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

Monday, August 26–Wednesday, August 28

An auction paddle in action illustration. Photo by Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images.

1. “2019 ASA Personal Property Connoisseurship Conference” at the Marriott Marquis

The price tag is hefty to sit in on the American Society of Appraiser’s 2019 conference, but a ticket grants you access to three days chock full of panel discussions and presentations, including, full disclosure, “Ascertaining the State of the Market in This Information Age” featuring this reporter and the Art Newspaper’s Steven Kaminski on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m.

Location: Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway
Price: $1,295 member/$1,495 non-member
Time: Monday, 7:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Monday, August 26–late October

2. Domingo Zapata’s massive mural at One Times Square 

After two weeks of non-stop painting, pop artist Domingo Zapata’s massive 15-story vinyl canvas mural in Times Square will be visible to the public for the next month. Encompassing floors three through 18, across the east, west, and south facades of One Times Square, the mural—sponsored by Iberostar resorts and vintner Beodegas Emilio Moro—wraps three walls of billboard signage owned by New Tradition. At approximately 300-feet in height and covering a total 30,000-square-feet, it is the largest vinyl mural in New York City. The work incorporates themes and highlights from Zapata’s two-decade career, including his “Polo,” “Flowers,” “Panda,” and “Flamenco” series. He will also refer to the reception held at the Vatican in March 2019, when he was invited to paint alongside Pope Francis.

Location: One Times Square
Price: Free
Time: 24/7

—Eileen Kinsella

Monday, August 26–Thursday, September 5

John Ransom Phillips, To remain, to teach robust America love(2004), from the exhibition “Robust American Love.” A portion of the exhibition’s proceeds will benefit the Walt Whitman Initiative.

3. “Robust American Love” at BlackBook Presents

The Walt Whitman Initiative marks the 200th anniversary of the great American poet’s birth with a John Ransom Phillips exhibition of paintings paired with Whitman quotes. A proceed of the sales will go toward the initiative’s efforts to save 99 Ryerson Street in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, where Whitman lived at the time of the publication of Leaves of Grass. It’s the only remaining home of the poet in all of New York City, and although the initiative’s request for landmark status was denied in 2017, the organization has an upcoming meeting with the city to discuss reopening the application.

Location: BlackBook Presents, 20 John Street, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–7:30 p.m.; Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

—Nan Stewert

Tuesday, August 27

Sandra Erbacher, The Return of History (2019), installation view in “Paperwork: Administrative Practice in Contemporary Art” at the International Studio & Curatorial Program. Photo by Martin Parsekian.

4. “Sandra Erbacher on Bureaucratic Systems” at the International Studio & Curatorial Program

Sandra Erbacher’s piece The Return of History was commissioned by the International Studio & Curatorial Program for the group show “Paperwork: Administrative Practice in Contemporary Art,” on view through September 6. The piece uses a series of executive desks, manufactured in Germany in the 1970s and ’80s, and given pro-European names like the Euroflex and the Euroboss, to examine the idea of the continent as a dominant power, and how that plays out in an open-plan office. A presentation about the work by the artist will be followed by a discussion with exhibition curator Kari Conte.

Location: The International Studio & Curatorial Program, 1040 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Nan Stewert

Wednesday, August 28

Ahaad Alamoudi, Those who don’t know falcons grill them (2018), still. Photo courtesy the artist and Athr Gallery, Jeddah, Saudia Arabia.

5. “RU Talk: Ahaad Alamoudi in Conversation with Lilly Wei” at Residency Unlimited

Art writer and curator Lilly Wei will talk with Ahaal Alamoudi about her work in her native Saudi Arabia through her RU residency. The artist, a rare woman director in Saudi Arabia, challenges traditional imagery and showcases a rapidly changing society in films shot in the desert landscape.

Location: Residency Unlimited (RU), 360 Court Street, Brooklyn (enter the Church through the main entrance)
Price: Free
Time: 6:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Wednesday, August 28 and Thursday, August 29

Madeline Anderson, I Am Somebody, 1970 (still). Photo courtesy of Icarus Films.

6. “Black Beauty on Film” at the High Line

Media arts organization the Flaherty has teamed up with the High Line to present two nights of films celebrating Simone Leigh’s Brick House (through September 2020), the first art installation on the High Line Plinth. Inspired by Leigh’s strong portrayal of black female beauty, curators Jon-Sesrie Goff and Claire Diao have selected a series of shorts, primarily by woman filmmakers, including Madeline Anderson, Angela Diabang, Lauren Kelly, and Julie Dash.

Location: The High Line Spur, at 10th Avenue and West 30th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 8 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, August 29

Helen Frankenthaler, Provincetown Window (1963–64). Photo by Tim Pyle, Light Blue Studio, courtesy Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York. ©2019 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Collection of Josh and Beth Friedman.

7. “Voices From the Artist’s Archives: Avis Berman on Helen Frankenthaler” at the Parrish Art Museum 

Writer, curator, and art historian Avis Berman gives a talk about Helen Frankenthaler on the occasion of the Parrish’s current exhibition, “Abstract Climates: Helen Frankenthaler in Provincetown,” on view through October 27.

Location: Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, New York
Price: $12
Time: 5 p.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

A Re-Imagining City Island’s Gateway design project from graduate students from Rhode Island School of Design INTAR (RISD). Image courtesy of BRAC.

8. “Re-imagining City Island’s Gateway/Comfort in Concrete” Panel Discussion at the Bronx River Art Center

If you’re into urban design or simply want to stay in the loop about New York City’s upcoming waterfront changes, pay a visit to the Bronx River Art Center on Thursday. A panel discussion with former Bronx Borough President and urban planner Adolfo Carrion and others will be held to discuss two public space design projects: City Island’s Gateway and the South Bronx Greenway. The panel is in conjunction with the center’s eponymous current exhibitions, featuring student work from the Rhode Island School of Design and BRAC’s own Teen/Young Adult Project Studio.

Location: Bronx River Art Center, 1087 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Friday, 3 p.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.

—Cristina Cruz

Thursday, August 29–Friday, September 6

Jason Bard Yarmosky, Harmony

9. “Lovers and Friends” at the Double Diamond House

—Tanner West

Thursday, August 29–Sunday, December 15

Ander Mikalson, Scores for a Corridor, for the “FiftyTwo Ft.” series at the Knockdown Center. Courtesy of the Knockdown Center.

10. “FiftyTwo Ft: Ander Mikalson” at the Knockdown Center

The “FiftyTwo Ft.” series at the Knockdown Center’s has seen a number of artist paint murals in the art center’s east corridor. The latest, Ander Mikalson’s Scores for a Corridor, is the artist’s largest work to date, featuring text that imagines various scenes unfolding in the hallway.

Location: Knockdown Center, 52-19 Flushing Avenue, Maspeth, Queens
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 2 p.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday/Sunday, 2 p.m.–7 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Through Friday, August 30

Mathew Brady. Walt Whitman (circa 1865), digitally enhanced. Photo courtesy of Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints, and Photographs, Photography Collection.

11. “Walt Whitman: America’s Poet” at the New York Public Library

A display of artifacts at the New York Public Library marks Walt Whitman’s 200th birthday. Perhaps New York’s best-known literary figures, and the most famous poet in the history of the country, Whitman has remained a presence of the bestseller’s list with Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855. The NYPL considers his lasting cultural influence as illustrated by various pieces from its collection.

Location: The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 476 Fifth Avenue at East 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Monday/Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–5:45 p.m.; Tuesday/Wednesday, 10 a.m.–7:45 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Friday, August 30–Sunday, October 13

Brandi Twilley, Summer Friends (2018). Photo courtesy of Alyssa Davis Gallery.”

