Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Wednesday, February 22–Sunday, May 21
Netherlandish Boxwood Rosary, (1523–39). Courtesy of Musée du Louvre, Département des Objects d’art, Paris. © Musée du Louvre, Photo: Craig Boyko/Ian Lefebvre.
1. “Small Wonders: Gothic Boxwood Miniatures” at the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Billed as the first exhibition of its kind, the exhibition promises to unveil the secrets of the skilled artisans behind these impossibly delicate creations.
Highlights are expected to include the rosary carved for King Henry XIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, whom he famously divorced in order to marry Anne Boleyn, thereby founding the Church of England.
Location: The Met Cloisters, 99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park
Price: Suggested admission $25
Time: Sunday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday February 23
“Willem de Kooning | Zao Wou-Ki” installation view. Courtesy of Lévy Gorvy.
2. Poetry Reading at Lévy Gorvy
The new gallery powerhouse Lévy Gorvy is hosting a live reading to go with their current exhibition Willem de Kooning-Zao Wou-Ki.
Poets Corinna Kopp (author of The Green Ray, Ugly Duckling Presse, 2015) and Cole Swensen (author of Landscapes on a Train, Nightboat Books, 2015) will read, the latter from poems written for the exhibition catalog.
Location: Lévy Gorvy, 909 Madison Avenue
Price: Free
Time: 6:30 p.m.
—Christian Viveros-Fauné
Jasmine Wahi. Courtesy of Jasmine Wahi.
3. Jasmine Wahi Talk at the School of Visual Arts
Jasmine Wahi, a faculty member at SVA’s MFA Fine Arts program and the co-founder of the Gateway Project Spaces and the Project for Empty Space, both in Newark, gives a talk on intersectional feminism, cultural identity, and the other issues at the center of her curatorial practice.
Location: School of Visual Arts, Room 101C, 133/141 West 21st Street
Price: Free
Time: 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, February 23–Saturday, April 1
Monica Bonvincini, Fire
2016). Courtesy of Mitchell-Innes & Nash.
4. “Monica Bonvicini: RE pleasure RUN” at Mitchell-Innes & Nash
Berlin-based, Italian conceptual artist Monica Bonvicini gets her first New York solo show in a decade. Her debut at the gallery centers on Structural Psychodramas #2, an installation of small Murano glass sculptures, as well as two of the artist’s monumental disaster paintings and large-scale, provocative neon works, one of which reads “NO MORE MASTURBATION.”
Location: Mitchell-Innes & Nash, 534 West 26th 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, February 23–Saturday, April 22
Harold Cruse, c. 1950. ©The Estate of Alice Neel. Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London.
5. “Alice Neel, Uptown” curated by Hilton Als, at David Zwirner
By “Uptown,” the title of this show doesn’t mean swanky high society, but specifically the environs around Harlem and Spanish Harlem, where Alice Neel lived from 1938.
Stretching his efforts across two galleries, the writer Hilton Als promises to gather Neel’s “portraits of African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and other people of color,” which include notable scholars, artists, and community activists, as well as a host of neighbors and everyday acquaintances from the places where she worked. The author will give a free guided tour of the exhibition on Saturday March 4 at 4:00 PM.
Location: David Zwirner, 525 & 533 West 19th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception 6:00–8:00 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
—Ben Davis
Sunday, February 26
Francis Picabia. Mardi Gras (Le Baiser) (circa 1924–26). Collection of Natalie and Léon Seroussi. © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris
6. PopRally presents “Arty Gras” at the Museum of Modern Art
Get ready for a Mardi-Gras-themed celebration tied to the much-lauded Francis Picabia exhibition “Our Heads Are Round so Our Thoughts Can Change Direction.”
Picabia, famous for his partying, often organized lavish celebrations with special costumes, menus, and scenery. MoMA says now it’s time for viewers to unleash their own party animals, with music, dance, drinks, and art.
The event features a special viewing of the show, a live performance by High and Mighty Brass Band, drinks, and Picabia-inspired Mardi Gras masks designed by artist Damien Davis. (Picabia- or Mardi Gras–themed costumes are encouraged.)
Location: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street
Price: $25, available online
Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella