Jeffrey Deitch and Massimiliano Gioni.
Photo: newyorksocialdiary.com

We’re all too busy during the week to do all the great things we plan and hope to do. So if you can only commit to one arty event this week, here’s what you should not miss!

WEDNESDAY March 25

Jeffrey Deitch and Massimiliano Gioni Live From the New York Public Library
In conjunction with the recent release of Jeffrey Deitch’s book Live the Art: 15 Years of Deitch Projects (Rizzoli, $100), the former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles will be in conversation with the New Museum’s artistic director Massimiliano Gioni to discuss the way art and its audience have changed in the past two decades.

Deitch should know. The renowned curator, artist, dealer, and adviser has played a critical role in the art world since the mid 1970’s. He founded Deitch Projects and produced over two hundred and fifty projects by contemporary artists during the gallery’s lifespan from 1996 through 2010. That year, he departed to take up the directorship at LA MOCA, which he did for three embattled years before his 2013 exit. Since his return to New York, he’s been organizing one-off shows in spaces around and near the city like “Making Art Dance,” the show earlier this year at Mana Contemporary celebrating the work of dance pioneer Karole Armitage (see Jeffrey Deitch and Mana Contemporary Celebrate Armitage Dance and Art).

Notable for championing such artists as Tauba Auerbach, Yoko Ono, and Kehinde Wiley, Deitch was also on the authentication committee of the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was a close personal friend. Deitch wrote the introduction to Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1981: The Studio of the Street, published by Charta in 2007.

Live the Art, which was published this past fall, is a monograph comprising the history of Deitch Projects.

Massimiliano Gioni, who holds the title of artistic director both at New York’s New Museum as well as Milan’s Nicola Trussardi Foundation, has curated important exhibitions of work by artists Paul Chan and Urs Fischer. He has also worked on the shows “Younger Than Jesus” (the first Triennial), “Carsten Höller: Experience,” and this past summer’s “Here and Elsewhere,” a show of the work of Arab contemporary artists. Gioni also curated the 55th Venice Biennale (See Venice Biennale: Massi On My Mind).

Tickets are available on sale to the general public for $25. Discounted rate of $15 for friends of the NYPL, senior citizens, and students. Get your ticket here.

The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 42nd Street at Fifth Avenue, 7 PM.

For the brave of heart, here are a few other exciting happenings around town:

Fabio Mauri’s performance work Ebrea (Jewess) at Hauser & Wirth
This re-staging of the 1971 performance work happens in conjunction with the exhibition “Fabio Mauri. I Was Not New,” which runs through May 2.
Hauser & Wirth, 32 E. 69th Street, Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 PM.

“Come to Bed!” at BOSI Contemporary Gallery
Curated by Roya Sachs, this all-female show, for which the artists—Michelle Jaffé, Marta Jovanovic, and Esmeralda Kosmatopoulos—were each invited to create an intimate environment, explores communication that centers on the bed, from pillow talk to self-reflection.
BOSI Contemporary, 48 Orchard Street, Wednesday, March 25, 6-9 PM. 

“Surround Audience” Members-Only Viewing and Party
Presented by Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren, this event celebrates the New Museum’s 2015 Triennial.
New Museum, 235 Bowery, 7-10 PM. 

“James Siena: New Sculpture” and “Thomas Nozkowski” at Pace
Pace Gallery opens two exhibitions at its neighboring Chelsea gallery spaces.
Pace Gallery, 508 and 510 West 25th Street, Saturday, March 28, 6-8 PM. 

“Exit Evil Exil” Panel Discussion on Gary Rough at Fergus McCaffrey
Moderated by Douglas Payne (songwriter, bass player and vocalist in the band Travis), panelists include Russell Ferguson, Professor at UCLA and former chief curator at the Hammer Museum.
Fergus McCaffrey, 514 West 26th Street, Saturday, March 28, 4 PM.