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

Thursday, October 13–Saturday, November 12

Chow Chun Fai, Chungking Express – Expiry date (2016). Courtesy of Klein Sun Gallery.

1. “Chow Chun Fai: Everything Comes With an Expiry Date” at Klein Sun Gallery
Deeply inspired by the return of his native Hong Kong to China in 1997, Chow Chun Fai has based the paintings in his current show on movie stills from classic Hong Kong films. The series, according to the exhibition description, “plays on the in-between status of the city both politically and culturally, expressing the constant confusion and negotiation in the on-going readjustment in search for the identity of Hong Kong.”

Location: Klein Sun Gallery, 525 West 22nd Street
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Wednesday, October 19–Saturday, December 3

Martha Friedman, Two Person Operating System (2016) Photo by Jason Varone. Courtesy of the artist and Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

2. Martha Friedman “Some Hags” at The Great Hall, Institute of Fine Arts at New York University
“Some Hags” is a new body of work by sculptor Martha Friedman, and the first in a series of exhibitions by and about women, at the landmark James B. Duke House, the cavernous house the family donated in 1952, which now serves as headquarters for NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. Friedman created an installation as a response to an expansive Flemish tapestry that hangs above the building’s sweeping staircase which depicts a scene from The Odyssey, in which the goddess Circe is being threatened and chastised by Odysseus. Of the tapestry, Friedman said: “I’m intrigued by how contemporary this five-hundred-year-old weaving feels in the way it tackles issues of gender and power.”

Her site-specific response to the work is in the form of three large sculptures made of metal, rubber, and steel that reference the female body in “various states of use.” Magician’s Assistant consists of three separate blocks of dark metal connected by various-colored tubing set atop a large red sheet of rubber. Circe’s Book, rests on a table and invites viewers to touch; turning the huge, floppy rubber pages to glimpse the intriguing sketches and imagery becomes a fun, but physical act that requires two hands. The third work, Two Person Operating System, which consists of welded metal tubes, rubber hoses, and moveable metal spikes, will be the focus of a collaborative performance piece (of the same name) created by Susan Marshall & Company on November 16 (and again on November 19). Following the initial performance, Friedman and Marshall will hold an open conversation with Brooke Holmes, professor of classics at Princeton University, and Tina Campt, professor of Africana and women’s gender and studies at Barnard College.

Location: 1 East 78th Street
Price: Free
Time: Open daily through December 3, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. (Special performance and talk on November 16, see details above).

—Eileen Kinsella

Monday, October 24–Friday, December 9

Valentina Ornaghi & Claudio Prestinari, Mattino. Courtesy of Galleria Continua, San Gimignano/Beijing/Les Moulins/Habana.

3. “Ornaghi & Prestinari” at the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò
As collectors Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu complete construction on their forthcoming Hudson Valley arts space, Magazzino, the institution is presenting their first project, an exhibition of work by contemporary Italian artist duo Valentina Ornaghi & Claudio Prestinari.

Organized in collaboration with the venue, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at New York University, and Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, Italy, and curated by Magazzino director Vittorio Calabrese, the show features new work on paper and wood, as well as sculpture installation. 

Location: Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò, 24 West 12th Street
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Tuesday, October 25

The guideless for the graphic identity for the Hillary Clinton campaign, as designed by Pentagram Design. Courtesy of Jesse Reed of Pentagram Design.

4. Aesthetics of the Election at the Ace Hotel
This talk on the art and aesthetics that have visually defined the 2016 presidential election is hosted by Even magazine. Billed as “cocktails and conversation,” the panel discussion will feature Jesse Reed of Pentagram Design, who co-designed the Hillary Clinton campaign’s graphic identity; architect and Columbia University professor Thomas de Monchaux; and Josh Barro, senior editor of Business Insider and co-host of Left, Right & Center on KCRW.

Location: The Ace Hotel, Liberty Hall, 20 West 29th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, October 27

Alma Thomas, Breeze Rustling Through Flowers (1968). Courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem.

5. Studio Salon: Leslie Wayne and Saya Woolfalk on Alma Thomas at the Studio Museum in Harlem
Artists Leslie Wayne and Saya Woolfalk discuss the work of inspiring African-American artist Alma Woodsey Thomas, the subject of a retrospective currently at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Moderated by Ian Berry, director of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, the program includes a walkthrough led by the curatorial staff and 20-minute talks by the artists.

Location: Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125th Street
Price: Free with museum admission
Time: 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.

—Brian Boucher

Thursday, October 27–Saturday, December 3

Werner Büttner, (Eine Lehre vom Menschen Kann Nicht Wissenschaftlich (A Theory of Humanity Cannot Be Scientific) (2016). Courtesy of the artist and Marlborough Gallery.

6. Werner Büttner “Poor Souls” at Marlborough Chelsea
The first solo New York exhibition of Werner Büttner’s work since 1986, “Poor Souls” features new collage and painting that mashes up a wide array of styles and imagery, from “Winston Churchill to a bewigged daschund,” while displaying witty (if often weighty) titles.

There is a humorous, but palpably dark edge to the work. Büttner confronts issues including history, philosophy, and mythology, as well as grief and mourning. The disparate imagery, where “a moody palette dominates,” create “a pleasant disequilibrium” according to a description from the gallery.

Location: 545 West 25th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception Thursday, October 27,  6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

—Eileen Kinsella

Friday, October 28–Friday, December 23

Prabhavathi Meppayil. Detail of n/eighty four (2016). © Prabhavathi Meppayil. Courtesy Pace London. Photo by Manoj Sudhakaran.

7. Prabhavathi Meppayil at Pace Gallery
The Bangalore-based artist gets her first solo show in North America, and it is about time. As artnet News’ Ben Davis writes, “you just need the time and patience to appreciate her refined sensibility.” This line was in a review of the new Agnes Martin show at the Guggenheim, but the same could be said for Meppayil, who layers white gesso on the canvas, then weaves in copper and gold wires, to create a rhythmic pattern across the space.

Location: 537 West 24th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception on Thursday, October 27 from 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

—Kathleen Massara

Carrie Mae Weems, Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me – A Story in 5 Parts (2012( Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery,

8. Carrie Mae Weems, “Scenes & Take” and “All the Boys” at Jack Shainman
Representation has been a recurring element throughout Carrie Mae Weems’s artistic production—and she’s breathing life in the phenomenon with new projects at Jack Shainman’s galleries. Elizabeth Sann, the gallery’s director, described Scenes & Take as a series of photographs printed on canvas, depicting scenes of a robed figure standing before empty stage sets of popular TV shows like Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, and Empire; All the Boys, meanwhile, is a portrait series of black men in hooded sweatshirts accompanied by text-based panels of detailed police reports.

Location: 513 West 20th Street and 524 West 24th Street
Price: Free
Time: 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

—Rain Embuscado