesy of The Textiles Arts Center
3.”Fray” Air Cycle 7 final exhibition at Gowanus Loft Gallery
As part of New York Textile Month, the Textile Arts Center will be hosting “Fray” the final exhibition of the 7th cycle of artist in residence. The exhibition will be held at Gowanus Loft Gallery in Brooklyn. Named after the unraveling edge of a textile, “Fray” presents the works of eight artists in residence at the Textile Arts Center. The exhibition focuses on each artists self exploration of textile materials and explores the concept of landscape, time, form and storytelling. The program will also host an artist talk on September 26 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: 61 9th Street, C8, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception 6:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
—Kevin Umaña
Thursday, September 22–Friday, October 21
Random International, Study for Fifteen Points /I (2016). Courtesy of Random International/Pace Gallery.
4.”Random International: On the Body” at Pace Gallery
The Rain Room crew is back with their first showing of new work since the famed installation made its debut at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2013. Taking center stage will be Fifteen Points/I, “a human-scale sculpture made up of industrial robotic arms that move simultaneously, each one mounted with a single LED light.” In honor of the opening, choreographer Wayne McGregor will stage 16 performances melding dance, film, and visual art throughout the day on Friday and Saturday.
Location: Pace Gallery, 537 West 24th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6:00–8:00 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, September 22–January 16, 2017
Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914–16). Courtesy of the Neue Galerie.
5. “Klimt and the Women of Vienna’s Golden Age, 1900–1918” at the Neue Galerie
The Neue Galerie once again trots outs its most famous painting, Gustav Klimt’s famed Adele Bloch-Bauer I, better-known as the “Woman in Gold,” for an exhibition showcasing the artist’s society portraits of Vienna’s leading ladies. The show reunites Klimt’s two Nazi-looted paintings of Bloch-Bauer, which were at the heart of her descendants’ well-documented legal battle for restitution (as seen in the Helen Mirren film), with lesser-known yet key works from the artist’s oeuvre.
Also of note are specially-commissioned fashion pieces from Shanghai-based artist Han Feng, inspired by the designs of Viennese fashion designer Emilie Flögehis, who outfitted many of Klimt’s sitters.
Location: Neue Galerie, 1048 Fifth Avenue
Price: $20
Time: Thursday–Monday, 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Friday, September 23–Saturday, October 29
View of Ugo Rondinone’s new work (2016). Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.
6. Ugo Rondinone,”The Sun at 4PM” at Gladstone Gallery
Drawing influence from the natural world, Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s latest work consists of four bodies categories spanning mountain, sun, waterfall, and cloud. At Gladstone Gallery’s Chelsea location, Rondinone continues his investigation into the link between nature and the human condition in this solo exhibition.
Location: 530 West 21st Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6:00–8:00 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday , 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
—Henri Neuendorf
Saturday, September 24–Saturday, October 15
Joan Wallace, Man Sleeping (Trying to Keep Things Still) (1989). Courtesy Elizabeth Dee Gallery.
7. “First exhibition” at Elizabeth Dee Gallery
Art dealer Elizabeth Dee will be christening her new uptown gallery space in Harlem with two new shows: a solo presentation of works by artist Annette Lemieux, and “First Exhibition,” a group presentation of works by Adrian Piper, Joan Wallace, and John Giorno, along with fifteen others. According to a press release, the inaugural exhibition features pieces by artists from the “1980s era of the original 18 Infotainment artists,” an avant-garde group that worked to compete with the then-increasing ubiquity of mass media.
Location: 2033/2037 Fifth Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6:00–8:00 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday 12:00– 7:00 p.m.
—Rain Embuscado
Saturday, September 24
Christine Rebhuhn, Thunder, 2015. Photo by PD Rearick. Courtesy of the artist.
8. NARS Fall Open Studios at NARS Foundation
The NARS foundation are inviting the public to visit the open studios in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Along with the open studios, the NARS foundation will be hosting their closing reception for “Around Corners” an annual studio artist exhibition that features new works from their international residency program. The exhibition showcases the combined practice of the diverse community of artists. Known for exhibiting works from progressive emerging artists, “Around Corners” is a must see this week.
Location: 201 46th Street, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: 12:00–6:00 p.m.
—Kevin Umaña
Sunday, September 25–Saturday, October 22
Weegee, Marilyn Monroe, ca. 1957.© Weegee/International Center of Photography
9. “Marilyn: Character Not Image” at Mana Contemporary
It’s not every day that Mana Contemporary opens an exhibition curated by Whoopi Goldberg about Marilyn Monroe. The show aims to present a different side of the iconic actress, exploring her inner life and surprising sensitivity through writings that contain self-analysis, insecurity, and a craving for love and approval. On view will be photographs, ephemera, and the now famous dress she wore in 1962 at Madison Square Garden when she serenaded then-president John F. Kennedy.
Location: 888 Newark Avenue, Jersey City
Price: Free
Time: Opening Reception 1:00–9:00 p.m., Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Saturday 12:00–6:00 p.m., Sunday 1:00–6:00 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
Sunday, September 25, 2016–Sunday, March 12, 2017
A rendering by Choi and Suen for a work that will be part of EAF16 at Socrates Sculpture Park. Courtesy of Choi Suen.
10.”EAF16: Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition” at Socrates Sculpture Park
Each fall, Socrates Sculpture Park invites artists, selected through an open call, to create large-scale, site-specific sculptural installations. After three month of work from its fellows, EAF 16 opens to the public with work by Liene Bosquê, Travis Boyer, Andrew Brehm, Lea Cetera, Dachal Choi and Mathew Suen, Onyedika Chuke, Galería Perdida, Dylan Gauthier, Dmitri Hertz, Madeline Hollander, Olalekan Jeyifous, Lia Lowenthal, Sable Elyse Smith, Elizabeth Tubergen, and Bryan Zanisnik, who is already attracting attention for his playful busts of popular actor Christopher Walken.
Location: Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 3:00–6:00 p.m.; daily 10:00 a.m.–sunset
—Sarah Cascone