Museums are once again welcoming guests, galleries are prepping to present brand new exhibitions and even the online art space is reinvigorated. This fall, the arts and culture happenings are in full force, from in-person experiences to digital programming. We consulted with art world insiders for their must-sees this season, and there's something for everyone.
Julie Curtiss, Faisceaux, 2018. Acrylic, vinyl and oil on canvas. 40 x 30 inches | Photo provided by Anton Kern Gallery
One of my favorite artists, Julie Curtiss, has an exhibition “Square One” with Anton Kern Gallery at a pop-up space in the SoHo (498 Broome Street) from October 20th to October 31st. These works were meant to be exhibited at Paris during that time at the art fair called FIAC but, alas, it was cancelled like every other fair until the end of this year. The exhibition will feature numerous paintings, drawings, and sculptures by the artist and the meticulous detail is something you just HAVE to see in person. -Rachel Cole, Founder, Rachel Cole Art Advisory & Collection Management
Jennifer Caviola, Enter/Exit
Pegasus is a professional silkscreen studio in East Williamsburg that has set out to innovate on the concept of a traditional print shop by designating an exhibition space within the complex as a forum for exploration into new media, new conversations, and new relationships. Featuring a curated selection of paintings by artist Jennifer Caviola, the Pegasus Gallery's the inaugural exhibition entitled "The Same Material" will open its doors to the public on Saturday, October 10 from 3-7pm. I fell in love some time ago with the artist's spectacular wheat paste murals that adorned building facades nationwide under the moniker "Cake." Her paintings are evermore powerful and simultaneously intimate, showcasing her precise use of line and layered, meticulous painterly technique. The exhibition is further a highlight in that visitors have the opportunity to explore the silkscreen studio on the ground floor, offering a holistic behind the scenes look at the fine art printmaking process. "The Same Material" is curated by Sidel & McElwreath and remains on view by appointment only through the end of November. -Ellie Hayworth, Founder, Hayworth
Mary Little
In what was intended to be a physical show of works curated in the Estudio Persona space, Mary Little's Reflections has been reimagined as a digital viewing room to ensure safety and social well being for our current covid state. During our global collective time of navigating a new world, it is only natural to take time to reflect on one’s life, honoring what came before to inform how we best move forward now. Reflections, is a culmination of years of work that span Mary Little’s career.
Adam Schlesinger, Protesters March Down Madison Ave, NYC, May 30, 2020
On March 20, International Center of Photography (ICP) made an open call for photographers to document the experience of the “new normal”—life re-contextualized by Covid-19—through the hashtag #ICPConcerned. By the end of May, after a nationwide protest movement calling for racial justice unfolded, #ICPConcerned soon accumulated thousands of images documenting a struggle for racial justice. #ICPConcerned: Global Images for Global Crisis exhibits a powerful selection of works that respond to the global pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and more, portraying an evolving world and laying bare the feelings of pain and hope that underlie 2020. -Natasha Schlesinger, Founder, Artmuse Inc and Artmuse Interactive
Kohn Gallery
Kohn Gallery is pleased to present myselves, a group exhibition curated by Joshua Friedman, which features over twenty-five contemporary artists who use medium as a lens to examine the ways in which identity is structured or fabricated. With an eye to the physical, social, and historical properties of their chosen media, these emerging and established artists portray the self in pieces—as fragments that may accumulate and amalgamate but never entirely cohere. -Gia Kuan, Founder & Principal, GIA KUAN
Jacob Lawrence, The American Struggle
As museums and galleries re-open, one of our first planned stops is Jacob Lawrence, The American Struggle at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on view through November 1. The exhibition features a series of 1954-1956 multi-paneled works by Lawrence intended to depict "the struggles of a people to create a nation and their attempt to build a democracy.” It seems particularly a propos for the times. -Ludovic Leroy, Partner, Powell Mayas
After the Plaster Foundation, or, "Where can we live?"Following a six-month closure, the Queens Museum greets visitors with four new exhibits and free admission, as well as the unveiling of a citywide public art initiative For ------> Forever…by artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles. Among the exhibits on display is 'After the Plaster Foundation, or, "Where can we live?"' - an exhibition of 12 artists and artist groups with roots in New York City asking critical questions about home, property, and the Earth, and who has access to these things under capitalism. Also don’t miss, ‘Ulrike Müller and Amy Zion: The Conference of the Animals,’ which consists of a mural by artist Ulrike Müller and an exhibition of children’s drawings by independent curator Amy Zion. This project takes its title from German writer Erich Kästner’s children’s book The Animal’s Conference (1949) written in the aftermath of World War II. The story is a political satire about a group of animals who, frustrated by the inefficacy of human international conferences, convene to save the planet. -Kate Atkinson, Vice President, BerlinRosen
Heather Chontos, under fire, 64 x 66 inches, oil stick, acrylic, ink and oil canvas
We are all excited to be in a new neighborhood! The Lower East Side is a community where several of our artists have studios, and we feel connected and thrilled to be a part of this energy. [We celebrate the grand opening] with an exhibition of paintings and sculpture titled ‘rosengarten by Heather Chontos.’ The title, meaning rose garden, is in reference to the Dolomites mountain range in South Tyrol, Italy. For Chontos, the vast range of natural beauty represents personal transformation and change that sparked inspiration for this new body of work. Chontos was drawn to the mix of cultures amongst the picturesque backdrop of the region. The Dolomites have a rich history of two European worlds, Austria and Italy, intertwined with the landscape of a perfect postcard portraying snow-capped mountains, flowing rivers, grazing cows and sheep, apple trees and vineyards. -Blair Clarke, Founder, Voltz Clarke Gallery
The Private Collection of Jayne Wrightsman, Christie's
Christie's hosts a conversation on 'The Private Collection of Jayne Wrightsman,' an outstanding collection of decorative and fine art from the paragon of style. Hear from Aerin Lauder and Stellene Volandes, moderated by Gemma Sudlow, in this virtual conversation on October 8.
ABT Principal Dancers James Whiteside and Isabella Boylston
Celebrating the creativity of ABT dancers, American Ballet Theatre presents Moving Stories: An ABT Film Festival. Moving Stories features eight short films created by ABT artists. The films, varying from three to 11 minutes in length, are available for viewing on ABT’s YouTube Channel. The films are followed by roundtable conversations with the filmmakers. The hour-long programs are hosted by ABT Principal Dancer Misty Copeland and Emmy Award-winning producer Leyla Fayyaz (Life in Motion Productions).
Museum of the City of New York
October marks the start of New Meanings in New York's Public Spaces, a four-session series in which New Yorker writer Vinson Cunningham leads a series of conversations with leading writers, thinkers, and artists exploring how the unprecedented events of 2020—a global pandemic, an ensuing economic collapse, a righteous anti-racist uprising—have added one more interpretive layer to a city already ripe with meaning. P.S. MCNY also has an amazing digital hub with tons of content for art lovers of all ages.
