The December calendar is filled with Holiday Joy, bringing back some of our favorite annual events from outdoor tree lighting ceremonies all around town to indoor and outdoor Holiday Markets. Here are a few suggestions for art installations, exhibits and a plethora of events during the month of December, 2021.
Kick-Off the Holidays with a Visit to Rolf’s German Restaurant
Every December, we kick-off our Holiday Season at one of the most festive restaurants in town ~ Welcome to Rolf’s German Restaurant in Gramercy Park.
Visiting the Historic National Arts Club During the Holidays is a Real Treat
Built in 1845, the historic pair of townhouses, 14-15 Gramercy Park South, was home to Samuel J. Tilden, former governor of New York. who lived there until his death in 1886. Calvert Vaux, who became its next owner, combined the two row houses, creating the building that stands now ~ and has been home to The National Arts Club since 1906. Take a look inside with a few images below, or take a fabulous virtual tour!
Celebrating Beloved Pets on a Memorial Tree in Central Park
Hidden deep within Central Park, in a secluded place, stands a perfectly situated tree, dressed up for the Holiday’s every year ~ the ornaments all dedicated to beloved pets who have passed on ~ but as we see each year, are never forgotten.
NYC Parks’ Annual Wreath Interpretations on View at Arsenal Gallery
NYC Parks’ annual Wreath Interpretations exhibition is back on display at the Arsenal Gallery, welcoming the holiday season with a variety of inventive and surprising wreaths! After going virtual last year, the 39th exhibition has returned in person and includes wreaths by nearly 40 artists, designers, and creative individuals of all ages who have used unconventional materials to reinvent the traditional holiday symbol. The NYC Park’s Annual Wreath Interpretations exhibition will be on view through January 6, 2022.
Luminaries Returns to Brookfield Place
Brighten up the holidays with Brookfield Place! This season we’re keeping our annual Luminaries tradition alive with the interactive installation in the Winter Garden. Luminaries is on view through January 2, 2022.
Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting ~ December 1
Watch the annual Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting live or broadcast on NBC on Wednesday, December 1st.
Annual Holiday Lighting in Central Park ~ December 2
The 2021 Annual Holiday Lighting in Central Park will take place on Thursday, December 2 at 5:00pm, located at the Dana Discovery Center, Harlem Meer on 110th Street.
Kevin Lustik: In Stitches at Port Authority
The New York Port Authority exhibition space can be a delightful surprise. Currently on view we spotted the work of needle artist Kevin Lustik and his exhibit In Stitches, filling the two large glass cases that makeup the exhibition space.
Carrie Mae Weems: The Shape of Things at Park Avenue Armory ~ December 2
The Shape of Things builds on the convening of the same name and accompanying public programming that Weems hosted at the Armory during her residency in 2017, using art as a lens to probe the political and social issues of the day. Reflecting the “circus- like” quality of contemporary American political life, Weems conjures a dark setting in the Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall with an exhibition that encompasses the breadth of her artistic output—including new multimedia installations and iconic works from the past decade, as well as a performance series and convening of artists. This timely project, which will be situated in the Drill Hall from December 2 through December 31, 2021, was conceived as a platform for collective investigation and reflection on the complexity of the American experience.
The Annual ‘Miracle on Madison Avenue’ ~ December 4
Since 1986, the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District (B.I.D.) has chosen to celebrate the holidays by presenting Miracle on Madison Avenue. A cherished New York holiday shopping tradition, the 35th Annual Miracle on Madison Avenue will be held this year on Saturday, December 4.
The 80th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor ~ December 7
As we remember this solemn day, the National Arts club will host the virtual program ’80 Years Ago: Pearl Harbor’s Archaeological Legacy’ on Wednesday, December 8th at 2:00pm. Dr. James P. Delgado will share insights and revelations from decades of archaeological and historical work on the sites associated with the attack on Oahu. Register Here.
‘Members Only’ Exhibit at Living with Art Salon ~ December 8
Living with Art Salon will open its doors to the first annual ‘Members Only‘ exhibition showing over 75 works of art created by 15 visual artists ~ all members of Art Lives Here, a non-profit arts organization, creating opportunities for emerging artists. Opening on December 8th, we couldn’t wait, and got a sneak-peek today.
Holiday House NYC ~ December 8-10
Holiday House NYC is returning to New York City for a LIVE event, which will showcase their beloved design industry members and talented interior designers as they come together to raise critical funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). The event will run from December 8th through December 10th at The Elizabeth Taylor Mansion located at 10 West 56th Street, NYC.
Swedish Modern: Mid-Century Photographers by Swedish Photographers at Keith de Lellis Gallery ~ December 9
Keith de Lellis Gallery presents a selection of sixteen accomplished mid-century Swedish photographers whose innovative work has remained relatively unfamiliar to the American public. Ten of these individuals were part of TIO (a Swedish word for “ten”), a collective of Swedish photographers established in 1958. From nature and industrial scenes to abstraction and fashion, Swedish Modern captures the broad range of creative styles and interests that were present in the minds of mid-century Swedish artists. What unites the wide variety of subject matter between the photographers in this exhibition is their shared attitude of inquiry into the possibilities of what the camera is capable of.
Amanda Matthews Honors Journalist Nellie Bly on Roosevelt Island ~ December 10
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) has selected Amanda Matthews/Prometheus Art to construct the Nellie Bly Monument on the northern end of Roosevelt Island at Lighthouse Park. The sculptural installation will be known as “The Girl Puzzle” and invites the viewer to experience many facets of Nellie Bly’s talent, conviction and compassion. The ground-breaking journalist and women’s rights advocate exposed the horrors of the Blackwell Island Insane Asylum in 1887 on Roosevelt Island.
Paper & Glue (a JR Project) on MSNBC ~ December 10
Paper & Glue is a feature-length documentary that follows acclaimed French artist, JR, around the globe as he builds some of his most monumental projects, challenging perspectives and uniting communities through his thought-provoking work. In select theaters and also on MSNBC, Friday, December 10th at 10pm.
Human Connection Arts holds Black Light Holiday Party ~ December 11
Join Human Connection Arts for it’s Holiday Black Light Body Painting Party. Be sure to sign up – space is limited.
The Dragon King by Tanglewood Marionettes at Flushing Town Hall ~ December 11
On Saturday, December 11th, the award-winning Tanglewood Marionettes will return to Flushing Town Hall with The Dragon King, an underwater fantasy based on Chinese folklore, for a morning and afternoon show. Both in-person and virtual tickets are available.
The Art Students League Annual Holiday Art Sale ~ December 14
The Art Students League of New York is pleased to announce the return of its Holiday Art Sale featuring works for sale by League artists. The exhibition and annual sale is free and open to the public to browse available works and take home a piece of The League. All purchases directly support emerging artists and help The League continue to offer accessible, affordable, high-quality arts education and instruction.
The Harlem Night Market at the Historic La Marqueta ~ December 17-19
From tamales to coquito, sorrel to sweet potato pie: The Harlem Night Market at La Marqueta is back for the 2021 holiday season, to celebrate the diversity of cultures that make up East, Central and West Harlem.
Launched to great success two years ago, the market was suspended last season due to the pandemic, but is back in action this December thanks to creators Uptown Grand Central, TBo Harlem, Union Settlementand NYC Public Markets (operated by the NYC Economic Development Corporation).
Make Music New York Winter Celebration ~ December 21
From Brooklyn and Queens to the Bronx, get ready for Make Music New York on December 21, 2021. Find your neighborhood listed Here.
The Apollo Presents KWANZAA: A Regeneration Celebration Virtual Experience ~ December 26
On Sunday, December 26 at 7:00 pm EST, the Apollo will celebrate its annual Kwanzaa celebration, Kwanzaa: A Regeneration Celebration, featuring a world premiere from renowned New York-based dance company Abdel Salaam’s Forces of Nature Dance Theatre and performances from Apollo New Work artists Soul Science Lab with Chen Lo and Asante Amin. For more than 15 years, the Apollo has presented an annual Kwanzaa festival performance during the seven-day celebration of African American culture. This year, Forces of Nature Dance Theatre will produce a unique digital event of dance and music honoring the seven principles of Kwanzaa, the Nguzo Saba. The event, hosted by award-winning radio host and annual Apollo Kwanzaa emcee Imhotep Gary Byrd, will be streamed on the Apollo Digital Stage. The program is pay what you wish and will be on demand through January 3.
The Annual Times Square Ball Drop ~ December 31
Can’t be there? Enjoy the #BallDrop from anywhere, including a live cam.
Happy New Year!
Still on View:
Capucine Bourcart & Tomo Mori: Up-Close at JVS Project Space on view to December 4, 2021
Capucine Bourcart and Tomo Mori’s artworks require the viewer to look closely and focus on the details that are often subtle. They are 21st century artists, living in Harlem, New York City. Their work has an underlying international fingerprint that reflects cultural heritage, womanhood and contemporary issues.
The exhibition Up-close features 3 series of Bourcart’s work and 2 series of Mori’s revealing 5 distinctly different methods of producing art. The artists are essentially reinventing their own process and developing a new visual vocabulary with each body of work.
Ozier Muhammad: Events That Changed the World at Keith de Lellis Gallery on view through December 4, 2021
Keith de Lellis Gallery is honored to present the photography of Ozier Muhammad in the artist’s first one man exhibition in New York. Ozier Muhammad (b. 1950) is a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist from Chicago who has documented the cultural events of black citizens across the world for over four decades. This exhibition showcases Muhammad’s dedication to utilizing photography as a truth telling medium that explores racial issues throughout society and sheds light on the daily joys and strife of the African and African American communities.
Arshile Gorky. Beyond The Limit at Hauser & Wirth on view to December 23, 2021
On 16 November, Hauser & Wirth New York presented a newly discovered, never before exhibited, painting by Arshile Gorky. ‘Untitled (Virginia Summer)’ was uncovered in 2020 during conservation and research for Gorky’s catalogue raisonné. It was discovered directly beneath ‘The Limit,’ attached to the same, original stretcher that Gorky used when the painting first left his studio in 1947. Hidden for over 70 years, ‘Untitled (Virginia Summer)’ is as rich and as vibrant as when it was first created. ‘Beyond The Limit’ will present both paintings to the public together for the first time, along with works on paper directly related to the recently discovered composition, and a new book from Hauser & Wirth Publishers featuring illuminating essays by Parker Field, Managing Director of the Arshile Gorky Foundation, and Pepe Karmel, Associate Professor of Art History at New York University. The exhibition, and accompanying publication, provide fresh insight into the development of Gorky’s practice during the last years of his life, when his abstract imagery and style reached a confident maturity.
‘Ways of Seeing: Three Takes on the Jack Shear Drawing Collection’ at The Drawing Center on view to December 24, 2021
Ways of Seeing: Three Takes on the Jack Shear Drawing Collection will present three curatorial interpretations of the extraordinary collection of drawings that artist, curator, and collector Jack Shear has built over the past half-decade. Take Two will be on view from November 13 to December 24, 2021.
Union Square Holiday Market Returns through December 24, 2021
New York City’s most iconic holiday market is back after a pandemic hiatus. The Union Square Holiday Market by Urbanspace returns this year on Thursday, November 18th with 150+ vendors showcasing a dynamic mix of global cuisines, original art, handcrafted accessories, and more! The market will be open through Friday, December 24th so mark your calendars now to experience one of New York City’s most beloved outdoor holiday season traditions.
Small & Might: Thumb-Box Exhibition at Salmagundi Club on view to December 31, 2021
Beginning November 10 and continuing until December 31, 2021, Salmagundi presents Small & Mighty: Newly Conserved Thumb-Box, in the Grand Stair Gallery of its historic 1853 townhouse at 47 Fifth Avenue. The exhibition marks the first time the organization’s permanent art collection of over fifty thumb-box paintings will be on display as a group. The exhibition is arranged by era and affords the viewer a chance to see 20th-century American art history at a glance.
Interwoven by Atelier Cho Thompson at Flatiron Public Plaza through January 2, 2022
The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and Van Alen Institute unveiled the winner of the eighth annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition: Interwoven, an interactive installation by design firm Atelier Cho Thompson. Interwoven will be on view November 22, 2021–January 2, 2022 in the Flatiron North Public Plaza on Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, creating a highly visible landmark in the heart of Manhattan throughout the holidays.
ARTECHOUSE: Machine Hallucination at Chelsea Market on view through January 2, 2022
ARTECHOUSE, the first innovative arts organization dedicated to the intersection of art, science and technology, with locations in Washington, DC, New York City and Miami, announces the return of Machine Hallucination: NYC, the groundbreaking immersive exhibition in collaboration with award-winning media artist and pioneer in the aesthetics of machine intelligence Refik Anadol. In partnership with digital art online auction platform Nifty Gateway, this special viewing of Machine Hallucination: NYC, which attracted more than 100,000 visitors in its first three-month showing, will also feature an exclusive location drop of exhibition-based experiential NFT art, a collection composed of 1,000 unique NFTs from Anadol available to visitors on-site only at ARTECHOUSE’s New York location. The NFTs (non-fungible tokens) will launch on November 1st during NFT.NYC, the leading annual non-fungible token event, and run for two months for the duration of this limited-time exhibition. Open to all ages, Machine Hallucination: NYC opens to the public on November 2, 2021 and will run through January 2, 2022 at ARTECHOUSE NYC, located in Chelsea Market at 439 West 15th Street.
Leonardo Benzant: Across Seven Ruins & Redemptions Somo Kamarioka at Claire Oliver Gallery on view through January 8, 2022
Claire Oliver Gallery will open its doors to the spectacular work of Leonardo Benzant in his first solo presentation with the gallery. Featuring six new multi-media works, including four large scale mixed media sculptures and two paintings on paper, Across Seven Ruins & Redemptions Somo Kamarioka is an extension of the artist’s multi-year exploration of his conception of the Urban Shaman, which Benzant deploys a wide variety of media and found objects to create dynamic hanging beaded structures inspired by the Yoruba and Kongo community and the beaded regalia of African material culture. The exhibition will be open to the public November 11 through January 8, 2022.
Pamela Council: A Fountain for Survivors on view in Times Square to December 8, 2021
Building on a body of work artist Pamela Council refers to as ‘Fountains for Black Joy,’ A Fountain for Survivors is both an ode to the ways in which we maintain ourselves and an exuberant life-affirming monument for survivors of all kinds. Adorned with a handmade mosaic of hundreds of thousands of acrylic fingernails, a massive cocoon-like structure houses a tiered water fountain inside a warm, welcoming, and enveloping space. Council’s largest public artwork to date, A Fountain for Survivors will be on view and accessible to all in Times Square’s most iconic plaza, Duffy Square, from October 14 to December 8, 2021.
Jaume Plensa, a solo exhibition will be on view at Galerie Lelong & Co to December 11, 2021
Galerie Lelong & Co., New York, is pleased to present a solo exhibition with Jaume Plensa, featuring new sculptures by the artist, including the debut of the new nest series, that explore the innovation of figurative forms in his depictions of contemporary portraiture.
Winfred Rembert: 1945-2021 at Fort Gansevoort to December 18, 2021
Fort Gansevoort’s first exhibition of works by Rembert since announcing representation of his estate in spring 2021, Winfred Rembert: 1945-2021 recounts the pivotal events from the artist’s harrowing youth through an assembly of twenty of his distinctive tooled and dyed leather paintings. Rembert’s life story, which began in 1945 in the Jim Crow era of the American South, and concluded in New Haven, Connecticut, where he died in March 2021, is one of perseverance and resistance in the face of racial violence and inequity, and of the power of art as a form of witness and reckoning. Recalling the achievements of African American figurative masters such as Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, and Horace Pippin, Rembert’s deeply personal artworks foreground truths about the aftermath of slavery and the persistence of racial injustice in America. They also celebrate people and places of Cuthbert, Georgia’s Black community.
Elmgreen & Dragset: The Nervous System at Pace Gallery on view to December 18, 2021
Pace will open its doors to an exhibition of new and recent work by the artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset at its flagship gallery in New York. Marking the Berlin–based artists’ first major show with Pace since they joined the gallery in 2020, this presentation runs from November 9 to December 18. The Nervous System, which comprises a highly narrative domestic scene of 11 works, including eight new pieces, is reminiscent of Elmgreen & Dragset’s acclaimed double exhibition, titled The Collectors, in the Nordic and Danish Pavilions at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009.
Hilma af Klint ‘Tree of Knowledge’ at David Zwirner Gallery on view to December 18, 2021
David Zwirner is pleased to present Tree of Knowledge, an exhibition of a rare set of Hilma af Klint’s groundbreaking 1913–1915 series of works on paper of the same title, on view at the gallery’s 34 East 69th Street location in New York. This recently discovered group of eight watercolors is among the few works by the artist to exist outside of the holdings of the Hilma af Klint Foundation. This will be a singular opportunity for New York audiences to experience the artist’s revelatory work, and follows the highly acclaimed 2018–2019 exhibition Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future, held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Ruth Asawa: All Is Possible at David Zwirner on view to December 18, 2021
Image: Imogen Cunningham, Ruth Asawa, Sculptor, 1968 (detail)
David Zwirner will present four exhibitions, each opening on November 4th in its Chelsea locations. Ruth Asawa: All Is Possible at 537 West 20th Street; Seen in the Mirror: Things from the Cartin Collection at 537 West 20th Street; Neo Rauch: The Signpost at 533 West 19th Street; and Portia Zvavahera: Ndakaoneswa marimba at 525 West 19th Street. All of the Fall exhibitions at David Zwirner will be on view to December 18th.
Ambrose Rhapsody Murray: Within Listening Distance of the Sea… at Fridman Gallery on view to December 19, 2021
Fridman Gallery is honored to announce Within Listening Distance of the Sea…, the first solo exhibition in New York by Ambrose Rhapsody Murray, presenting a new series of sewn textiles, and a short film made in collaboration with Logan Lynette and Heather Lee. The exhibition is accompanied by a digital catalog with an essay by the art historian, curator and author Kilolo Luckett.
Erna Rosenstein, Once Upon a times on view at Hauser & Wirth New York to December 23, 2021
Beginning 30 September, Hauser & Wirth will debut ‘Erna Rosenstein: Once Upon a Time,’ the first monographic exhibition outside of Poland devoted to Erna Rosenstein (1913 – 2004). One of the key figures of the Polish avant-garde, Rosenstein’s wartime survival, commitment to Surrealism, and lifelong adherence to leftist ideologies course through a remarkable array of paintings, drawings, and assemblage sculptures, as well as poems, diaristic writings, and deceptively whimsical children’s stories. Steeped in an extraordinary history and responding to the Nazi occupation of Poland, personal traumas suffered in the Holocaust, the postwar sociopolitical upheaval of her native country, and passionate engagement in the intellectual circles of her times, Erna Rosenstein’s work defies simple classification.
Gordon Parks: A Choice of Weapons on view at Howard Greenberg Gallery to December 23, 2021
This autumn, Howard Greenberg Gallery, one of the world’s leading galleries for classic and modern photography, is celebrating its 40th year with a move to two new locations on 57th Street, and an exhibition of work by renowned photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks.
The Thumb-Box Exhibition at Salmagundi Club on view through December 31, 2021
Beginning November 10 and continuing until December 31, 2021, Salmagundi presents Small & Mighty: Newly Conserved Thumb-Box, in the Grand Stair Gallery of its historic 1853 townhouse at 47 Fifth Avenue. The exhibition marks the first time the organization’s permanent art collection of over fifty thumb-box paintings will be on display as a group. The exhibition is arranged by era and affords the viewer a chance to see 20th-century American art history at a glance.
‘Christo: Nature/Environments’ at Galerie Gmurzynska New York on view through December 31, 2021
Galerie Gmurzynska is delighted to present a selection of works by Christo (1935-2020) in celebration of the city of New York and the late artist’s relationship to it, as well as other significant sites in the United States during the half-century that Christo lived and worked in America.
Jim Rennert: Timing, Inner Dialogue and Listen on view at Pershing Square through December 2021
Cavalier Gallery unveiled three life-size works by artist Jim Rennert, which have been installed in New York City’s Pershing Square Plaza West located on the west side of Park Avenue between East 41st and East 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Each sculpture stands over 6 feet tall and depicts the daily struggles and achievements of everyday people. The sculpture installations are being facilitated as part of the New York City Department of Transportation’s Temporary Art Program.
Seeing America: America Martin and Jada + Jon at JoAnne Artman Gallery through the Winter, 2021
JoAnne Artman Gallery is pleased to present, Seeing America, an exhibition of new portraits that investigate humanity, legacy, and change. Freehandedly and unapologetically capturing her subjects, America Martin’s compositions are a personal reflection of the human experience and condition. Through the stories they tell by means of history and Martin’s depictions, this assembled group of leaders challenge us to be our very best selves.
Machine Hallucination: NYC at ARTEHOUSE NYC Chelsea Market on view through January 2, 2022
ARTECHOUSE, the first innovative arts organization dedicated to the intersection of art, science and technology, with locations in Washington, DC, New York City and Miami, announces the return of Machine Hallucination: NYC, the groundbreaking immersive exhibition in collaboration with award-winning media artist and pioneer in the aesthetics of machine intelligence Refik Anadol. In partnership with digital art online auction platform Nifty Gateway, this special viewing of Machine Hallucination: NYC, which attracted more than 100,000 visitors in its first three-month showing, will also feature an exclusive location drop of exhibition-based experiential NFT art, a collection composed of 1,000 unique NFTs from Anadol available to visitors on-site only at ARTECHOUSE’s New York location.
Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment at The Rubin Museum of Art will be on view to January 3, 2022
The Rubin Museum of Art invites visitors to unplug and discover the possibility to free their minds with “Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment,” opening March 12, 2021. Organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, this traveling exhibition guides visitors on a journey toward enlightenment, showcasing the power of Tibetan Buddhist art to focus and refine awareness, and highlighting the inextricable relationship between artistic endeavor and spiritual practice in Tibetan Buddhism. The exhibition has been re-imagined and adapted for the Rubin Museum’s galleries and features 35 traditional objects, including 14 from the Rubin Museum’s collection, with two contemporary works by Nepal born, Tibetan American artist Tsherin Sherpa.
Eric Ceccarini: The Painters Project at Galerie l’Atelier on view to January 7, 2022
Galerie l’Atelier opened its doors to the first American solo exhibition of renowned Belgium photographer, Eric Ceccarini. The exhibition, ‘The Painters Project’, is a meeting between painter, model and photographer, in the artists’ ongoing collection of collaborations between the photographer with painters and models/performing artists.
un/mute at the Austrian Cultural forum on view to January 7, 2022
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Undercurrent are pleased to present un/mute, an international group exhibition of collaborative works by 28 artists across multiple disciplines. On view at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Undercurrent, the exhibition is the culmination of an 18-month-long project that was launched in 2020 providing European and NYC-based artists with an opportunity for critical exchange and collaboration during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Joanne Handler: Stu.pe.fac.tion in The Kaufman Building on view to January 7, 2022
The Garment District Alliance (GDA) announced the latest in its ongoing series of public art exhibits, showcasing seven paintings titled Stu.pe.fac.tion, created by Garment District-based artist Joanne Handler.
BRIC House Fall 2021 Exhibition will be on view to January 9, 2022
BRIC House will open its doors to two Fall 2021 Exhibitions, Athena LaTocha: In the Wake of … and Karen Miranda-Rivadeneira: The mountain I am, Urku ñuka kani on September 29th.
The Holiday Train Show at New York Botanical Garden on view through January 23, 2022
NYBG’s Holiday Train Show—a favorite holiday tradition—is back for its 30th year! See model trains zip through an enchanting display of more than 175 New York landmarks, each delightfully re-created from natural materials such as birch bark, lotus pods, and cinnamon sticks. And on select dates, start a new holiday tradition as day turns to night with NYBG GLOW.
Living Histories: Queer Views and Old Masters on view at Frick Madison through January, 2022
Living Histories: Queer Views and Old Masters is the latest addition in a broader program in the past decade that has celebrated a range of voices and perspectives through digital productions, installations, publications, and collaborations. At various times during the next year, four New York–based artists will engage with Old Master paintings in the permanent collection, each presenting a single new work on the second floor, where paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Holbein are displayed. These “pop-up” presentations, each running for a limited number of months, will initiate fresh conversations with the institution’s traditional figurative holdings, with particular emphasis on issues of gender and queer identity typically excluded from narratives of early modern European art.
The Poster House Museum: The Push Pin Legacy on view to February 6, 2022
For years, the term “Blaxploitation” has been used derisively to dismiss or caricature a bygone era of low-budget Black cinema—but it was and is so much more as we will see in the exhibition, You Won’t Bleed Me: How Blaxploitation Posters Defined Cool & Delivered Profits, on view from September 2, 2021 to February 6, 2022.
Craft Front & Center at Museum of Arts & Design On View to February 13, 2022
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) will open its doors to a new major exhibition, Craft Front & Center on May 22nd, bringing together over 70 iconic and lesser-known works from MAD’s eclectic permanent collection to highlight significant periods in craft’s history that have led to the current moment.
Popular Painters and Other Visionaries ~ En Foco: The New York Puerto Rican Experience, 1973-74 at El Museo del Barrio on view to February 27, 2022
Recently Rediscovered works by Donatello, Tintoretto, and Antonio Lombardo at Colnaghi New York on view through February, 2022
This November, audiences will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience rare and newly discovered masterworks by some of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance, including Donatello, Tintoretto, Antonio Lombardo, and Benedetto da Rovezzano, in a special exhibition at Colnaghi New York. Featuring five exquisite sculptures— including a recently rediscovered terracotta bust by Donatello—alongside a newly attributed portrait painting by the great Venetian master Jacopo Tintoretto, the exhibition marks a rare occasion in which such a significant number of museum-quality works from the Italian Renaissance will come to the market at one time.
Labyrinth of Forms: Women and Abstraction, 1930-1950 on view at The Whitney to March, 2022
The exhibition features over thirty works by twenty-seven artists. Labyrinth of Forms seeks to highlight the achievements of these groundbreaking artists and explores how works on paper, in particular, were important sites for experimentation and innovation. The exhibition is curated by Sarah Humphreville, Senior Curatorial Assistant, and is on view in the Museum’s third-floor Susan and John Hess Family Gallery from October 9, 2021 to March 2022.
The High Line Art on view to March, 2022
Always something happening on The High Line. Still on view until March ~ The Musical Brain; Horizon Poems; Retainer; and 57 Forms of Liberty. Also on view, Sam Durant: Untitled (Drone).
Sanctuary: The 2021 Socrates Annual on view to March 6, 2022
The eleven projects selected represent a range of interpretations of the theme, drawing from diverse communities, traditions, and artistic strategies to create unique sculptures and installations of sanctuary. The artist(s) for each project are awarded a $6,000 production grant, $1,500 honorarium, and three-months of access to the resources and fabrication facilities of the Park’s outdoor artist studio. The fellowship culminates in The 2021 Socrates Annual: Sanctuary exhibition.
Bronx Calling: The Fifth AIM Biennial at Bronx Museum of the Arts on view through March 10, 2022
The Bronx Museum of the Arts is pleased to announce Bronx Calling: The Fifth AIM Biennial, a meditation on the practice of everyday life in uncertain times. Featuring artworks by 68 artists who took part in the 2018 and 2019 cycles of the Bronx Museum’s AIM Fellowship program, the fifth edition of Bronx Calling finds artists responding to the conditions of contemporary life in manifold ways. Whether in traditional or new media, many of the works are recent creations, the result of processing multiple crises—of health, grief, the environment, and identity. The Biennial is part of a series of exhibitions and public programs celebrating the Museum’s 50th anniversary and legacy as an institution dedicated to social justice. Bronx Calling: The Fifth AIM Biennial is curated by Ian Cofre and Eva Mayhabal Davis.
The Poster House Museum: What’s The Score? The Posters of LeRoy Neiman on view to March 27, 2022
Founded by Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins, and Edward Sorel—and soon joined by Milton Glaser—Push Pin served as a counterpoint to the slick ads being created on Madison Avenue and the rigid, grid-based designs popular in Europe. They were referential, drawing from troves of disparate and often forgotten tropes from past art movements and time periods, hurtling them into the new, playful visual language of the 1960s and beyond.
Kim Carlino: Spectrum on view in The Garment District through March, 2022
The Garment District Alliance (GDA) is brightening Midtown Manhattan this spring with a vivid, painted mural titled Spectrum, created by artist Kim Carlino. The artwork – which contains 34 unique colors and is painted on 82 concrete blocks along the 7th Avenue pedestrian corridor – signifies the city’s vibrant comeback as New Yorkers and visitors return following the pandemic.
Broadway Blooms: Jon Isherwood on Broadway on view to Spring, 2022
Broadway Blooms: Jon Isherwood on Broadway, a sculpture exhibition located at eight locations between 64th Street and 157th Street is now on view. The sculptures are shaped in the form of flowers, celebrating the return to life from a long and difficult winter into spring.
Claudia Wieser: Rehearsal will be on view at Brooklyn Bridge Park to April 17, 2022
On July 29, Public Art Fund will unveil Rehearsal, Berlin-based artist Claudia Wieser’s public art debut. Featuring five distinct large-scale geometric sculptures clad with hand-painted glazed tiles, panels featuring photographs of New York City and Roman and Greek antiquities, and mirror polished stainless steel, Rehearsal will create an immersive experience for park goers to explore. The cluster of sculptures will be located at the iconic terminus of Washington Street, where the Manhattan Bridge frames the Empire State Building. Juxtaposed with the surrounding architecture and natural landscape of Brooklyn Bridge Park, Rehearsal highlights the dynamism of the city and its people.
Boris Lurie: Nothing To Do But To Try will be one view at The Museum of Jewish Heritage through April 29, 2022
The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust announces Boris Lurie: Nothing To Do But To Try, a first-of-its-kind exhibition on the 20th century artist and Holocaust survivor and the Museum’s first contemporary art show, opening to the public on October 22, 2021.
The Art House Inaugural Exhibition on view through April, 2022
Art House, the world’s first fine art hub of its kind, will open its doors in November 2021 at 660 Madison Avenue, the former flagship location of Barneys New York. Art House is envisioned by Co-Founders Michael Plummer, Jeff Rabin, and Geoff Fox, the team who previously collaborated to bring TEFAF to New York in what was a game-changing moment in what an art fair could be. Boasting an architectural refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast and the team of WHY Architecture, Art House provides fresh solutions to the critical needs of a new era in the art world.
Zaq Landsbert: Reclining Liberty on view in Morningside Park through April, 2022
Sculpture artist Zaq Landsberg created and presented the illustrations for this piece during the last administration, prior to COVID-19 and our citywide shutdown. It was inspired by Buddhist imagery, and meant to depict our iconic American landmark, weary, reclining, and asking the question ~ “what stage of America are we in.” COVID-19 closed our city, and Reclining Lady lay waiting, like all of us, for better days. Fast-forward one year (or-what a difference a year makes). With a new administration and a city that is beginning to bloom along with spring, Zaq Landsberg: Reclining Liberty will emerge from the artists’ studio, with an installation date set for May 1, 2021 in Morningside Park, Harlem.
Anina Gerchick: BIRDLINK in Crotona Park on view to May 21, 2022
BIRDLINK is an interactive habitat sculpture whose mission is to support migratory birds by inserting native plant systems throughout the urban and suburban corridors through which they travel. BIRDLINK attracts the wild birds that reside or migrate trough the city with native plants at the empty tower and middle canopy levels. Visit Anina Gerchick: BIRDLINK in Crotona Park, Bronx, on view to May 21, 2022.
Capucine Bourcart: Plastic Fantastic! on view in Harlem Art Park to June 26, 2022
Harlem Art Park unveiled its latest temporary public art installation, Plastic Fantastic! With a kaleidoscope of color, artist Capucine Bourcart encourages the viewer to evaluate their own environmental footprint. The large-scale installation measures over 66-feet wide and 7-feet high, demonstrating the abundance of single use plastics and its impact on our public spaces and our environment. Plastic Fantastic! interacts with Jorge Luis Rodriguez’s permanent sculpture, Growth, installed in 1985, along with the unique architectural elements that make this park a hidden gem in East Harlem.
Susan Stair: Ascending the Mountain in Marcus Garvey Park on view through June 30, 2022
Harlem-based non-profit the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, Public art organizer Connie Lee and Harlem-based artist Susan Stair are pleased to announce the installation of Ascending the Mountain, a public artwork in Marcus Garvey Park. Installed in three distinct sections along the staircase that leads up to the overlook terraces known as the Acropolis and the Harlem Fire Watchtower. The artwork is exhibited as part of NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program and is one of six temporary public art installations organized by the public art committee in Harlem this Summer.
Julio Valdez: I Can’t Breathe at Collyer Brothers Park on view to July 10, 2022
A dialogue began last year, serious and thoughtful discussion ensued, and artists have continued the conversation. Here, alongside a small pocket-park on 128th Street in Harlem, artist Julio Valdez unveiled his installation this week entitled ‘I Can’t Breathe.‘ The installation is just a few blocked away from last year’s colorful ‘Black Lives Matter‘ mural on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. extending from 125-127th Streets.
Gillian Wearing: Diane Arbus on view at Doris C. Freedman Plaza to August 14, 2022
Artist, Gillian Wearing will unveil a bronze monument to celebrated photographer, Diane Arbus at the Doris C. Freeman Plaza, at the entrance to Central Park this October. This is a fitting location for the Arbus monument, since many of her best-known images were taken in this Park.
Alice Mizrachi: Renaissance Women on view in Marcus Garvey Park through August, 2022
Marcus Garvey Park has a plethora of art over this past few months, with the installation of Susan Stair: Ascending the Mountain and Thomas J. Price: Witness, added to the park’s weekly music and dance. Now, we look forward to the unveiling of Alice Mizrachi: Renaissance Women, an abstract, figurative sculpture that honors women of the Harlem Renaissance ~ paving the way for many of the artists today, including Mizrachi.
Sam Durant, Untitled (drone) on the High Line Plinth through August, 2022
Sam Durant’s monumental fiberglass sculpture in the shape of an abstracted drone atop a 25-foot-tall steel pole continues High Line Art’s mission of presenting new, powerful, thought-provoking artworks that generate and amplify some of today’s most important conversations.
Félix Marzell: The Big Apple on view in Bella Abzug Park to September, 2022
This latest addition to Bella Abzug Park’s landscape comes from HYHK’s ambitious public art program that seeks to continually beautify and uplift the neighborhood. In partnership with NYC Parks, funding from the Québec Government Office in New York, and sponsorship from local stakeholder Amazon NYC, HYHK was able to bring this project to life.
Part 1 of The Costume Institute at The Met on view through September 5, 2022
The Costume Institute’s next major exhibition will be a two-part show on view from September 18, 2021 through September 5, 2022. Part One, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion—opening in the Anna Wintour Costume Center on September 18, 2021 ~ will feature approximately 80 individual ensembles encased and arranged as “squares” in horizontal and vertical rows representing the qualities that collectively define American fashion. Part Two, In America: An Anthology of Fashion—opening in the American Wing period rooms on May 5, 2022—will explore the development of American fashion by presenting narratives that relate to the complex and layered histories of those spaces. Parts One and Two will close on September 5, 2022.
Thomas J. Price: Witness in Marcus Garvey Park to October 1, 2022
The Studio Museum in Harlem announced its fall programming, kicking-off the season with Thomas J. Price: Witness, the artist’s first solo museum presentation in the United States. As part of the Studio Museum’s ongoing inHarlem initiative, the nine-foot-tall bronze sculpture entitled The Distance Within (2021) will depict a young Black man looking down at his cell phone. The large-scale artwork celebrates a familiar form rarely monumentalized within a public setting and continues the artist’s exploration of blackness and Black masculinity as it relates to presence, movement, and freedom.
Hebru Brantley: The Great Debate at The Battery through November 13, 2022
Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff joined The Battery Conservancy President and Founder Warrie Price, Council Member Margaret Chin, Community Board 1 Chair Tammy Meltzer, artist Hebru Brantley, and community members on Sunday to unveil Brantley’s sculpture, The Great Debate, at The Battery. The artwork, which stands 16-feet tall, is exhibited in partnership with The Battery and NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program, and will be on display through November 13, 2022.
The Met’s Great Hall will Display Ancient Maya Stone Monuments from Republic of Guatemala until 2024
The two massive stelae—both significant long-term loans from the Republic of Guatemala—feature life-sized representations of influential Indigenous American rulers: a king, K’inich Yo’nal Ahk II (ca. A.D. 664–729), and queen, Ix Wak Jalam Chan (Lady Six Sky) (ca. A.D. 670s–741), one of the most powerful women known by name from the ancient Americas. The installation heralds the upcoming exhibition Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art, which is scheduled to open in fall 2022 and will highlight Maya visual narratives featuring a cast of gods: sacred beings that are personified elements of the cosmos, nature, and agriculture. The Great Hall display is also the first in a series of special exhibitions and installations that will present art of the ancient Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania throughout The Met’s galleries while the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing is closed for a renovation project that will reenvision these collections for a new generation of visitors.
See you in 2022!