The editors at artnet News searched New York City high and low for the most exciting, bizarre, and thought-provoking gallery exhibitions this January.
Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Lucybelle Crater and her 45-year-old husband’s photo-Bell friend’s sonshine, Lucybelle Crater (1970-72). Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery.
“The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater” at DC Moore
These images by self-taught photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard (1925–1972), who made his living as an optician, are fabulously macabre. He created the unsettling series two years before his death as a “photographic poem,” casting his wife as the titular Lucybelle, a witch in a mask.
January 4–February 3; 535 West 22nd Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
“Leigh Ruple: Lovers Way” at Morgan Lehman Gallery
Leigh Ruple’s recent paintings depict scenes from the artist’s Brooklyn neighborhood. Elevating everyday phenomena, such as rain, she transforms the ordinary into something far more grand and fantastic.
January 4–February 10; 534 West 24th Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Hassan Sharif, Drawing Squares on the Floor Using a Cube (1982). Courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates.
“Hassan Sharif: Semi-Systems” at Alexander Gray Associates
Timed to the artist’s retrospective at the Sharjah Art Foundation (on view through February 3), “Hassan Sharif: Semi-Systems” showcases the Iranian-born artist’s use of the grid and geometry as organizing principles in his practice. The show features work dating from as early as 1982, when the artist was studying in London, to 2016, the year of Sharif’s death.
January 4–February 10; 510 West 26th Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Ann Purcell (1983). Courtesy of Berry Campbell.
“Ann Purcell: Caravan Paintings” at Berry Campbell
Ann Purcell’s colorful paintings are inspired by music, dance, and art history. Her “Caravan Series” take Henri Matisse’s famed cutouts as their starting point.
January 4–February 3; 530 West 24th Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Patrick Martinez, Multicultural vs. Western (CTE) (2017). Courtesy of Galerie Lelong.
“Sidelined” at Galerie Lelong
Samuel Levi Jones both curated and contributed to this group show that is inspired by the controversial protests of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. The unifying theme among the work from artists including Melvin Edwards, Derek Fordjour, and Lauren Halsey is injustice as experienced by people of color, both on the football field and in everyday life.
January 5–February 17; 528 West 26th Street, opening reception 6 p.m–8 p.m.
A painting from Addie Wagenknecht’s “Alone Together” series. Courtesy of bitforms galery.
“Addie Wagenknecht: Alone Together” at bitforms gallery
For her second show at the gallery, Addie Wagenknecht has created an updated take on Yves Klein’s “Anthropométries” paintings, in which female models coated their nude bodies in his signature blue paint and pressed themselves up against the canvas. The artist is naked while she works, but she’s employing a carpet-cleaning Roomba to paint in International Klein Blue, forcing it to navigate around her reclining body.
January 5–February 17; 528 West 26th Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Kelley Johnson, Star Kite (2017). Courtesy of Freight and Volume.
“Kelley Johnson: Slow Hum” at Freight and Volume
Bridging the gap between painting and sculpture, Kelley Johnson’s “Kite” series draws on aspects of Op Art and Color Field Theory in its embrace of geometry and bright colors.
January 6–February 4; 97 Allen Street, opening reception January 7, 7 p.m.–10 p.m.
Liz Surbeck Biddle, Drift (2017). Courtesy of A.I.R.
“Cut and Paste: Liz Surbeck Biddle and Megan Biddle” at A.I.R.
Mother and daughter Liz Surbeck Biddle and Megan Biddle share center stage at A.I.R. with both 2-D and 3-D works in drawing, collage, ceramic, and glass.
January 5–February 4; 155 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, opening reception January 7, 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Arcmanoro Niles, When We Played As Kids (2016). Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery.
“Arcmanoro Niles: Revisiting The Area” at Rachel Uffner Gallery
In orange-hued canvases, Arcmanoro Niles depicts his DC childhood, growing up in an African-American community straddling poverty and the middle class. His newest works move from the streets of his neighborhood to inside his family home, where a young boy often stands alone.
January 5–February 25; 170 Suffolk Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Elizabeth Glaessner, Debasers (2017). Courtesy of P.P.O.W.
“Elizabeth Glaessner: Mother Tongue” at P.P.O.W.
Inspired by ancient tales handed down through oral tradition, Elizabeth Glaessner has spent the last 10 years painting a surreal, imaginary universe of her own creation. Her colorful paintings include a series of large-scale silk works that hang from the gallery ceiling.
January 6–February 10; 535 West 22nd Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
“Paul Henry Ramirez: Fun in the Color” at Ryan Lee Gallery
Paul Henry Ramirez’s “PaintPour” paintings produce an explosion of color, while a second room will showcase the artist’s black-and-white drawings and sculptures.
January 6–February 10; 515 West 26th Street, opening reception, 4 p.m.–6 p.m.
Survival Research Laboratories, Mr. Satan Head (2007). Photo courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary.
“Survival Research Laboratories: Inconsiderate fantasies of negative acceleration characterized by sacrifices of a non-consensual nature” at Marlborough Contemporary
Founded by Mark Pauline in November 1978, Survival Research Laboratories will only now have its first gallery show, featuring eight battered steel robots, built between 1986 and the present, as well as video documentation of the kinetic sculptures in motion. Make it to the opening before 6 pm for your only chance to see the machines activated and on the move.
January 6–February 10; 545 West 25th Street, opening reception, 4 p.m.–8 p.m.
Katsu. Courtesy of the Hole.
“Katsu: Memory Foam” at the Hole
If you’re interested in some of the new ways that artists are embracing technology, Katsu’s second show at the Hole is one you won’t want to miss. He has used drones to paint flowers, and harnessed the power of artificial intelligence and neural networks to generate portraits of probable criminals, based on thousands of vintage mugshots. There’s also a VR “homage” to San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.
January 6–29; 312 Bowery, opening reception, 4 p.m.–6 p.m.
Mark di Suvero, Eppur si muove (2014–17). Photo courtesy of Paula Cooper.
“Mark di Suvero” at Paula Cooper
Paula Cooper is showing drawings, paintings, and sculptures by the large-scale sculptor, including Eppur si muove (2014–17), a monumental Möbius strip crafted from stainless steel that is named after Galileo’s famous riposte.
January 6–February 3; 534 West 21st Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Cristina Iglesias, Phreatic Zones. Courtesy of Marian Goodman.
“Cristina Iglesias: Entwined” at Marian Goodman
The natural and the industrial meet in the sculpture of Cristina Iglesias, whose cast aluminum “Phreatic Zones” reliefs, displayed under flowing water, appear to be strange organic landscapes, drawing in the viewer.
January 9–February 10; 24 West 57th Street, opening reception, 4 p.m.–8 p.m.
Dan Miller, Untitled. Courtesy of Andrew Edlin Gallery.
“Dan Miller” at Andrew Edlin Gallery
A veteran of Oakland’s Creative Growth Art Center, a nonprofit for artists with disabilities, Dan Miller follows up an appearance at the 2017 Venice Biennale’s central exhibition with his first show at Andrew Edlin Gallery. The self-taught artist, who is autistic, creates abstract drawings from words and numbers, obsessively layered into illegibility.
January 10–February 18; 212 Bowery, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Nene Humphrey, Transmission Braidwall (detail). Courtesy of Lesley Heller Workspace.
“Nene Humphrey: Transmission” at Lesley Heller Workspace
As the artist-in-residence at New York University’s Center for Neural Science: The LeDoux Lab, Nene Humphrey is adept at blending art and science, considering the connection between the neuroscience of emotions and the Victorian mourning ritual of braiding the hair of deceased loved ones. In her multimedia works, which include video, installation, and charcoal drawings, Humphrey swaps out the hair for wire.
January 10–February 18; 54 Orchard Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Gordon Parks, Evening Wraps (1956). Courtesy of Gordon Parks Foundation, ©the Gordon Parks Foundation.
“Gordon Parks: I AM YOU | Part 1” at Jack Shainman Gallery
Jack Shainman is teaming up with the Gordon Parks Foundation to present a two-part exhibition of the work of the late photographer, known for his images documenting the Civil Rights movement. Catch lesser known works here, including 1950s and ’60s-era fashion photographs shot in New York as well as portraits of Helen Frankenthaler, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, and other artists in their studios.
