Each week, we search for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events, both digitally and in-person in the New York area. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all ET unless otherwise noted.)
Tuesday, April 19
A stilt walker pours champagne for Liev Schreiber at the Tribeca Ball. Photo courtesy of the New York Academy of Art.
1. “Tribeca Ball” at the New York Academy of Art
Every year, the New York Academy of Art throws one of the most unique parties in the art world, opening up its studios and letting students sell their art directly to collectors amid flowing champagne and hors d’oeuvres. The dinner will honor Kenny Scharf, who painted a new mural for the occasion (and who has a solo show opening this at Totah Gallery). If you’re stuck in New York instead of jetting off to Venice this week, this is one party guaranteed to help alleviate FOMO.
Location: New York Academy of Art, 111 Franklin Street, New York
Price: Dinner tickets from $1,500; studio party $300
Time: VIP studio preview and dinner, 6 p.m.–10 p.m.; studio party, 8 p.m.–10 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, April 20 and Thursday, April 21
Left: Mette Edvardsen, Black, 2011. Photo: Elly Clarke. Right: Amant, Géza performance space exterior and courtyard at 306 Maujer Street, Brooklyn. Photo: Rafael Gamo. Courtesy SO–IL.
2. “Performative Exhibition: Mette Edvardsen” at Amant, Brooklyn
On Wednesday, the dancer, choreographer, writer, and artist Mette Evardsen will perform her works Black (2011) and No Title (2014) as the first artist invited to Amant’s Compendio Performance Studio. Both pieces were recently featured at the 34th São Paulo Biennale. On Thursday, she’ll present Suppose a Room, a live one-day-only event that collects and revisits materials, spaces, and physical gestures of past performances.
Location: Amant, 315 Maujer Street, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Price: Free with registration
Time: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, viewing 12 p.m.–4 p.m. and activation 5 p.m.–8 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
Thursday April 21
SoundSpace performers, clockwise from top left: claire rousay, Henna Chou (photo: Leon Alesi), José Villalobos, Akirash (photo: Michelle Akindiya), Alexa Capareda (photo: Sarah Annie Navarrete), Michael Anthony García, Graham Reynolds, and Michael J. Love. Courtesy Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin.
3. “SoundSpace,” at the Blanton Museum of Art, the University of Texas at Austin
For this year’s edition of the popular program “SoundSpace: Conversation Pieces,” curator Steve Parker invited eight artists to create new sonic works in dialogue with individual works from the Blanton’s collection. They include José Villalobos, Alexa Capereda, AKIRASH, Michael Anthony Garcia, Graham Reynolds, Henna Chou, claire rousay, and Michael J. Love.
Location: Virtual
Price: Free with registration
Time: 7:30 p.m ET
—Eileen Kinsella
Thursday, April 21–Sunday, April 24
Attendees at the 2013 New York Antiquarian Book Fair. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
4. “New York International Antiquarian Book Fair” at the Park Avenue Armory, New York
Rare books are just the beginning of what’s for sale at the Antiquarian Book Fair, which is back after canceling its September outing. It will also offer a range of illuminated manuscripts, historical documents, maps, illustrations, and other printed matter from nearly 200 dealers.
Location: Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Avenue in New York
Price: $30 general admission, $60 preview pass, $45 run-of-show
Time: Thursday, 5 p.m.–9 p.m.; Friday, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Saturday, April 23
Dorothea Lange, Human Erosion in California (Migrant Mother) (March 1936). Photo courtesy the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
5. “Written from Images: Literature Inspired by Dorothea Lange” at the Getty, Los Angeles
Poet Tess Taylor and author Jasmin Darznik will discuss and read from recent works inspired by the iconic photographer Dorothea Lange. Sally Stein, professor emerita, in the department of art history, at UC Irvine, will serve as moderator.
Location: Virtual
Price: Free with registration
Time: 5 p.m. ET
—Eileen Kinsella
Sunday, April 24
The ruins of Persepolis, view from the southeast. Photo courtesy of Ali Mousavi.
6. “Art of the Empire: Monumental Cities of Ancient Persia” at the Getty, Los Angeles
The founders of the Achaemenid Persian Empire conceived dynamic monumental architecture and sculpture to convey their mastery of the ancient world. This form of Persian art achieved its highest expression in powerful cities such as Pasargadae, Persepolis, and Susa. Archaeologist Ali Mousavi of UCLA will take a closer look at these ancient cities that served as hubs of multicultural and artistic interaction.
Location: Virtual
Price: Free with registration
Time: 5 p.m. ET
—Eileen Kinsella
Through Saturday, April 23
Leidy Churchman, Eternal Life, New You (2021). Photo courtesy of Matthew Marks, New York.
7. “Leidy Churchman: New You” at Matthew Marks, New York
Leidy Churchman, whose large, Monet-like canvas is a highlight of the Whitney Biennial, presents a wide range of paintings at Matthew Marks, from landscapes to abstractions, to depictions of everyday objects like the calculator. The artist’s practice, rooted in Buddhist philosophy, considers these seemingly disparate subject matter to nonetheless be part of an interconnected body of work.
