Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. In light of the global health crisis, we are currently highlighting events and exhibitions available digitally. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all EST unless otherwise noted.)
Tuesday, May 12
Jerry Saltz and Andrew Goldstein. Photo courtesy of Artnet News.
1. “Online Q&A: Art Critic Jerry Saltz and Andrew Goldstein in Conversation” at the National Arts Club
Join Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz and Artnet News’s own editor-in-chief, Andrew Goldstein, for a conversation about Saltz’s new book, How to Be an Artist, and a discussion about why now may be both the best and worst of times for those looking to hone their creative chops. The discussion on Zoom is presented by the National Arts Club and any donation will benefit the NAC Artist Fellows program, which works to develop the careers of up-and-coming artists.
Price: Free with registration and suggested donation
Time: 3 p.m.–4 p.m.
—Julia Halperin
Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei in New York in 2017. Photo: Giles Clarke/Getty Images.
2. “Art Matters @ Home: Ai Weiwei” at Phillips
Phillips has tapped its senior advisor, retired Brooklyn Museum director Arnold Lehman, to host a new conversation series with art world luminaries. He’s spoken with artist Deborah Kass and gallerist Marianne Boesky, and ext up is Ai Weiwei, who’ll talk about his new film about the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar, as well as his time in detention and living in New York’s East Village in the 1980s.
Price: Free
Time: Released at 12 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
3. “Art History From Home: Me, Myself, and I” at the Whitney Museum of American Art
The quarantine selfie is but the newest genre of self-portraiture to emerge in our contemporary age. In this moderated chat, Janine DeFeo, a teaching fellow at the Whitney, will explore how artists including Ana Mendieta, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, and Adrian Piper have used self-portraiture as a means for expression from the isolated spaces of their homes or studios. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions via the chat function.
Price: Free
Time: 6 p.m.
—Katie White
Wednesday, May 13
Stanya Kahn, still from No Go Backs (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles.
4. “Stanya Kahn in Conversation” at the Wexner Center for the Arts
Multidisciplinary artist Stanya Kahn will discuss her latest short film, No Go Backs, with Wexner Center curators Lucy Zimmerman and Jennifer Lange in conjunction with the artist’s (now-paused) exhibition at the institution. The dreamlike, dialogue-free film—which is available for free online viewing through May 15 via Kahn’s dealer, Susanne Vielmetter—follows two teenagers as they leave behind a collapsing civilization to trek into the California wilderness, where they attempt to forge a new life with others they encounter along the way. Shot on 16mm film and featuring an original soundscore that incorporates music from super-producer Brian Eno, the late emo-trap pioneer Lil Peep, and others, No Go Backs bridges the faded past and the tenuous present in search of a better future.
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 7 p.m.
—Tim Schneider
Bisa Butler and one of her artworks. Photo courtesy of the Museum of the African Diaspora.
5. “In the Artist’s Studio: Bisa Butler” at the Museum of the African Diaspora
Bisa Butler will offer a glimpse into her studio, where she creates her vibrant textile works, in a chat on Zoom hosted by the Museum of the African Diaspora and Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem. “I use West African wax printed fabric, kente cloth, and Dutch wax prints to communicate that all of my figures are of African descent,” says the New Jersey-based artist.
Price: Free
Time: 1 p.m.–2 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, May 13—Saturday, June 13
Alex Katz, Forest Woodcut (2008). Photo: Betsy Senior Fine Art.
6. The International Fine Print Dealers Association’s Virtual Fair
Price: Free
Time: Open daily, at all times
—Eileen Kinsella
Thursday, May 14
KC Crow Maddux, Untitled (2020). Courtesy of Paradice Palase.
7. “Virtual Artist Talk with KC Crow Maddux” at Paradice Palase
The Brooklyn-based emerging artist initiative Paradice Palace is hosting an online talk with artist KC Crow Maddux to accompany their virtual exhibition, Superimpose, which opens on May 14. Maddux’s work deals with the mess of gender and is intentionally difficult to categorize. Their pieces often layer photography, painting, and sculptural processes together; creating a “trans” format. The talk will take place on Zoom and can be joined with the ID 732-1090-9727.
Price: Free
Time: 5 p.m.–5:45p.m.
—Neha Jambhekar
Courtesy of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College.
8. “Tang Live: Senior Thesis Celebration” at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College
In lieu of having a 2020 senior thesis exhibition at the Tang Teaching Museum, digital media associate Fiona McLaughlin is hosting a live takeover for the graduating students on the museum’s Instagram, at @tangteachingmusuem. The event will feature short studio visits with seniors in various disciplines such as ceramics, communication design, drawing, painting, and beyond.
Price: Free
Time: 7 p.m.
—Neha Jambhekar
Thursday, May 14—May 27
9. “Screening of Tony Orrico’s Leveraging sound from sensation with every in and out breath until the heart becomes a tender object” at signs & symbols
In this 20-minute video, artist Tony Orrico manipulates the sound of his own breath to create a composition of sorts for the audience, as well as a heightened emotional state within himself. The screening is part of the gallery’s series of two-week, online-only video exhibitions during lockdown. The gallery has also shifted much of its sales online, too, with a series of limited editions and other projects from gallery artists, including two new special editions by the late performance pioneer Ulay, the proceeds of which will support the gallery, the Ulay Foundation, and the Bowery Mission.
Price: Free, for permission contact info@signsandsymbols.art
Time: 6 p.m.
—Nan Stewert
Thursday, May 14–Thursday, May 28
Pair of Chinese porcelain turquoise glazed vases, early 18th century. Photo courtesy of Chait.
10. “The Philadelphia Show”
The 58th edition of the Philadelphia Show brings its antique offerings online, with a wide range of art, furniture, jewelry, design, and decorative objects. The plan is to start with 1,500 works on offer, and to add new inventory to the fair website each day as collectors snap up treasures like a Tiffany Studios leaded glass dragonfly lamp from Lillian Nassau or a gorgeously painted dower chest likely made in Berks Country, Pennsylvania, between 1780 and 1800, from Olde Hope Antiques.
Price: Free
Time: Open daily, at all times
—Nan Stewert
Saturday, May 16
SassyBlack. Photo by Texas Isaiah.
11. “AFTERGLOW: Celebrating the Class of 2020” at Cornish College of the Arts
Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts is making the best of a bad situation with a virtual commencement ceremony, followed by an Instagram live concert titled AFTERGLOW. Alumni SassyBlack, Chong the Nomad, Gabrielle Friedman, and Mary Lambert will perform.
Price: Free
Time: 1 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone