Events and Parties
Editors’ Picks: 17 Things to See in New York This Week
Your weekly editors' picks.
Your weekly editors' picks.
Sarah Cascone ShareShare This Article
Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Monday, October 23–Saturday, December 16
1. “Contingencies: Arte Povera and Beyond” at Luxembourg & Dayan
The 50th anniversary of Arte Povera has seen numerous exhibitions dedicated to the historical Italian art movement, which eschewed high-end art materials such as oil paint and marble in favor of non-traditional ones. Luxembourg & Dayan takes a look at how Arte Povera continues to influence artists half a century later, placing pieces by the likes of Giovanni Anselmo, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Jannis Kounellis, and Michelangelo Pistoletto in conversation with contemporary works by Elaine Cameron-Weir, Jason Loebs, and others.
Location: Luxembourg & Dayan, 64 East 77th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, Wednesday, October 25, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and by appointment
—Sarah Cascone
Tuesday, October 24
2. “Matthew ‘Levee’ Chavez: Signs of Hope” at Artists & Fleas
In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, artist Matthew “Levee” Chavez sought to soothe despairing New Yorkers. In the subways, Chavez created a space that would allow commuters to express their emotions in a productive manner. What resulted was a kind of subway therapy: Thousands of sticky notes expressing fears, encouragement, and hope were posted to the walls. Now, Chavez is releasing a book, Signs of Hope: Messages from Subway Therapy. The event will feature an open mic where anyone can share their personal experiences with “subway therapy.” The conversation will be moderated by Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the Municipal Art Society. Chavez’s book will be available for purchase .
Location: Artists & Fleas, 568 Broadway
Price: Free
Time: 7 p.m.–9 p.m.
—Hannah Pikaart
Tuesday, October 24, 2017–February 16, 2018
3. “Concrete Truth: Art and the Documentary” at the International Studio & Curatorial Program
Where do facts end and image-making begin? Inspired by our “age of global disinformation,” as per the exhibition description, the ISCP presents a selection of socially and politically themed documentary work, including Krista Belle Stewart’s video pairing 1960s documentary footage of her mother, British Columbia’s first Aboriginal public health nurse, with contemporary interviews about the difficulties she faced.
Location: International Studio & Curatorial Program, 1040 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Tuesday, October 24
4. “Cecilia Collantes: A Matter of Dust” at Mailroom
Powder or “dust” is the primary medium for Peruvian artist Cecilia Collantes, who will be presenting a collection of works on folded paper and canvas. Collantes refers to dust as a primordial material, an earthly and cosmic medium that humans and the universe share in a micro-macro relationship. Alison Clancy & Chris Lancaster (Loving You), Flex-dancer Bones the Machine, video alchemist Jason Akira Somma, and Natalie (Lady) Deryn will be performing.
Mailroom, is a new joint nightlife venture by WeWork and Jayma Cardoso of The Surf Lodge yet to officially open to the public, it has previously hosted both Gucci Mane and LCD Soundsystem. The one-night show is being called, “A Matter of Dust.”
Location: Mailroom, 110 Wall Street (Between front and South Streets)
Price: Free
Time: 7 p.m.—2 a.m.
—Henri Neuendorf
Tuesday, October 24, 2017–Sunday, March 11, 2018
5. “Veronese in Murano: Two Venetian Renaissance Masterpieces Restored” at the Frick Collection
The Frick has earned a feather in its cap with this loan of two recently conserved Paolo Veronese (1528–1588) paintings that almost never leave their home, the San Pietro Martire church on the island of Murano in the Venice lagoon. To best recreate the feel of encountering these masterpieces in situ, the museum has converted its Oval Room into a chapel-like space.
St. Jerome in the Wilderness left the church for the first and only previous time in 1939, and St. Agatha Visited in Prison by St. Peter has never been exhibited elsewhere since it was hung there in the early 19th century. The two religious paintings date to the same period as two allegorical Veronese works in the Frick Collection, which will be shown in the adjoining West Gallery.
Location: The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street
Price: $22
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, October 25
6. Gabrielle Lamb, Orange(elusive), part of the Ballet Collective 2017 at New York University
See the world premiere of choreographer Gabrielle Lamb’s new ballet Orange(elusive), inspired by the artificial intelligence-themed artwork of recently named MacArthur “Genius” Trevor Paglen. The title comes from the oranges that Paglen used in the early training stages of his machine learning work, while the movements of the dancers are meant to evoke tensions between human intelligence and AI. Six members of the New York City Ballet will perform the piece, set to an original score by Caleb Burhans.
Location: NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place
Price: $12–99
Time: 7:30 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, October 25–
7. “Molly Hatch: Repertoire” at the Newark Museum
Ceramics artist Molly Hatch has created a massive installation of over 500 underglaze-painted plates for the Newark Museum, which has been collecting ceramics for more than 100 years. The piece was commissioned by Ulysses Dietz, the museum’s curator of decorative arts for the past 37 years, on the occasion of his retirement. Representing the museum’s three geographical focuses of Africa, Asia, and America, the work is inspired by three textiles from the collection: a rare early 20th century Dyula wrapper from the Ivory Coast, an 18th-century Chinese velvet throne carpet from Asia, and a blue-and-white cotton and wool coverlet from America dating to the 1840s.
Location: Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street, Newark
Price: $15
Time: Wednesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, October 26–Thursday, November 2
8. October Art Week on the Upper East Side
As TEFAF New York rolls back into town for its Old Masters edition, October Art Week returns for its second outing, with 19 participating galleries on the Upper East Side. Among the expected highlights are a small exhibition of works by 17th-century Italian Baroque painter Carlo Maratti at Nicholas Hall (17 East 76th Street), and Gabrielle reprisant (1908), a portrait by Pierre-Auguste Renoir of his family’s longtime nanny, at Hammer Galleries (32 East 67th Street).
Location: Various locations
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 5 p.m.–9 p.m.; other times vary by gallery
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, October 26–Saturday, December 16
9. “Jos Devriendt: I AM I” at Demisch Danant
In his first New York solo show, Belgian artist and designer Jos Devriendt presents delicate ceramic lamps shaped like giant mushroom caps as well as porcelain vases and a selection of small sculptural objects.
Location: Demisch Danant, 30 West 12th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, October 26–Wednesday, December 20
10. “Hayv Kahraman: Re-weaving Migrant Inscriptions” at Jack Shainman Gallery
When Hayv Kahraman’s family fled Iraq during the first Gulf War, one of the only things they brought them was a mahaffa, a traditional hand-held fan of woven palm fronds. In her new exhibition, the mahaffa is an important symbol of home, an object with mnemonic value, imbued with memory.
Location: Jack Shainman Gallery, 524 West 24th Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; performance, Saturday, October 28, 4 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Thursday, October 26–Friday, December 22
11. “Debi Cornwall: Welcome to Camp America, Inside Guantánamo Bay” at Steven Kasher Gallery
Former civil rights attorney Debi Cornwall was granted access to the controversial US detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on three separate occasions in 2014 and 2015. “My goal in making this work was to invite people to look at Guantánamo again after almost 16 years. Most of us have stopped looking,” she said in a statement.
In her first New York solo show, Cornwall presents 29 large-scale color photos and a selection of now-declassified documents. The artist is also giving a talk on Guantánamo Bay, art, and social justice with J. Wells Dixon, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Mark Fallon, an international security consultant and former NCIS special agent, on Saturday, October 28, 2:30 p.m.–5 p.m. Moderated by curator and author Fred Ritchin, the event is free with RSVP.
Location: Steven Kasher Gallery, 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
Friday, October 27–Saturday, December 2
12. “Cecily Brown: A Day! Help! Help! Another Day!” at Paula Cooper Gallery
In her recent paintings, which meditate on memory, loss, and human perception, Cecily Brown draws on art-historical masterpieces such as Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of Medusa (1818–19) as well as Marcel Proust’s book Remembrance of Things Past: Within a Budding Grove.
Location: Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 West 21st Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Friday, October 27–Saturday, December 3
13. “Terrence Musekiwa: Standing on the Line, Not Being on Either Side” at Catinca Tabacaru Gallery
Growing up in Zimbabwe, Terrence Musekiwa helped his father carve soapstones to sell to tourists. The ancient stone-carving traditions of his Shona ancestors now inform his mixed media sculpture, which combines such disparate material as plastic bottles, wire, stone, and dirt.
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
Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29
14. “David Levine: Private View” at 83 Pitt Street
David Levine’s father, Morton Levine, was one of the executors of Mark Rothko’s estate, who were disgraced for their mishandling of the late artist’s assets. The scandal and trial that followed have become a focus of David Levine’s ongoing work, which include his 2011 Triple Canopy essay “Matter of Rothko” and a new film which includes found Super 8 footage and audio recorded by Morton Levine. The exhibition concludes with a performance from the “Light Matter” series, audiovisual live performances based on the tale of David Levine’s father’s downfall and how it affected their family.
Location: 83 Pitt Street
Price: Free
Time: 12 p.m.–6 p.m.Closing performance, Sunday, 5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Through Saturday, November 4
15. “Barbara Chase-Riboud: Malcolm X: Complete” at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
It’s taken half a century, but Barbara Chase-Riboud has finally completed her series of monumental bronze and fiber sculptures honoring civil rights activist Malcolm X. Michael Rosenfeld Gallery presents 14 of the 20 abstract steles in the series, shown together for the first time.
Location: Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, 100 Eleventh Avenue at West 19th Street
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
16. “Ben Wilson: From Social Realism to Abstraction” at George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University
Montclair State University makes the most of a generous gift of artworks by Ben Wilson (1913–2001) from the Ben and Evelyn Wilson Foundation, presenting a comprehensive overview of the artist’s career. Getting his start working for the government through the Works Progress Administration, Wilson eventually abandoned figurative painting for abstraction, and is an under-sung figure of the Abstract Expressionist movement.
Location: George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, 1 Normal Ave, Montclair, New Jersey
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Thursday, 12:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Through Sunday, November 5
17. “Kathleen Ryan: Pink Hook Iron Eyes” at Arsenal Contemporary
Kathleen Ryan’s first New York solo show is like Shel Silverstein’s poem about the man who planted a diamond come to life: giant, cast-iron queen palm seed pods bear fruit of rose quartz and jade. Other works include a massive pearl necklace made from bowling balls and a pink granite block, carved as if an invisible figure was perched on her throne.
Location: Arsenal Contemporary, 214 Bowery
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone