February is a big month for big shows like the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), The Winter Show at Park Avenue Armory, the Orchid Show at New York Botanical Garden, along with annual celebrations paying tribute to Black History Month, the Lunar New Year, and Valentine’s Day ~ in addition to museum and gallery exhibitions focusing on political, environmental and other issues which are front and center in our lives today. Here are more than 25 suggestions to add to your list in February + many more still on view.
Kick-Off Black History Month at a Free Open House at The Apollo Theater ~ February 1
This February, the world famous Apollo Theater will kick off Black History Month with Apollo Open House: Celebration of Cool on Saturday February 1st from 1 p.m. – 6.p.m., to celebrate and explore the rich history of the Theater as it continues the legacy of Black History.
More events during Black History Month include:
Namesakes at Arsenal Gallery ~ currently on view
March On: A Community Celebration of the Harlem Renaissance at 100 (a Free Event) at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine on February 1
A Decade of Soul at The Blue Note (with brunch) on February 1
12th Annual Black History Month Celebration by The Harlem Chamber Players on February 13 (at The Schomburg Center) a Free event
Visit Seneca Village, with new signage in Central Park.
Visit The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for a full calendar celebrating Black History Month including 2020 Black Lives Matter Teen Conference on February 8th; Battling NYC School Segregation: 1964 and 2020 on February 5th + more.
Black History Month Concert presented by the MSM Black Student Union, Manhattan School of Music, on February 19th
African Pop-Up Festival at MIST Harlem on February 22nd
Take a Tour ~ Welcome to Harlem
In the Company of Harold Prince: Broadway Producer, Director, Collaborator at New York Public Library
In addition to displaying original costumes, set models, and archival video, this exhibition borrows from the aesthetic of immersive theatre and invites visitors to pick up, examine, and interact with reproductions of documents and objects from the Library’s unparallelled collections. Facsimiles of the paperwork for Pajama Gameand Damn Yankees will be scattered over a recreation of Prince’s desk. Digital replicas of stage manager Ruth Mitchell’s scripts will be linked to thousands of never-before-seen photographs from the Library’s collections. An open cabaret stage will allow visitors to perform pieces from his shows or record their own stories about their experience with Prince’s theatrical work. The exhibition is on view to March 31, 2020 at NYPL, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza at 65th Street and Columbus Avenue, NYC.
The Annual NYC Parks WinterJam ~ February 1
Presented by NYC Parks, the Olympic Regional Development Authority, I Love NY, and I Ski NY, Winter Jam is a free winter sports festival for New Yorkers of all ages! Our partners at Gore Mountain will blow a mini mountain of snow in the heart of Manhattan, creating an urban wonderland for all to enjoy!
Celebrate The Lunar New Year at The MET ~ February 1
Mark the Year of the Rat, one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, with performances, interactive gallery activities, and artist-led workshops. From 11am to 5pm, a day of celebration for all ages.
Free Community Day at Poster House Museum ~ February 1
February 1st is a free-of-charge day at the Poster House Museum. Join them for special programming throughout the afternoon including live performances of African drumming and dance, complimentary button making for all ages, live DJ and on-site discounts in the shop. More on current exhibitions, 20/20 Insight: Posters from 2017 Women’s March and Explore the Golden Age of Hand-Painted Movie Posters from Ghana.
Selections from the Klewin Collection at National Arts Club ~ February 3
A graduate of Connecticut College, NAC member Kyle Klewin has been collecting art for almost 20 years. Major works by Kehinde Wiley, Marilyn Minter, and Jimmy DeSana are included in this unique and personal collection. Mr. Klewin has also gifted 16 works to the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The Gold Standard of Textile + Fiber Art at Westbeth Gallery ~ February 5
How do 80 artists, working primarily in fiber, hone their conception of beauty and truth while integrating a mixture of materials (both natural and synthetic) with technique?)
Antony Gormley: New York Clearing at Pier 3, Brooklyn Bridge Park ~ February 5
scott.rudd@gmail.com @scottruddevents
Antony Gormley: New York Clearing (2020) was unveiled at Pier 3, Brooklyn Bridge Park as part of the international public art project, CONNECT, BTS, introducing the pioneering global project from Korea connecting five cities and twenty-two artists, each contributing their own unique philosophy and imagination.
New York Philharmonic Celebrates the Centennial of the 19 Amendment ~ Project 19th ~ February 5
Project 19 is the single largest women-only commissioning initiative in history commissioning and premiering 19 new works by 19 women composers. “As one of the leading orchestras in America, it is the New York Philharmonic’s responsibility, and our joy, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of American women’s right to vote with this vast commissioning project,” said Music Director Jaap van Zweden. This is ‘Jaap’s’ second season as Music Director with the Philharmonic.
New York Stories: Vintage Postwar Photographs at Keith de Lellis Gallery ~ February 6
In New York Stories, Keith de Lellis Gallery examines a familiar subject, New York City, through the lenses of fourteen accomplished photographers. These local artists discovered captivating scenes through their varied approaches to street photography.
First Thursday Gallery Walk in DUMBO ~ February 6
On the first Thursday of every month, DUMBO’s galleries stay open late for a night of art, gallery openings, artist talks, and live performance. Check out participating galleries Here. RSVP on Facebook Here.
SEXMOB Goes to the Movies at Poster House Museum ~ February 6
Join us as the legendary, Grammy nominated, NYC band Sexmob performs music from their albums devoted to classic movie soundtracks. Gear up for tunes from Cinema, Circus & Spaghetti: Sexmob Plays Fellini, the band’s revered record focusing on the work of Federico Fellini collaborator Nino Rota, and Sexmob Does Bond, consisting of John Barry’s immortal music for the 007 franchise. Many of these delicious pieces have had the pleasure of marinating in the band’s repertoire for almost two decades.
Greenwich House Pottery at The Whitney ~ February 7
Join The Whitney for a hands-on workshop exploring the ceramic arts with Greenwich House Pottery (GHP). Participants will take inspiration from works on view in Making Knowing: Craft in Art 1950–2019 and learn about different hand-building techniques in order to create their own artworks. All skill levels welcome.
Uri Aran: House at Gavin Brown’s enterprise ~ February 7
Uri Aran: House on view at Gavin Brown’s enterprise from February 7 through April 5, 2020 with Opening Reception on Friday, February 7 from 6-8pm.
Measure Your Existence at The Rubin Museum of Art ~ February 7
Visitors are called upon to co-produce, participate, and intimately experience works of art through time-based and durational installations. The exhibition creates ephemeral moments of reflection and meaning, inspiring personal recollection and reminiscence.
Climb to the Top of the Historic Harlem Fire Watchtower ~ February 8 and 16
Climb to the top of the historic Harlem Fire Watchtower in Marcus Garvey Park on a free tour with Urban Park Rangers and NYC Parks Department. This is a free event, open to the public, and will take place on February 8th and 16th from Noon to 3:00pm.
Cupid’s Undie Run NYC ~ February 8
This February, be a part of Cupid’s Undie Run, a “brief,” mile(ish) fun run that takes place in the middle of a BIG party – all to find a cure for Neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic tumor disorder that affects 1 in every 3,000 births.
21st Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival ~ February 9
Join in on the fun and celebration of The Year of the Rat at Chinatown’s best known parade and cultural festival.
VIP Tour of The Historic Salmagundi Club ~ February 9
Come inside, soak up the atmosphere and learn about the historic Salmagundi Club with one of our member docents. This is a rare opportunity to see works by important American artists spanning from yesteryear to today in a spectacular 19th Century setting. Explore the landmarked building and its elegant architecture, view our historic art collection, historic palette collection, rare Union League pool tables, and vintage monotype printing presses!
Dorothea Lange: Words & Pictures at MoMA ~ February 9
Dorothea Lange: Words & Pictures, the first major MoMA exhibition of Lange’s in 50 years, brings iconic works from the collection together with less seen photographs—from early street photography to projects on criminal justice reform. The work’s complex relationships to words show Lange’s interest in art’s power to deliver public awareness and to connect to intimate narratives in the world.
Photographer Michael Avedon at National Arts Club ~ February 11
Photographer Michael Avedon will explore his journey and how concepts such as empathy, history, politics, and legacy inform his vision. Avedon will be joined by New York Magazine’s Director of Photography Jody Quon.
Legal Landmarks with Author Robert Pigott at National Arts Club ~ February 12
Author Robert Pigott presents a revelatory slideshow drawn from his book, New York’s Legal Landmarks, a historical guidebook. It features courthouses past and present that were sites of sensational trials (both actual and in film), locations that figured in the nation’s constitutional history, law firms where great Americans practiced law, and the homes, schools, and final resting places of Supreme Court Justices.
Alberto di Fabio | Masakatsu Sashie | Harif Guzman: Atomized at GR Gallery ~ February 12
GR Gallery will open its doors to “ATOMIZED”, a unique duo exhibition of Alberto Di Fabio, Italian master of exceptional scientific abstraction and Masakatsu Sashie, a visionary Japanese talent of Pop Surrealism. The exhibition will also include new works by street art legend Harif Guzman, appositely conceived for this occasion to match the thread of the event. The show will feature 16 total works that will challenge the title by the subliminal textures of atomized landscapes in peculiar ways.
I See You: TAFA + Tomo Mori ~ ChaShaMa ~ February 12
I See You, an exhibition of artwork by Ghanaian-native artist TAFA and Japanese-native artist Tomo Mori, will be presented from February 12th through March 8th, 2020, as part of Chashama’s series of exhibitions featuring the work of immigrant artists at 340 E 64th St. in NYC. TAFA and Tomo Mori each make their home in Harlem, known for its vibrant, international, creative community. Their artistic conversation, borne out of a nine-year-friendship, exemplifies the rich exchange of influences and perspectives offered by a diverse immigrant presence in the United States, and in particular, New York City.
Abstract Romare Bearden at D C Moore Gallery ~ February 13
The exhibition, Abstract Romare Bearden will be on view from February 13 through March 28, 2020 at D C Moore Gallery, 535 West 22nd Street, in Chelsea, NYC. Opening Reception to be held on Thursday, February 13th from 6-8pm.
45 Stories in Jewelry at MAD ~ February 13
A bold reimagining of the Museum’s exceptional collection of studio and contemporary art jewelry, 45 Stories in Jewelry: 1947 to Now will display the collection’s most important works within a multimedia storytelling environment.
