Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Wednesday, May 31
1. “Summer Night Wishes” at Elizabeth Street Garden
This group show, curated by Marie-Salomé Peyronnel, features work by Pétrel-Roumagnac, Andrew Erdos, Riitta Ikonen, Takao Shiraishi, Gustavo Prado, Ugo Schildge, and Fabrizio Moretti. The exhibition focuses on the importance of nature in the city, the impact of man on landscapes, and the vital role of movement and cycles in nature.”
Location: Elizabeth Street, between Prince and Spring, New York
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 5 p.m.–8 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
Thursday, June 1
2. “Person, Place Thing” at International Print Center, New York (IPCNY)
New York Times and New Yorker columnist Randy Cohen interviews Icelandic artist and illustrator Hallgrímur Helgason using his signature live interview show formate. Helgason, a participating artist in IPCNY’s current show “Other Hats: Icelandic Printmaking,” will discuss the multidisciplinary nature of the Icelandic art world.
Location: 508 West 26th Street, 5th Floor, New York
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 6:00–8:00 p.m. Talk at 6:30 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
3. Drunken Doughnuts at the Tuck Room at Fulton Market
In anticipation of National Doughnuts Day on June 2—really!—mixologist Adam Seger is hosting and art-, booze-, and doughnut-filled evening, with a tour of an art collection curated by curated collection by Peter Tunney, including massive murals by Mike Stilkey and Dasic Fernandez. Guests will enjoy signature cocktails, beer flights, and dishes by award-winning chef Sherry Yard.
Location: The Tuck Room at Fulton Market, 11 Fulton Street
Price: Dependent on what you order
Time: 6 p.m.–close
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, June 1–Friday, July 14
4. “Del Kathryn Barton: r u a bunny?” at Albertz Benda
Australian artist Del Kathryn Bunny, known for her painting that appears equally indebted to Egon Schiele and Japanese anime, gets her first US solo show. Her colorful canvases will be joined by the short film RED, starring Cate Blanchett, which is inspired by myths of the spider as the creator of the world, and the Australian redback spider, a sexual cannibal.
Location: Albertz Benda, 515 West 26th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, June 1–Saturday, July 15
5. “Lissa Rivera: Beautiful Boy” at ClampArt
Like many artists, photographer Lissa Rivera has a muse, but her work explodes historical notions of the male gaze. One day, her coworker confessed that he felt unable to wear women’s clothing, as he had done in college, in a professional environment. She began photographing BJ as a means of challenging proscribed gender roles, and helping him to express his identity. Now romantic partners—they fell in love during their intimate portrait sessions—the pair’s collaboration is a quietly provocative exploration of gender, desire, and societal taboos.
Location: ClampArt, 247 West 29th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Saturday, June 3 (on view through August 27)
6. “Closet Archaeology: An Accidental Time Capsule” at the City Reliquary
A snapshot of a century’s worth of New York city history came to light at the Children’s Workshop School in the East Village in 2015, when a fourth grader thought to take a peek beneath the classroom floorboards. One child’s hunch quickly became a class project, leading budding archaeologists to unearth long forgotten penny candy wrappers, love notes, spelling tests, and even portraits of silent film stars. If you haven’t been following their discoveries on Instagram @closetarchaeology, now is your chance to see their finds in person.
Location: The City Reliquary, 370 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn
Price: $5
Time: Opening reception, 2 p.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday–Sunday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Friday, June 2–Sunday, June 4
7. Greenpoint Open Studios
Still not over the move of Bushwick Open Studios from June to September? Check out Greenpoint Open Studios, which sees artists and designers in Brooklyn’s traditionally Polish enclave welcome the public to their work spaces. The website includes no less than 374 participants, including the colorful paintings, paper collages, and prints of Michael Hambouz (67 West Street #203).
Location: Various locations in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with opening reception at Java Studios, 252 Java Street, Brooklyn, and wrap party at Magick City, 37 Box St, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception Friday, 7:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.; wrap party Sunday
—Sarah Cascone
Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4
8. FIGMENT on Governor’s Island
One of my favorite summer activities is a trip to verdant Governors Island, and what better reason to catch the ferry than to experience the wildly creative participatory art event that is FIGMENT. There are over 350 artists participating, and a whole island to explore, including the chance to see life through the eyes of a subway rat in Chris Niederer and Debra Everett-Lane’s Revenge of the Third Rail.
Location: Governors Island
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Through Saturday, June 3
9. “Elizabeth Zan: Selected Works” at Salon St Denis
It’s your last chance to catch the inaugural exhibition of Salon St Denis—run, full disclosure, by former artnet employee Kate Shanley and Kathleen Cullen—featuring paintings by Brooklyn-born artist Elizabeth Zan, whose work is inspired by teaching overseas the past eight years. Her colorful canvases drawn on the tradition of Indian miniature, early Flemish painting, and other art historical reference.
Location: Salon St Denis, 80 East 11th Street, Suite 224
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Through Saturday, July 1
10. “Hans Hofmann: The Last Decade, Major Paintings 1955–1965” at Yares Art
The exhibition zeroes in on the works produced in the last years of the artist’s life, when the German born painter was regarded as the father of Abstract Expressionism. The canvases included in the show are prime examples of the vibrant color and brushwork that characterize Hofmann’s style, fusing elements of European Modernism and Cubism to create a dramatic and expressive body of work that has remained a hallmark of 20th century art.
Location: 745 5th Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein