Reel Art: Hauser & Wirth Taps Artists to Pick Their Favorite Flicks for a Summer Rooftop Film Series

Outdoor movie season is upon us!

A film screening on the Hauser & Wirth rooftop. Photo courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.

For the second year running, Hauser & Wirth will host an outdoor cinema, screening five films over the course of the summer as part of its annual rooftop screening series. This year, the gallery has turned to five of its female artists—Rita Ackermann, Phyllida Barlow, Ellen Gallagher, Amy Sherald, and Anj Smith—to select their favorite movies for the occasion.

The gallery’s West 22nd Street location, with its newly renovated rooftop, will host the screenings on most Wednesday evenings in June and July, beginning with Gallagher’s selection, Flat Is Beautiful, on June 6. The former Dia Art Foundation headquarters, redesigned by starchitect Annabelle Selldorf, has served as the gallery’s New York flagship since September 2016.

The film series cuts across genres, from Damnation (1987), a dark Hungarian film shot in black and white, chosen by Ackermann, to gallery newbie Sherald’s choice of Moonrise Kingdom, a quirky coming-of-age romance featuring director Wes Anderson’s signature vibrant palettes. Ackermann will be on hand to give an introduction for her pick, screening June 13.

Each screening is free and open to the public with advance RSVP, and, at the very least, it’s guaranteed to be less of a madhouse than Monday nights in Bryant Park. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase at the gallery’s rooftop bar.

See more film stills from the movies, with the full screening schedule, below.

June 6: Flat is Beautiful (1999), selected by Ellen Gallagher

Still from Sadie Benning's <em>Flat is Beautiful</em>. Courtesy of Video Data Bank, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, ©Sadie Benning.

Still from Sadie Benning’s Flat is Beautiful. Courtesy of Video Data Bank, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, ©Sadie Benning.

 

June 13: Kárhozat, (Damnation), 1987, selected by Rita Ackermann

Still from Béla Tarr's <em>Kárhozat, (Damnation)</em>. Courtesy of the Hungarian National Film Archive, ©Clavis Films.

Still from Béla Tarr’s Kárhozat, (Damnation). Courtesy of the Hungarian National Film Archive, ©Clavis Films.

 

June 27: The Mirror (1975), selected by Anj Smith

Still from Andrei Tarkovsky's The Mirror. Courtesy of Janus Films.

Still from Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Mirror. Courtesy of Janus Films.

 

July 11: A Man Escaped (1956), selected by Phyllida Barlow

Still from Robert Besson's <em>A Man Escaped</em>. Courtesy of Janus Films.

Still from Robert Besson’s A Man Escaped. Courtesy of Janus Films.

 

July 18: Moonrise Kingdom (2012), selected by Amy Sherald

Still from Wes Anderson's <em>Moonrise Kingdom</em>. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth, ©Focus Features .

Still from Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth, ©Focus Features .

Hauser & Wirth is located at 548 West 22nd Street, New York.