January 11–February 10; 524 West 24th Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Colour & Form XLVII (2017). Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen. ©Serge Alain Nitegeka. Photo by Object Studies.
“Serge Alain Nitegeka: Personal Effects in BLACK” at Marianne Boesky
Johannesburg-based artist Serge Alain Nitegeka will take over both of Marianne Boesky’s New York galleries with his new paintings, featuring geometric compositions with heavy lines. A site-specific installation will fill the corridor connecting the two galleries.
January 11–February 23; 509 and 507 West 24th Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Peter Campus, Ebb and Flow (2017). Courtesy of Cristin Tierney Gallery.
“Peter Campus: Pause” at Cristin Tierney Gallery
Opening during the final days of the artist’s survey exhibition at Seville’s Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (through January 21), Peter Campus’s solo show at Cristin Tierney features new video work shot on the seashores of Long Island, Massachusetts, and France.
January 11–February 17; 524 West 24th Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Stephen Shore, New York, New York, May 19, 2017 (2017). Courtesy of 303 Gallery.
“Stephen Shore” at 303 Gallery
Concurrent with Stephen Shore’s excellent retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (through May 28), this exhibition features new work taken with the Hasselblad X1D, a high-resolution digital camera that has a touchscreen interface, much like an iPhone.
January 11–February 17; 524 West 24th Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Hans Hartung, T1988-E24 (1988). ©Hans Hartung / ADAGP, Paris 8 ARS, New York, 2018. Photo by Claire Dorn, courtesy of Perrotin.
“Hans Hartung: A Constant Storm. Works from 1922 to 1989” at Perrotin
Perrotin has secured key museum loans for this survey of pioneering abstract and Modernist artist Hans Hartung’s nearly seven-decade career. The painter will also have simultaneous exhibitions at New York’s Nahmad Contemporary and Simon Lee Gallery, London.
January 11–February 18; 130 Orchard Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Chris Dorland, untitled (memory cortex), 2017. Courtesy of Lyles & King.
“Chris Dorland: Civilian” at Lyles & King
A frightening vision of what we might expect from the rise of artificial intelligence, Chris Dorland’s hypnotic videos and Alumacore panels imagine a future in which cell phones and other machines become extensions of our bodies, and technology merges with personal identity.
January 12–February 11; 106 Forsyth Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Claudio Parmiggiani, from the “Delocazione” series. Courtesy of Bortolami.
“Claudio Parmiggiani” at Bortolami
Claudio Parmiggiani’s “Delocazione” series harnesses the power of fire, the artist literally marking his canvases with soot and flame by lighting a fire right next to his paintings. He mounts violins, hourglasses, and other objects in front of the canvas, removing them after the flames have died down to reveal a ghostly shadow.
January 12–February 24; 39 Walker Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
David Zwirner, 43 Greene Street, New York, 2001 (during the exhibition “Diana Thater: The sky is unfolding under you”). Photo courtesy of David Zwirner.
“David Zwirner: 25 Years” at David Zwirner
David Zwirner marks its 25th anniversary with an exhibition of the gallery’s artists, featuring never-before-seen and newly commissioned work from the likes of Donald Judd, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, and Richard Serra. It’s a big month for the dealer, who will also open his first gallery in Asia, setting up shop in Central Hong Kong.
January 13–February 17; 519, 525, and 533 West 19th Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
LaToya Ruby Frazier, Abigail DeVille, photographed through a motel window, part of the series “A Pilgrimage to Noah Purifoy’s Desert Art Museum.” Courtesy of LaToya Ruby Frazier.
“LaToya Ruby Frazier” at Gavin Brown’s enterprise
LaToya Ruby Frazier’s first show at Gavin Brown’s will be the photographer’s largest exhibition in the city to date, featuring work from her recent series “Flint is Family,” “The Notion of Family,” and “A Pilgrimage to Noah Purifoy’s Desert Art Museum.”
January 14–February 25; 439 West 127th Street, opening reception 2 p.m.–6 p.m.
One of Alison Jackson’s staged Donald Trump photos from the series “Private.” Photo courtesy of Alison Jackson.
