Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Monday, June 5 and Tuesday, June 6
Mark DIon, Oceanomania (2011). Courtesy of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.
1. “A Contemporary Exploration” at the Explorers Club
Timed to the first United Nations Ocean Conference, the Explorers Club will host a two-day, cross-disciplinary program dedicated to promoting ocean conservation. It’s organized by TBA21 Academy of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, the nonprofit foundation founded by art patron and philanthropist Francesca von Habsburg. Participants will include artists Joan Jonas and Mark Dion, geophysicist Walter Munk, and marine biologists Sylvia Earle and David Gruber.
Location: The Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street
Price: Free
Time: Monday, 2 p.m.–6 p.m.; Tuesday, 2 a.m.–4 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Tuesday, June 6
Duane Michals, The Bully’s Bullshit (2017).
Courtesy of OSMOS.
2. “Duane Michals: Anti-Trump Agitprop” at Osmos Address
Branching out into sculpture and video, entirely new mediums for the artist, Duane Michals takes the inspiration for this show partly from Russian artists of a century ago like Vladimir Tatlin and El Lissitzky. It’s perhaps an ironic twist at a moment when the US and Russia are embroiled in a new kind of conflict. Michals, who has previously said that artists’ political aspirations are “impotent,” leaps into new formats and new content, addressing what he deems to be Donald Trump’s “idiotic and absurd truisms.”
Location: Osmos Address, 50 East 1st Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
—Brian Boucher
Wednesday, June 7
Still from Cecelia Condit’s Within a Stone’s Throw (2012). Taken by and courtesy of the artist © Cecelia Condit.
3. “Cecelia Condit: Artist Talk and Screening” at Electronic Arts Intermix
Cecelia Condit (b. 1947) is one of the most creative filmmakers working today, and will be introducing a screening program of her oeuvre followed by a Q&A for the audience. Her works are marked by a sinister and often macabre vision of feminism, incorporating frightening aspects of social and cultural conventions underscored by dramatic visual techniques.
Location: Electronic Arts Intermix, 535 West 22nd Street, 5th Floor
Price: General admission $7, students $5
Time: Artist talk and screening, 7:00 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Still from Tokuzô Tanaka’s “The Snow Woman” (1968), selected by Matthew Day Jackson. Image courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.
4. “Artist’s Choice: Summer Rooftop Film Series” at Hauser & Wirth
Kicking off Hauser & Wirth’s Summer Rooftop Film Series of films selected by artists, is Matthew Day Jackson’s choice,”The Snow Woman.” The films will be screened on the newly renovated rooftop through July, and include selections by New York-based artists, including Rita Ackermann, Rashid Johnson, and Mary Heilmann. Admission is free and includes light refreshments and drinks. Advance booking is required.
Location: Hauser & Wirth, 548 West 22nd Street (rooftop of gallery)
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: Film starts at 7:30 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
Portrait of Colm Tóibín by Brigitte Lacombe.
5. Colm Tóibín reads House of Names, presented by 192 Books at Paula Cooper Gallery
The acclaimed author will be reading from his newly published book House of Names at the Chelsea art gallery. The novel explores the mythical story of Clytemnestra, Orestes, Electra and the tribulations that befall them in a retelling of love, lust, murder, and family. Patrons who purchase the book from 192 Books will be guaranteed a seat.
Location: Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 West 21st Street
Price: Free, but seating limited
Time: 7 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, July 9
Mehryl Levisse. Courtesy of Catinca Tabacaru Gallery.
6. “Mehryl Levisse: Birds of a Feather Fly Together” at Catinca Tabacaru Gallery
French artist Mehryl Levisse gets his first New York solo show, showcasing his elaborately posed photography portraits and his handmade BDSM-tinged masks, crafted from leather, pearls, tapestries, and other sumptuous materials. He’s also covered the gallery with kaleidoscopic wallpaper.
Location: Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, 250 Broome Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, June 7–Saturday, July 29
Bani Abidi, The News (2001) two-channel video (still). Courtesy of apexart.
7. “Promises to Keep: Rabbya Naseer” at apexart nyc
Featuring the work of 12 female artists from Pakistan, “Promises to Keep,” organized by Pakistani performance artist Rabbya Naseer, explores the intersection of feminism, nationalism, activist, and popular culture through the lens of self portrait.
Location: apexart, 291 Church Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, August 6
Mockup of installation detail of “Hansel & Gretel” at Park Avenue Armory. Photo by James Ewing.