Dionisios Fragias: The Landscape I Can’t Unsee at Fremin Gallery ~ February 13
Dionisios Fragias is a New York based artist born on the Greek island of Kefalonia and raised in New York City. He is the protege of acclaimed artist Jeff Koons whose years-long mentorship, working very closely together, has instilled in the artist a sensitive approach to his art practice. Through his own works, Fragias examines human nature’s tendencies towards creation and destruction.
Valentine’s Day ~ February 14th
Times Square Heart Design Competition
Times Square Arts has announced that MODU and Eric Forman Studio’s Heart Squared is the winner of this year’s annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition curated by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. As this year’s winning design, Heart Squared will be unveiled on January 30 at 11am at Father Duffy Square, between 46th and 47th Streets. The installation will remain on view for the month of February.
Not feeling the Love? The Bronx Zoo will help you Name a Roach!
For those that don’t always have the right words, here are a few suggestions ~ The Roach, Roach Candles, Roach Socks, or give the full package (The Works).
Found But Not Lost Program in Bryant Park ~ February 14
Every year #knittycity and #bryantpark work together on our #foundbutnotlostscarves. This year our knitters and crocheters made 800+. The majority of these have been donated to the homeless, shelters and people in need. Some of these by the big fountain on Valentine’s Day for you to pick up to give to someone who might benefit from a little love.
City/Game: Basketball in New York at Museum of the City of New York ~ February 14
City/Game: Basketball in New York captures the excitement and evolution of this quintessentially urban game and the energy of the diverse New Yorkers who play it and love it. Relive historic highs and lows, and revisit legendary players like Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, WNBA trailblazer Nancy Lieberman, as well as current stars such as Queens-born Liberty star Tina Charles and the city’s latest headline player, Kevin Durant. From Rucker Park to Madison Square Garden, from jazz bands to sneaker stories, experience why basketball is truly the city game.
The Orchid Show: Jeff Leatham’s Kaleidoscope at New York Botanical Garden ~ February 15
The 18th annual Orchid Show will feature the dazzling floral creations of Jeff Leatham, the famed artistic director of the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris and floral designer to the stars.
100 Years |100 Women ~ February 15
The Park Avenue Armory has joined forces with National Black Theatre to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the 19th amendment in a big way.
Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945 at The Whitney Museum of American Art ~ February 17
With approximately 200 works by sixty Mexican and American artists, this exhibition reorients art history by revealing the profound impact the Mexican muralists had on their counterparts in the United States during this period and the ways in which their example inspired American artists both to create epic narratives about American history and everyday life and to use their art to protest economic, social, and racial injustices.
Cauleen Smith: Mutualities at The Whitney Museum of American Art ~ February 17
Cauleen Smith draws on experimental film, non-Western cosmologies, poetry, and science fiction to create works that reflect on memory and Afro-diasporic histories. Mutualities presents two of Smith’s films, Sojourner and Pilgrim, each in a newly-created installation environment, along with a new group of drawings collectively titled Firespitters.
Jordan Casteel: Within Reach at New Museum ~ February 19
In her first New York City solo museum exhibition, Jordan Casteel brings together nearly forty paintings spanning her career. Check schedule for related events including Jordan Casteel in conversation. On view through May 24, 2020.
Countryside, The Future at Guggenheim ~ February 20
Countryside, The Future, is an exhibition addressing urgent environmental, political, and socioeconomic issues through the lens of architect and urbanist Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal, Director of AMO, the think tank of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). A unique exhibition for the Guggenheim Museum, Countryside, The Future will explore radical changes in the rural, remote, and wild territories collectively identified here as “countryside,” or the 98% of the earth’s surface not occupied by cities, with a full rotunda installation premised on original research.
Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter at The Drawing Center ~ February 20
In Can’t I Alter, Santiago creates a multi-faceted narrative in an immersive, drawing-filled installation that explores the theme of ancestry and the necessity of preserving the past while acknowledging the fallacies implicit in historical recollection. As viewers explore the space, they join Santiago and his alter ego, the J’ouvert Knight, in an attempt to locate a diasporic ancestor whose existence cannot ever be fully grasped. A newly commissioned film will accompany the installation, as well as performances organized by Santiago.
- New York, NY… The Drawing Center is pleased to announce that it has received a multi-year grant from the Cy Twombly Foundation to support free admission through February 2023. Free admission to The Drawing Center will begin on February 20, 2020, in conjunction with the opening of the exhibitions Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance and Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter.
Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance at The Drawing Center ~ February 20
Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance is the first major institutional presentation of the Chinese artist’s work in the United States. The exhibition features more than thirty works from Guo’s brief yet prolific career, including drawings executed on book and calendar pages and on cloth, as well as small- and large-scale drawings on rice-paper scrolls. Spanning two floors of The Drawing Center’s galleries, To See from a Distance provides an overview of Guo’s visionary drawings, which incorporate the diagrammatic, the mystical, and the wildly imaginative.
New York, NY… The Drawing Center is pleased to announce that it has received a multi-year grant from the Cy Twombly Foundation to support free admission through February 2023. Free admission to The Drawing Center will begin on February 20, 2020, in conjunction with the opening of the exhibitions Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance and Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can’t I Alter.
