Art & Exhibitions
Here’s Your Definitive Guide to Museum Week in New York City
Time to hit the circuit!
Time to hit the circuit!
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In case you missed the memo, you’re in the thick of Museum Week, an annual event that kicked off back in 1992. But with the advent of social media, there’s probably no better time than the present to partake in the festivities. As a matter of fact, Twitter even created a fun little video to get its users pumped for the action:
To kick off #MuseumWeek, discover museums' most well-kept secrets: https://t.co/I0IyK5xC7mhttps://t.co/WMudOa5BWk
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— Twitter (@twitter) March 28, 2016
Though the celebration’s reach extends across the globe, we decided to take a local approach and help folks in the New York City area as they hit the museum circuit. From a return of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s powerful, candy-filled exhibition Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA) at the Met Breuer, to Rashaad Newsome’s latest art world contribution at the Studio Museum in Harlem, these are the museum exhibitions you won’t want to miss.
1. The Met Breuer
Perhaps one of the most exciting shows at the Met’s new contemporary gallery space is a re-surfacing of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s candy-work. Granted, the interactive piece is certainly social media-friendly, but don’t be mistaken: The piece draws its power from a heart-breaking, resonant dimension of the artist’s life.
2. New Museum
Over at the New Museum, artist Pia Camill’s first solo exhibition is a testament to the power of participation. In “A Pot for a Latch,” the personal objects of visitors find their way in a complex grid of the artist’s making.
3. The Jewish Museum
That fashion and art have historically enjoyed a symbiotic relationship isn’t news to artist Isaac Mizrahi, and with the help of a major exhibition at the Jewish Museum, he’s hoping to convince those non-believers among us. In “An Unruly History,” Mizrahi showcases his finest designs, taking them off the runway and into a context they’ve arguably always belonged.
4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
If you needed a reason to wander through the wondrous wings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, let Museum Week be the incentive you were waiting for. For those interested in the heights of sculptural furniture, you might want to check out a show that’s currently on view titled “Artistic Furniture of the Gilded Age.”
5. Brooklyn Museum
There are still three days to celebrate Women’s History Month, and while there are currently a host of shows around town to choose from, an obvious choice is Judy Chicago’s “Dinner Party” over at the Brooklyn Museum.
6. Queens Museum
For a bird’s eye view of New York City, one only has to find their way to the Queens Museum for a miniature model with a breathtaking panoramic view. If the work looks familiar, it’s probably because the “Panorama of the City of New York” has made a number of appearances in popular media (most recently in the hit TV series “Mr. Robot”).
7. The Bronx Museum of the Arts
There’s a lot going on north of Harlem, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts is curating the best of the borough. Among the many offerings currently on view is an installation titled “In a Grove” by Jill Baroff, because there’s nothing better than art and good weather.
8. The Museum of Modern Art
A new show by the illustrious Edgar Degas was recently mounted at the MoMA, and they’re not your usual suspects. In “A Strange Beauty,” the museum takes us on a journey through the French artist’s magical forays into monotyping.
9. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
If you’re looking for a dose of spring, who better to serve it than Wassily Kandinsky? His works, along with other masters of European and American art from the 1920s through the 1960s, are currently on view at the Guggenheim.
10. The Whitney Museum of American Art
Nina Chanel Abney has been making waves for her vibrant canvases in recent years, and while you may have missed her show at the Gateway Project Spaces in Newark, you can still catch her piece in a group exhibition at the Whitney titled “Flatlands.”
11. MoMA PS1
It’s shaping out to be a strong summer for MoMA PS1 as it prepares for its solo exhibition of Cao Fei’s work. But ahead of her premiere, there’s a must-see Lionel Maunz’s exhibition that’ll be on view until August 29.
12. The Studio Museum in Harlem
Rashaad Newsome has been busy these days with the launch of POSTURE Magazine and parties in his honor. Just last week, the artist took to the Studio Museum in Harlem to show his latest work titled “THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO SEE.”