8. “Hansel & Gretel” at the Park Avenue Armory
In a dystopic rendering of the classic fairy tale, artivist-du-jour Ai Weiwei teams up with Pritzker Prize-winning starchitects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron to present a work curated by Tom Eccles and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Using the Drill Hall as their canvas, the contemporary work evokes the fear and disorientation of being lost, with the added complexities of a 24-hour news cycle and constant surveillance. The artists have worked together in the past for the Beijing Olympic Stadium and the Serpentine Pavilion.
Location: Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, entrance on Lexington at 66th Street
Price: $15
Time: Tuesday–Thursday, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Friday, 12 p.m.–10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Thursday, June 8
Eric Fischl. Courtesy of the artist.
9. “Out of the Question: The Business of Art: Passion or Profit?” at Southampton Arts Center
New York Times writer Warren Strugatch moderates the second panel of the year for his fourth annual “Out of the Question” talk series. Hamptons-based artists Eric Fischl and Toni Ross, ArtHampton founder Rick Friedman, and Vered of East Hampton’s Vered Art Gallery will all weigh in on how much the demands of the market dictate what kind of work artists make. A reception will follow the conversation.
Location: Southhampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
Price: $15
Time: 7 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, June 8–Wednesday, July 14
Ceal Floyer’s Plughole (still) 2017. Courtesy of the artist and 303 Gallery.
10. “Ceal Floyer” at 303 Gallery
Ceal Floyer (1968–) is a Berlin-based artist whose work probes the discrepancies of man-made interventions of natural experience. Floyers work is deceptively simple, often using everyday objects as a starting point for humorous, wry, and conceptually astute musings on contemporary art.
Location: 303 Gallery, 555 West 21st Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Thursday, June 8–Friday, July 28
Aida Muluneh’s Memory of Libya (2016). Image courtesy of David Krut Projects.
11. “Icons & Avatars” at David Krut Projects
A group show featuring work by Marlene Dumas, Carrie Moyer, Aida Muluneh, Eria “SANE” Nsubuga and Diane Victor; international artists who bring unique perspectives on the state of contemporary art across a global landscape. The artists employ various mediums to articulate a variety of subjects including portraiture, landscape, and identity.
Location: David Krut Fine Art, 526 West 26th Street, Floor 8, Suite 816
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.; Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Friday, June 9–Sunday, July 30
Richard Shpuntoff, Founders of the Queens Pride Parade Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez (1993). Courtesy the artist.
12. “The Lavender Line: Coming Out in Queens” at the Queens Museum
The Queens Pride Parade turns 25 in June, and the Queens Museum is celebrating with a close look at the borough’s LGBT community over the past 25 years. The multimedia exhibitions presents historical documentation from the collections of parade organizer and Queens City Council Member Daniel Dromm and the personal archives of photographer and filmmaker Richard Shpuntoff and Queens Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who became a gay rights activist as a student at Queens’s St. John’s University in the 1990s.
Location: The Queens Museum, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens
Price: $8
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Saturday, June 10–Friday, June 30
Flyer for “Sofia Maldonado: Fem Trap.” Courtesy of Point Green.
13. “Sofia Maldonado: Fem Trap” at Point Green
For the second show at Point Green, a new exhibition and event space in Brooklyn, Puerto Rican artist Sofia Maldonado presents work created during a brief residency there. Her drawings and mural painting have been inspired by female Hispanic YouTube stars who perform Trap music.
Location: Point Green, 260 Java Street, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 5 p.m.–10 p.m.; open by appointment
—Sarah Cascone
Through Saturday, June 24
Mel Bochner’s Dead as a Dodo (2016). Courtesy of the artist and gallery.
14. “Mel Bochner: Voices” at Peter Freeman
This is the last chance to see Bochner’s first foray in a solo exhibition since his 2014 retrospective. On display are text-laden canvases that Jeremy Sigler calls “literally drool, oozing letters of cold, harsh, impersonal sentiment.”
Location: Peter Freeman, 140 Grand Street
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Installation view, “Ken Price: Eggs, 1961-1970” at Franklin Parrasch Gallery. Photo courtesy Julia Halperin.
15. “Ken Price: Eggs, 1961–1970” at Franklin Parrasch Gallery
Ed Ruscha once called Price’s egg sculptures “psycho-erotic.” “They made you scratch your palms,” he said. Experience the palm-scratching psychosis for yourself at this show, which brings together nine of the legendary ceramicist’s egg sculptures. The presentation spans the full nine-year period during which Price engaged in the form. Eight of the eggs are drawn from private collections; one is on loan from the Whitney; none is for sale. Contact the gallery to make a reservation for tours of eight or more people.
Location: Franklin Parrasch Gallery, 53 East 64th Street
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Julia Halperin