Location: Matthew Marks Gallery, 523 West 24th Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Austin Lee, Bezos (2021). Courtesy of Jeffrey Deitch, New York.
8. “Austin Lee: Like It Is” at Jeffrey Deitch, New York
Austin Lee uses digital software in concert with traditional techniques to create colorful paintings, sculptures, and animations. His second solo show with Jeffrey Deitch features works designed in virtual reality and then physically fabricated—plus an augmented reality sculpture on the gallery roof, visible via an Instagram filter. “With each new tech expansion comes both positive and negative side effects,” Lee said in a statement. “Isolation mixed with mediated interaction, subversive advertising, facing overwhelming tragedy alone and through a screen—these are just some of the confusing, disorienting experiences that are hard to adapt to and highlight our need for authentic connection.”
Location: Jeffrey Deitch, 76 Grand Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
—Tanner West
Alix Lambert, Judge 2 (2018). Courtesy of Theodore Gallery.
9. “Alix Lambert: Pleadings and Proceedings” at Theodore, New York
Taking advantage of the fact that U.S. courtrooms are open to the public, artist Alix Lambert has spent several years sitting in on trials. Following in the footsteps of courtroom sketch artists, she has illustrated the proceedings, creating snapshots of lawyers, judges, witnesses, family members, jurors, stenographers, court officers, and defendants. The resulting works, captioned with snippets from legal exchanges she has witnessed, are a portrait of the criminal justice system, and how it treats those ensnared in it.
Location: Theodore, 373 Broadway, F10, New York
Price: Free
Time: Thursday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Jordan Nassar, The River Behind (2022). Photo courtesy of James Cohan, New York.
10. “Jordan Nassar: To Light the Sky” at James Cohan, New York
Whether weaving colored glass beads on a wire armature, or embroidering thread on monumental panels, Jordan Nassar’s wall-hanging works turn abstract fields of color into extraordinary landscapes.
Location: James Cohan, 48 Walker Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Nan Stewert
Joan Jonas, Wolf Light in Times Square. Photo courtesy of Times Square Arts.
11. “Joan Jonas: Wolf Light” at Times Square, New York
Times Square Arts kicked off a year-long celebration of the 10th anniversary of its Midnight Moment video series, which screens three minutes of video art across 90 electronic Times Square billboards, starting at 11:57 p.m., with Joan Jonas’s Wolf Light. The video depicts a female figure in a papier-mâché wolf mask in Las Vegas. It’s the first of 12 works by women artists that will run over the next year, honoring artists who have helped bring video art to New York City since the Public Art Fund’s “Messages to the Public” series, from 1982 to 1990.
Location: Times Square, New York
Price: Free
Time: Daily, 11:57 p.m.–12 a.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Duane Michals, Cavafy, 2022 Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery
12. “Duane Michals: Kaleidoscope” at DC Moore Gallery, New York
DC Moore Gallery presents a solo exhibition by 90-year-old artist Duane Michals. The show comprises wooden sculptures, paintings on paper, film, and photographs that highlight the artist’s diverse talent across a wide range of media.
Location: DC Moore Gallery, 535 West 22nd Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
—Neha Jambhekar
Through Saturday, May 7
Roy Nachum, Rosie Lopez (2015). Image courtesy the artist and A Hug From the Art World.
13. “Roy Nachum: Portraits” at A Hug From the Art World, New York
The process for creating this show is done in two parts. Roy Nachum takes over a year in some cases to create these large, hyperreal portraits, using tiny brushes to capture every microscopic detail of the subjects’ faces, all of whom are visually impaired. Then he invites each subject to “finish” the work by marking the surface of their respective portrait with their own interpretive brushstrokes, in the color of their choosing. “It is only after part two, the individuals’ participation, that Nachum feels the portraits gather their soul and unearth their raw presence,” according to the gallery.
Location: A Hug From the Art World, 515 West 19th Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
Through Sunday, June 5
“With Her Voice, Penetrate Earth’s Floor” installation view. Photo courtesy of Eli Klein Gallery
14. “With Her Voice, Penetrate Earth’s Floor: A Group Exhibition in Memory of Christina Yuna Lee” at Eli Klein Gallery, New York
Christina Yuna Lee, who was tragically killed on February 13 in New York, was a beloved employee of Eli Klein Gallery for more than four years. To honor her memory, celebrate her life, and create a space to grieve her untimely death, the gallery will present a group exhibition of nine contemporary femme artists, all belonging to the AAPI community, including work by Lee herself. Curated by stephanie mei huang, the show is made up of paintings, sculpture, and photography and addresses broader themes of Asian hate in U.S. culture. Part of the proceeds will go to organizations that Lee held in high regard.
Location: Eli Klein Gallery, 398 West Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
—Neha Jambhekar
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