Rita Ackermann. Mama ’19 at Hauser & Wirth ~ February 20
Beginning 20 February, Hauser & Wirth will present the latest body of work by Hungarian born, New York-based artist Rita Ackermann ~ a suite of new paintings in which figures and motifs rise to the surface of canvases, only to dissolve and reappear elsewhere again.
Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana at The Ford Foundation Gallery ~ February 21
Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana shares the stories of currently and formerly incarcerated women in Louisiana and shines a light on the myriad issues as identified and expressed by the women themselves. The exhibition presents works from more than 30 artists who created new works based on the personal stories of the persisters. Stories of loss, hope, despair, survival, triumph, and persistence demonstrate the universal struggles faced by communities impacted by incarceration and the personal resilience of each woman featured.
José Parlá: It’s Yours at Bronx Museum of the Arts ~ February 26
José Parlá: It’s Yours will be the first solo museum exhibition of the internationally renowned artist in New York City. The new paintings evoke the artist’s personal connection to the Bronx, as well as the borough’s influence, which have helped to shape how Parlá views painting history and cities around the world. José Parlá: It’s Yours is organized by guest curator Manon Slome.
Opening Reception, Wednesday, February 26th from 6-9pm. RSVP Here.
Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) ~ February 27
Art Dealers Association of America’s (ADAA) Annual Fair to Benefit Henry Street Settlement Will take places from February 27 through March 1, 2020, featuring more than 40 Solo presentations, an emphasis on female artists, and dynamic group presentations spanning art history.
The Poster House Museum: The Sleeping Giant ~ Posters & The Chinese Economy + The Swiss Grid ~ February 27
The Sleeping Giant: Posters & The Chinese Economy explores China’s economic relationship with the world through poster design.
The Swiss Grid explores the development and impact of the International Typographic Style, considered one of the most important movements in graphic design history, through a selection of posters and ephemera. Influenced by the Concrete art of the Bauhaus and Jan Tschichold’s The New Typography, the practitioners of this style streamlined compositions through an adherence to geometric grid structures. The results were pared down, harmonious, instantly comprehensible designs—masterpieces of communication—that have stood the test of time.
To complete the story of Swiss poster history, companion exhibitions in adjoining galleries will celebrate over 100 years of Swiss design, from illustrational posters of the prewar period up through the “Swiss punk” movement of the 1970s and beyond.
The Sleeping Giant: Posters & The Chinese Economy + The Swiss Grid will be on view from February 27 through August 23, 2020 at Poster House Museum.
Line and Frame: A Survey of European Comic Art at Danese/Corey ~ February 27
The exhibition, Line and Frame: A Survey of European Comic Art will bring together over 40 European artists from the last 70 years. This is the first time a rare strip and “crayonné” by Franco-Belgian master Hergé from his series, The Adventures of Tintin: Les Bijoux de la Castafiore will be on view in the US.
‘Bricks and Brownstone: The New York Row House’ at Salmagundi Club ~ February 27
The revived and expanded edition of Brick & Brownstone has been published by Rizzoli and written by Patrick W. Ciccone, New York City based preservationist. Bricks and Brownstone: The New York Row House revisits the classic comprehensively. Join author Patrick W. Ciccone for a lecture and celebration of this revised edition on February 27th at 6:30. Tickets available through Village Preservation.
Jutta Koether: 4 the Team at Lévy Gorvy ~ February 27
82 11/16 x 133 7/8 inches (210 x 340 cm) © Jutta Koether
Courtesy the Artist and Lévy Gorvy
Spanning all three floors of the gallery’s landmark building at 909 Madison Avenue, the exhibition features new paintings alongside a selection of key canvases from the early 1980s to 1990.
Melodie Provenzano: Seeing Oneself in Others at Nancy Margolis Gallery ~ February 27
Inspired by ancient Buddhist principles of attaining liberation through acts of selflessness, still-life artist Melodie Provenzano devised an exhibition concept that honors this notion. Seeing Oneself in Others presents the six paintings Provenzano produced, along with the six sculptures that inspired them, exhibited all together in one space.
Essie Green Galleries Spring Exhibition ~ February 29
The Spring 2020 exhibition at Essie Green Galleries will focus on the recent attention paid to African-American artists, and their rise in prominence in museums and in the marketplace. With a deep and historic connection between the gallery owner, Sherman Edmiston, and prominent African-American artists, the Spring exhibition is sure to be a feast for our eyes.
Nona Hendryx and Disciples of Sun Ra in the Temple at The MET ~ February 29
This multisensory tribute to Afrofuturism pioneer, Sun Ra, features breathtaking costumes and set design by renowned Pueblo artist, Virgil Ortiz, choreography by internationally acclaimed dancer, Francesca Harper, music direction by one of our favorite avant-garde trombonist’s, Craig Harris, invocations by award-winning poet, Carl Hancock Rux, and performances by rock goddess Nona Hendryx.
Bisa Butler: The Storm, the Whirlwind and the Earthquake at Claire Oliver Gallery ~ February 29
Claire Oliver Gallery opens its doors to the debut solo exhibition by artist Bisa Butler: The Storm, the Whirlwind and the Earthquake on view February 29 – April 25, 2020. Butler’s textile portraits of people of color are created from layers of brightly colored fabrics with a multiplicity of meanings. Butler’s composite characters are inspired by historical photography; the resulting images are rendered life-sized with viewers often engaging the subjects eye to eye.