12. “kNOW you WON’t” at Alyssa Davis Gallery

Alyssa Davis Gallery and curator Philip Hinge team up to present a group show featuring Brittni Ann Harvey, Manal Kara, Nicholas Sullivan, and Brandi Twilley this Friday. With an exhibition teaser video featuring the esteemed Spongebob character, Squidward, and the promise of a CATBOX Contemporary cat tree installation, this show is sure to deliver a very unique experience.

Location: Alyssa Davis Gallery, 2 Cornelia Street #1102
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception 7 p.m.–10 p.m.; by appointment, email [email protected] for more info

—Cristina Cruz

Through Sunday, September 1

Camille Hoffman, XO, 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Jenkins Johnson Projects.

13. “A Thousand Plateaus” at Jenkins Johnson Projects

Never been to the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens project space of San Francisco’s Jenkins Johnson Gallery before? There’s no better opportunity than the last week of the art world’s summer. Curated by contemporary Renaissance Man Hank Willis Thomas with Daphne Takahashi, “A Thousand Plateaus” brings together four artists—Chris Berntsen, Camille Hoffman, Kambui Olujimi, and Patrice Renee Washington—who use collage and assemblage to piece together dynamic, multifaceted identities freed from the limits of either/or thinking. Consider it your inspiration to embrace all you can do, and be, in the final frame of 2019… and beyond.

Location: Jenikns Johnson Projects, 207 Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. (and by appointment)

—Tim Schneider

Through Sunday, September 15

Walt Whitman owned this Easter greeting card and posed for it in a studio portrait. Photo courtesy of the Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman Materials, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

14. “Walt Whitman: Bard of Democracy” at the Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library examines the full scope of Walt Whitman’s career, beginning with his early journalism work, in this exhibition celebrating what would have been his 200th birthday. With loans from the Library of Congress, the show includes a selection of the poet’s notebooks as well as a letter from Ralph Waldo Emerson commending the publication of Leaves of Grass, and other documents illustrating Whitman’s influence on major figures such as Oscar Wilde and Allen Ginsberg.

Location: The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue
Price: $22 general admission
Time: Tuesday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; daily tours through September 13, 2 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Through Saturday, December 21 

Lina Iris Viktor, Second (2017-18). Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim Gallery.

15. “Figuring the Floral” at Wave Hill 

While wandering the expansive grounds and gardens of Wave Hill in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, visitors should be sure to check out “Figuring the Floral,” a sumptuous exhibition curated by Eileen Jeng Lynch. Reconsidering the role of botanical imagery within contemporary art, here floral imagery’s traditional associations with the decorative and the feminine are subverted as the blossoming and decaying life cycle of the flower becomes complexly symbolic of race, gender, age, and sexuality, among myriad other aspects of identity, in works by Derrick Adams, Lina Iris Viktor, Ebony G. Patterson, and  Valerie Hegarty, among others. 

Location: Wave Hill, 675 W 252nd Street, Bronx
Price: $10 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, $4 for children over 6
Time: Tuesday–Sunday, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. 

—Katie White 

Through Sunday, February 16, 2020

An installation view of “Relative Fields in a Garden: Heidi Howard and Liz Phillips” at the Queens Museum.

16. “Relative Fields in a Garden: Heidi Howard and Liz Phillips” at the Queens Museum

As part of the 2018 Queens International, mother–daughter duo Heidi Howard and Liz Phillips have built a visual and sonic installation for the museum’s large atrium. The presentation includes Howard’s bright, colorful, and flowery paintings alongside sculptural elements depicting flowers, bamboo, and birch veneer with a soundscape designed by Phillips that evokes (and includes recording of) the cityscape. The sounds of wildlife, running water, and the Department of Sanitation’s garbage trucks come together with the visual installation to evoke a city constantly in flux and always surrounded by the nature from which it emerges.

Location: New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens
Price: $8 suggested donation for adults; free for children 18 and under
Time: Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

—Tanner West