“One Year of Resistance” at Untitled Space
Timed to the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and the gallery’s protest show “UPRISE/ANGRY WOMEN,” more than 80 contemporary artists, including Rebecca Goyette, Michele Pred, and Ann Lewis will present work created in response to the current political climate.
January 17–February 4; 45 Lispenard Street, Unit 1W, opening reception, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
Tom Wesselmann, Still Life #60 (1973). Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. ©the Estate of Tom Wesselmann/Licensed by VAGA, New York.
“Tom Wesselmann: Standing Still Lives” at Gagosian Gallery
A nine-work monumental painting series by Tom Wesselmann (1931–2004) from 1967–81 will be shown in its entirety for the first time. Despite the absence of the artist’s wife and muse Claire Selley, the still lives nonetheless offer a sense of intimate portraiture, of women’s things painted on sections of freestanding canvas.
January 18–February 24; 555 West 24th Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Robert Indiana, installation view of LOVE WALL (1966–2006), Park Avenue and 57th Street, New York, 2008. Photo courtesy of Christopher Burke Studio. Artwork ©2017 Morgan Art Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
“Robert Indiana” at Paul Kasmin Gallery
In celebration of his upcoming 90th birthday, in September, Paul Kasmin presents a Robert Indiana solo show. Best known for his iconic monumental LOVE sculpture, the artist will show a 12-foot-tall Cor-ten steel monument called the LOVE WALL comprising four versions of the famed work mirrored and stacked in four quadrants.
January 18–March 3; 515 West 27th Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Robin Rhode, Joints (2017), detail. Courtesy of Lehmann Maupin.
“Robin Rhode: The Geometry of Colour” at Lehmann Maupin
South African street artist Robin Rhode is displaying photographs of his last works on “the Broken Wall” in Johannesburg—he recently wrote an open letter to ArtAfrica explaining that “it’s become too dangerous” to continue to be “caught up in a spiral of violence and danger in the area where I work.”
January 18–February 24; 536 West 22nd Street, opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Gil Batle, S Chicken (2017). Courtesy of Ricco Maresca.
“Gil Batle: Re-Formed” at Ricco Maresca
Gil Batle is known for his intricately carved ostrich shells, a process he perfected while serving time in prison. His new playing card works, featuring incredibly detailed drawings, are also inspired by his time behind bars, where the different gangs would communicate through the encoded symbols on specially designed “kite decks.”
January 19–February 24; 529 West 20th Street, 3rd floor, opening reception 6:30 p.m.–9 p.m.
Thomas Nozkowski, Untitled (7-10), 1992. Courtesy of Pace Gallery.
“Thomas Nozkowski: 16 x 20” at Pace Gallery
Even though they were made over a period of 40 years, Thomas Nozkowski almost never varied the scale of his paintings. The 25 colorful canvases that appear in his upcoming solo show are all exactly 16 by 20 inches.
January 19–February 17; 510 West 25th Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Channa Horwitz, from the “Sonakinatography” series. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery.
“Channa Horwitz” at Lisson Gallery
In the artist’s first show with Lisson, the gallery presents Channa Horwitz’s (1932–2013) series “Sonakinatography,” based on a proposal that was rejected by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for their 1968 “Art and Technology” show.
January 19–February 24, 138th 10th Avenue.
Lola Flash, stay afloat – use a rubber. Courtesy of Pen and Brush.
“Lola Flash” at Pen + Brush
This survey of Lola Flash’s more than 30-year photography career starts with 1980s-era images about the AIDS crisis and ends with age discrimination-defying portraits of women over the age of 70. The artist is known for her often feminist-tinged work that challenges preconceived notions about race and sexuality.
January 25–March 17, 29 East 22nd Street.
Yapci Ramos, Red-Hot (still). Courtesy of Catinca Tabacaru Gallery.
“Yapci Ramos: Red-Hot” at Catinca Tabacaru Gallery
Every month for the past two years, Yapci Ramos has filmed herself naked in the bathroom, using her menstrual blood to write one word in large red letters on the wall before washing it off. The project is documented in a new 18-channel video installation.
January 26–February 25; 250 Broome Street, opening reception 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
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