Still on View:
Manhattan Vintage: a Clothing Shopping Event through February 1, 2020
The Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show features New York City’s greatest collection of vintage clothing, accessories and antique textiles from the last century and more. Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show & Sale will take place on Friday, January 31st and Saturday, February 1st at Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC.
The Winter Show at Park Avenue Armory on view through February 2, 2020
The Winter Show returns to the Park Avenue Armory from January 24 through February 2, 2020 for its 66th year, bringing together 72 of the world’s leading experts in the fine and decorative arts.
FrostFest at Bryant Park on view through February 2, 2020
This concludes ten-days of winter fun at Bank of America Winter Village’s FrostFest in Bryant Park, featuring Bumper Cars on Ice, live entertainment at The Lodge, Silent Disco, and our favorite, Cozy Igloos.
David Arky: Sights Unseen at Fremin Gallery on view through February 8, 2020
David Arky was one of the first photographers to see the artistry in x-ray images. In addition to their aesthetic appeal,, Arky’s x-ray photographs invite the viewer to see each object anew. In his latest series, Arky has experimented with many different palettes, creating a bold and colorful contrast to the otherwise monochromatic x-ray images.
David Arky: Sights Unseen on view from January 9 through Fremin Gallery is located at 520 West 23rd Street, Ground Floor, NYC.
Wayne White: I Don’t Know at Joshua Liner Gallery on view through February 8, 2020
Joshua Liner Gallery will open its doors to artist, Wayne White’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery, I DON’T KNOW. The Los Angeles-based artist will present new text-based paintings that feature hand painted backgrounds, as well as laser cut word reliefs, and an oversized kinetic puppet. I DON’T KNOW will open on January 9 and remain on view through February 8, 2020.
20/20 Insight: Posters from the 2017 Women’s March has been extended through February 10, 2020
In a celebration of the January 21, 2017 Women’s March throughout the Country, Poster House Museum opens its doors to a deeper look within the larger context of this demonstration in response to the election of Donald Trump, with the exhibition 20/20 Insight: Posters from the 2017 Women’s March.
Bill Traylor at David Zwirner on view through February 15, 2020
Organized in collaboration with the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation and Family Collections, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at the artist’s distinctive imagery, which mixes subjects and iconography from the American South with a strong formalistic treatment of color, shape, and surface. As part of the Foundation’s broader philanthropic mission, proceeds from the sales of its artworks will benefit the Harlem Children’s Zone, as well as the Foundation itself.
Baptized by Beefcake: The Golden Age of Hand-Painted Movie Posters from Ghana at Poster House Museum has been extended through February 16, 2020
The exhibition presents the work of twenty-two artists whose posters explore how Western movies became symbols of modernity, and even vehicles for religious experience ~ where Rambo and the Terminator become messengers of moral ideologies.
Fruits, Vegetables: Fruit and Vegetable Salad at The Whitney on view through February 17, 2020
From January 15 to February 17, 2020, the Whitney’s eighth floor gallery will be the site of fruits, vegetables; fruit and vegetable salad. The exhibition is comprised of an untitled work by Darren Bader from the Whitney’s permanent collection—acquired in 2015 and never before presented at the Museum—featuring a selection of fruits and vegetables presented as sculptures on pedestals.
Sono Kuwayama: 間 (Ma) at Ki Smith Gallery on view through February 21, 2020
Ki Smith Gallery opened its doors to the first solo exhibition in the gallery by artist Sono Kuwayama. Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, February 1st from 6-10pm.
Noah Davis at David Zwirner Gallery on view through February 22, 2020
David Zwirner is pleased to present work by American artist Noah Davis (1983–2015), organized by Helen Molesworth. On view at the gallery’s 533 West 19th Street location in New York, the exhibition will provide an overview of Davis’s brief but expansive career.
Lucas Samaras: Me, Myself and… at Pace Gallery on view through February 22, 2020
In its new global headquarters located at 540 West 25th Street, Pace Gallery opens its doors to Lucas Samaras: Me, Myself and …., tracking Samaras’s own history alongside the evolution of his protean body of work, and continuing his long-standing investigation into self-imagery and psychological genre-elasticity.
Also on view, Robert Irwin: Unlights from January 17 through February 22, 2020.
Judith Schaechter: Almost Better Angels at Claire Oliver Gallery on view through February 22, 2020
Situated across the ground floor of the gallery, Judith Schaechter’s exhibition Almost Better Angels features seven new large-scale stained-glass works mounted on lightboxes and will mark her seventh solo exhibition with the gallery.
Jan Tichy: Light Shop at Fridman Gallery on view through February 23, 2020
In his second solo exhibition at the gallery, Tichy’s new works explore the local history of the Bowery Lighting District in relationship to the commodification of light and the resulting light pollution. The exhibition will include ‘Bowery Prints’, a suite of ten assemblages of neon sculptures and photograms on silver halide paper, made with glass objects that the artist collected from the ten lighting stores that remain on the Bowery. In the gallery’s main room, a site-specific light projection animates a neon sculpture,, exploring both the formal relationship of specific space to time and light, and the social and ecological implications of what is visible and what is left unseen.
Chellis Baird at Nevelson Chapel Galleries on view to February 27, 2020
In her exhibition, Chellis Baird paves the entryway of Nevelson Chapel with her sculptural paintings. The exhibition will be on view from November 21, 2019 to February 27, 2020 at Galleries at Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue, NYC.
Namesakes at Arsenal Gallery on view through February 27, 2020
In anticipation and celebration of Black History Month in February, NYC Parks is pleased to announce the exhibition “Namesakes: Honoring African Americans in NYC Parks” at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park. The show focuses on a selection of parks throughout the city that are named after notable African Americans.
The Extraordinary at Hunter East Harlem Gallery on view through February 29, 2020
The Extraordinary is a group exhibition of eight artists who are currently in the process of gaining, or currently possess an O-1 Non-immigration Visa: Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement. The exhibition seeks to bring transparency to this process and at the same time, inspect the system which requires those to have “distinction” and be “renowned” in the arts—a subjective and complicated qualification. The Extraordinary is an exhibition that visa-seeking individuals will be able to list on their CVs for qualification for the Visa through the US Government. Complimentary public programming will include workshops with immigration lawyers, support group meetings with other visa seekers and awardees, artist talks and tours, among other relevant events.
Holly Addi at Cheryl Hazan Gallery on view through February 29, 2020
Holly Addi creates paintings and mixed media artworks. Her paintings are often about contact with the architectural structure of life’s imperfections and the harmony of this philosophy. Her work does not reference recognizable forms. The results are deconstructed to the extent that meaning is shifted and possible interpretation becomes multifaceted. Energy (heat, light, water), space and landscape are examined in less obvious ways and sometimes developed in absurd ways.
Adam Friedberg: Single-Story Project at Center for Architecture on view through February 29, 2020
In 2015, photographer and long-time East Village resident Adam Friedberg decided to explore all the single-story buildings in the East Village and the Lower East Side. To date, he has documented in photographs nearly 100 sites. Many of these images are on view in his exhibition, Single-Story Project, at the Center for Architecture.
Harold Ancart: Subliminal Standard at Cadman Plaza Park on view to March 1, 2020
Public Art Fund unveiled Harold Ancart: Subliminal Standard, a playable, painted concrete handball court by Brooklyn-based, Belgian-born artist, Harold Ancart, at Cadman Plaza Park, Brooklyn.
Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds at Fort Gansevoort on view extended through March 7, 2020
Fort Gansevoort Gallery opened its doors to Hock E Aye VI Edgar Heap of Birds ~ Standing Rock Awakens the World ~ on January 11th and has been extended through March 7th
Sounds Lasting and Leaving at Luxembourg & Dayan on view through March 14, 2020
Beginning January 23, 2020, Sounds Lasting and Leaving at Luxembourg & Dayan, New York amplifies the auditory interests of modern and contemporary artists. On view through March 14, 2020, Sounds Lasting and Leaving puts key works by all of these artists into conversation, underscoring how the sonic and the optical have intermixed in art through the 21st century.
Nivola in New York: Figure in Field at The Cooper Union on view through March 15, 2020
The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, the Costantino Nivola Foundation, and the Italian Cultural Institute of New York present Nivola in New York I Figure in Field, an exhibition of the work of Italian sculptor Costantino Nivola (1911-1988), known for his large-scale bas-reliefs, murals, and free-standing sculptural installations created in collaboration with architects.
Zilia Sánchez: Soy Isla (I Am an Island) at El Museo del Barrio on view through March 22, 2020
Zilia Sánchez: Soy Isla (I Am an Island) is the first museum retrospective of the prolific, innovative, and yet largely unknown artist Zilia Sánchez(b. 1926, Havana – lives and works in San Juan). The exhibition features over 40 works from the early 1950s to the present, including paintings, works on paper, shaped canvases, sculptural pieces, graphic illustrations, and ephemera.
En Plein Air on The High Line on view through March 2020
In Spring, 2019, the High Line welcomed eight international artists to set up their easels and work En Plein Air ~ in an artistic dialogue with the surrounding landscape.
Kent Monkman at The MET on view through April 9, 2020
Kent Monkman has been selected to create two monumental paintings for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Great Hall. The installation will be part of a new series of contemporary commissions at The Met in which the Museum invites artists to create new works of art inspired by the collection, establishing a dialogue between the artist’s work, the collection, the space, and audiences. This installation will be on view through April 9, 2020.
Jack Whitten. Transitional Space. A Drawing Survey. will be on view at Hauser & Wirth through April 4, 2020
Hauser & Wirth opened its doors to the first major survey of Jack Whitten’s works on paper, spanning the artist’s six decade career. Jack Whitten (1939 – 2018) made it his mission to disrupt the discipline of art history through experiments with material, process, and technique. He effectively constructed a bridge between gestural abstraction and process art, constantly working toward a nuanced language of painting that employs deeply personal expression. Whitten was also a prolific and powerful draughtsman. The unique body of works on view at Hauser & Wirth testifies to the immensity of his commitment to drawing as a means to make manifest his ideas and advance his methods.
Arabesque at Storefront for Art & Architecture on view through April 18, 2020
an exhibition organized by Storefront for Art and Architecture, 2020.
Storefront for Art + Architecture opened its doors to Arabesque, an exhibition of new works by Rayyane Tablet that explores notions of context and appropriation in our built environment through the road of ornamentation. Arabesque is the third exhibition in Building Cycles, Storefront’s year-long curatorial program that examines building as both a place and a process. Focused on decoration and ornamentation, this exhibition questions existing and historical modes of practice by examining the notions of context and appropriation in our built environment.
Brainwave: Impermanence at The Rubin Museum of Art on view through April, 2020
You live inside your head, but do you understand how it works? Brainwaveinvestigates how our minds shape our everyday experiences with onstage conversations and immersive experiences that combine the most compelling advancements in science with traditional Himalayan wisdom.
The Poetry Jukebox at Bella Abzug Park through April, 2020
We’ve enjoyed The Poetry Jukebox on the Wittenburg Triangle in Greenwich Village, and in the East Village at Extra Place next to Howl! Happening Gallery. Now, The Poetry Jukebox will make its way to Bella Abzug Park.
Bella Abzug Park Sculptures on view through Spring, 2020
Who can forget Bella Abzug ~ and in honor of her memory, New York City Parks renamed Hudson Yards Park in her honor during Women’s History Month, 2019. The busy little Park is also a #7 Train stop on the subway at 34th Street, and sits alongside an entrance to The Shed and The Vessel. It is under the auspices of not only NYC Parks, but also The Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance (HYHK).
JR: Chronicles at Brooklyn Museum through May 3, 2020
The Brooklyn Museum opened its Great Hall to a soaring multimedia installation tracing French artist, JR’s career from his early documentation of graffiti artists as a teenager in Paris, to his large-scale architectural interventions in cities worldwide, to his more recent digitally collaged murals that create collective portraits of diverse publics.
Shahidul Alam: Truth to Power at The Rubin Museum of Art through May 4, 2020
The Rubin Museum of Art will open its doors to Shahidul Alam: Truth to Power, the first U.S. survey of photographer and activist, Shahidul Alam. The exhibition will feature more than 40 images, ephemera, and new work from the artist’s over four-decade career, including portraits, landscapes, and scenes of daily life, strife, and of resistance in the “majority world” ~ a phrase Alam has used since the 1990s to reframe the notion of the “third world” or “global south,” with a view of Bangladesh and South Asia.
Dream Machine: Dandara on view in Tribeca Park through May 4, 2020
“Imagine yourself between these wings, close your eyes, and make a wish! See yourself traveling to the place your dreams will come true!”…. artist, Rubem Robierg. The new installation, Dream Machine: Dandara is on view in Tribeca Park.
In Pursuit of Fashion: The Sandy Schreier Collection on view at The MET through May 17, 2020
The Costume Institute’s fall 2019 exhibition, In Pursuit of Fashion: The Sandy Schreier Collection, will feature promised gifts from Sandy Schreier, a pioneering collector who over the course of more than half a century assembled one of the finest private fashion collections in the United States. On view from November 27, 2019, through May 17, 2020, the show will explore how Schreier amassed a trove of 20th-century French and American couture and ready-to-wear, not as a wardrobe, but as an appreciation of a form of creative expression.
A Wonder to Behold at ISAW on view through May 24, 2020
The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) presents A Wonder to Behold: Craftsmanship and the Creation of Babylon’s Ishtar Gate, opening new avenues for understanding one of the most spectacular achievements of the ancient world. On view from November 6, 2019, through May 24, 2020, the exhibition features 180 objects that bring to life the synthesis of masterful craftsmanship and ancient beliefs that transformed clay, minerals, and organic materials—seen as magically potent substances—into this powerful monument.
Creative Courts + Facebook AIR unveil Courts at Marcus Garvey Park on view to May 24, 2020
NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks ~ Creative Courts initiative, Facebook Artist-in-Residence Program (FB AIR Program), along with artist Saya Woolfalk, the non-profit Public Color, and the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance/Public Art Initiative have brightened up the basketball court on Madison Avenue near 122nd Street in Marcus Garvey Park.
Art Students League: Model for Monuments on view through May 2020
Art Students League unveiled this season’s Model to Monument Public Art in the Parks installations on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 in Riverbank State Park. This year, three sculpture pieces were installed along the Hudson River at 145th Street.
Robert Lobe: SuperStorm Arrived in Duarte Square Park on view to June, 2020
SuperStorm references Hurricane Sandy, one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricane to hit the northeast, inflicting billion in damage. This event so moved the artist that he was compelled to create a monument reflecting the event. Robert Lobe: SuperStorm will be on view to June, 2020.
The Facade Commission: Wangechi Mutu at The MET on view through June 8, 2020
The Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled four installations on the facade of The Met Fifth Avenue, entitled The Facade Commission: Wangechi Mutu, The NewOnes, will free us. Wangechi Mutu was selected to create sculptures for The Met’s Fifth Avenue façade niches—the first-ever such installation on the Museum’s historic exterior—inaugurating a new annual artist commission series. The works were unveiled on September 9, 2019, and extended through June 8, 2020.
The Color of Power: Heroes, Sheroes & Their Creators at CCCADI on view to June 13, 2020
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) will open its doors to the exhibition, The Color of Power: Heroes, Sheroes & Their Creators ~ highlighting the work of comic book artists of color. The exhibition will be on view in the historic firehouse (CCCADI) in East Harlem to June 13, 2020.
The Annual Cinema Connex Film Series through June 14, 2020
Cinema Connex brings independent film to Staten Island, free of charge, and featuring screenings and festival film-centric events spanning a variety of genres and locales. For many of the films, film subjects or directors will be coming out for Q&A’s post screening. Enjoy Downtown Dinner & A Movie.
Capucine Bourcard: Eat Me! + Public Art Initiative on view to July 1, 2020
In a city filled with fast-food options on every corner, bags of chips and cans of soda filling the shelves in local deli’s and bodega’s, and large, glossy ads of sugared drinks on billboards and in shop windows, it’s not easy promoting healthy eating to our kids. Or is it. In the installation EAT ME! the artist, Capucine Bourcart takes a deep-dive into the ease of turning this around in her community, Harlem.
Naomi Lawrence: La Flor De Mi Madre + Public Art Initiative on view to July 1, 2020
The 12 foot x 24 foot Crochet mural, La Flor De Mi Madre by artist Naomi Lawrence, is located on the fence at Eugene McCabe Field in East Harlem. It represents the diverse community in which it is placed, in a colorful representation of national flowers.
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh: Stop Telling Women to Smile on view to at least August, 2020
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, a Brooklyn-based street artist and painter whose street art project Stop Telling Women to Smiletackles gender-based street harassment. Her work can be found on walls from New York to Paris, Los Angeles to Mexico City, and right here……
T. rex: The Ultimate Predator at The Museum of Natural History on view to August 9, 2020
The American Museum of Natural History presents the new exhibition, T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, exploring the latest research and discoveries related to the dinosaurs known as Tyrannousaurs as a kick-off to the Museum’s 150th Anniversary celebration. As part of this exhibition, the Museum will introduce visitors to the entire tyrannosaur family, and reveal the amazing story of the most iconic dinosaur in the world.
Ezra Wube: Project Junction on view at The Africa Center through August 23, 2020
The new exhibition at The Africa Center, Ezra Wube: Project Junction, couldn’t have been timed better ~ running during NYC Restaurant Week. This commissioned mixed media installation explores food “as a collective identity in its ever evolving state,” with the exhibition including a visit to some local, well-known African restaurants.
Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away at Museum for Jewish Heritage extended through August 30, 2020
The Museum of Jewish Heritage has opened its doors to the largest and most extensive exhibition on Auschwitz ever presented in the United States, featuring more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs ~ Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away, extended through August 30, 2020.
Jean-Marie Appriou: the Horses on view through August 30, 2020
Jean-Marie Appriou: The Horses arrived on the Doris C. Freedman Plaza, following Mark Manders: Tilted Head. Curated by Public Art Fund Curator, Daniel S. Palmer, the massive equine sculptures stand like surreal sentinels at the entrance to Central Park.
Susan Stair: Roots on Fire on view through August, 2020
Spending time with artist Susan Stair brings a whole new meaning to the trees that fill our green spaces. As we watched her work to create the clay molds for her next installation, Roots on Fire, Stair took us on a virtual journey underground, exploring how trees constantly send electrical messages through their roots and the mushroom (or mychorrizal network) that compose the Wood Wide Web. Come along on our three-part journey, as we document the creation of the installation Roots on Fire.
Simone Leigh: Brick House Coming to the High Line Plinth on view to September, 2020
As the High Line extends north, the new extended section known as the High Line Plinth unveiled its inaugural installation ~ Simone Leigh’s Brick House, seen from 10th Avenue at 30th Street.
Shrine Room Projects at The Rubin Museum on view through September 14, 2020
The Rubin Museum of Art presents “Shrine Room Projects: Shiva Ahmadi/Genesis Breyer P-Orridge/Tsherin Sherpa,” three contemporary art installations in dialogue with the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room. Located on the fourth floor of the Rubin, alongside the heart of the Museum — the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room — “Shrine Room Projects” feature artists who reinterpret traditional and religious iconography and practices. The exhibition includes rotating video installations by Shiva Ahmadi; an interactive sculptural piece by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge; and newly acquired work by Tsherin Sherpa. “Shrine Room Projects: Shiva Ahmadi / Genesis Breyer P-Orridge / Tsherin Sherpa” will be on view October 18, 2019, through September 14, 2020.
Pope.L.: Choir at Whitney Museum of American Art on view through Winter, 2020
ope. L continues on with Pope.L: Choir, the next complementary exhibition in the trio, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Lobby Gallery, from October 10th through Winter, 2020. Here, the artist creates a new installation expanding on his ongoing exploration and use of water. Choiris inspired by the fountain, the public arena, and John Cage’s conception of music and sound.
Jordan Casteel: The Baayfalls on The High Line at 22nd Street on view through December 2020
The mural The Baayfalls recreates a painting on canvas of the same name originally made in 2017. The Baayfalls is a double portrait of Fallou—a woman Casteel befriended during her artist residency at The Studio Museum in Harlem—and Fallou’s brother, Baaye Demba Sow. The pair are pictured outside the museum at Fallou’s table, where she sold hats she designed. When Fallou’s brother arrived in New York from Senegal, Casteel asked the two to sit for a portrait. The title references Baye Fall, a sect of the Sufi brotherhood Mouride, of which Fallou’s brother is a member. The gesture Fallou makes with her left hand signifies Allah among members of Baye Fall.
See you in March!