— GALLERIES —
Final John Cage Transmitted Event by Norte Maar and Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) at English Kills Gallery, 114 Forrest Street, Brooklyn, 7–10 p.m., $25, $20 adv
This Thursday evening also marks the final event in Norte Maar’s exhaustive yearlong series of programming celebrating the centennial of composer John Cage’s birth. The event, which doubles as a reception for the Mayan apocalypse, will include “pizza, beer, performance, and John Cage.” What more could one ask for? (Though we hope they won't actually have John Cage, since he's deceased.)
Mickalene Thomas: “How to Organize a Room Around a Striking Piece of Art” at Lehmann Maupin, 540 West 26th Street and 201 Chrystie Street (through January 5th, 2013)
Mickalene Thomas's third solo exhibition at Lehmann Maupin is presented in two parts spread across the gallery's New York locations. The show in the Lower East Side features a series of recent short films that the artist shot while traveling in Europe along with new large-scale paintings of landscapes and interiors, while the Chelsea location exhibits Thomas's first documentary film as well as a recreation of one of her tableau environments.
Alejandro Cesarco: “Words Applied to Wounds” at Murray Guy, 453 West 17th Street (through January 12th, 2013)
Composing alternative narratives in a variety of media, Cesarco prompts viewers to contemplate how their lives could have been different, and their motivations for the choices they ultimately did make.
Henry Moore: “Late Large Forms” at Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21st Street (through January 19th, 2013)
Though usually situated outdoors because of their size, Henry Moore’s large-scale organically shaped sculptures have found a home at Gagosian, where their textured patinas contrast nicely with the gallery’s pristine white walls.
“Problem Play” at Leo Koenig Inc., 543 West 23rd Street (through January 12th, 2013)
Taking its name from the category of theater that interspersed bits of black humor among dark psychological drama, this show, which features work by artists like Andrea Fraser, Jonathan Monk, and Ken Rum, uses humor to critique the more staid conceptions of contemporary society.
Carroll Dunham at Gladstone Gallery, 515 West 24th Street (through January 19th, 2013)
These nine new works by Carroll Dunham expand on his previous landscapes and nude figures, with a brazen and confidently posed woman commanding attention where another artist might place a demure bather.
Glenn Ligon: “Neon” at Luhring Augustine, 531 West 24th Street (through January 19th, 2013)
The show will feature a number of text-based neon sculptures created by Ligon since his movement into the medium in 2005, including two pieces derived from works by Bruce Nauman and another new sculpture, Double America, that was created for the exhibition.
Ed Ruscha at Gagosian Gallery, 555 West 24th Street (through January 12th, 2013)
Known for his iconic images of words and phrases, Ed Ruscha’s examination of the book-as-object is the focus of this exhibition, which follows “Reading Ed Ruscha” at the Kunstaus Bregenz in Austria. The show includes a number of paintings, photographs, and book works from the last quarter century of the artist’s career.
Tal R: “The Shlomo” at Cheim & Read, 547 West 25th Street (through January 12th. 2013)
Fauvist in tone, Tal R’s paintings present brilliantly colored dreamscapes full of spatial and narrative depth, often inhabited by a mysterious avatar named, yes, Shlomo.
Keltie Ferris at Mitchell-Innes & Nash, 534 West 26th Street (through January 12th, 2013)
Keltie Ferris’s paintings call to mind pixelated Richter abstractions or flattened Stella sculptures, straddling the line between the apparently digitized and the handmade. Seemingly drawing from art historical influences yet still uniquely her own, these dozen large-scale paintings are well worth the visit.
David LaChappelle: “Still Life” at Paul Kasmin Gallery, 293 Tenth Avenue and 515 West 27th Street (through January 19th, 2013)
Expanding on his earlier exhibition, Earth Laughs in Flowers, which focused on the fleetingness of life in a series of modernized memento mori, photographer David LaChapelle returns to the theme with his newest series, Still Life, where he documents the destruction of figurines in wax museums.
“Geometric Abstraction” at Pace Prints, 32 East 57th Street (through February 2, 2013)
This collection of abstract art incorporating geometric forms will feature works by artists Peter Halley, Sol LeWitt, James Siena, Frank Stella, and Dan Walsh. The gallery will be holding a reception for the exhibition’s opening on January 4th from 6–8 p.m.
“To be a Lady: 45 Women in the Arts” at 1285 Avenue of the Americas Gallery, 1285 Avenue of the Americas (through January 18th, 2013)
Collecting outstanding work from 45 artists born over the past century who happen to also be female, this museum-quality exhibition, which features work by Louise Bourgeois, Grace Hartigan, Alice Neel, and Louise Nevelson among others, serves to challenge the antiquated conception of a “lady” painter.
— MUSEUMS —
Rosemarie Trockel: “A Cosmos” at the New Museum, 235 Bowery, (through January 20th, 2013)
In this exhibition combining a range of connections and references from the natural sciences, philosophy, and art history, Trockel's greatly admired "knit paintings" and new ceramic work will be placed beside the work of other artists whom Trockel regards as kindred spirits.
The Clock by Christian Marclayat the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street (through January 21st, 2013)
Following incredibly popular screenings at Paula Cooper Gallery and Lincoln Center, Christian Marclay’s The Clock will move to the MoMA starting Friday, December 21st, for its third run in New York City. The film, which won the Golden Lion award at the 2011 Venice Biennale, arranges thousands of clips from across the history of cinema—each referencing a specific time of day—into an epic 24-hour tour de force that serves as both functional timepiece and work of art. The Clock will be shown in its entirety on three weekends in January, as well as during a special New Year’s Eve screening on December 31st. It's a must-see for those who still haven’t been, but you might want to get in line now.
“Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925” at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street (through April 15th, 2013)
Tracing the growth of abstraction from Europe in 1912 across continents and media, this exhibition celebrates the birth of this art form and its impactful sweep through the development of modern art.
Quay Brothers: “On Deciphering the Pharmacist's Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets” at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street (through January 7th, 2013)
The Quay Brothers, a pioneering duo of stop-motion puppet animators, are the subject of this exhibition, which features a wide array of their work in a number of mediums, including drawings, calligraphy, installations, and graphic designs, as well as their better-known films, which are part of a retrospective also at the museum.
“Wade Guyton OS” at the Whitney Museum, 945 Madison Avenue (through January 13th, 2013)
This highly anticipated and hotly debated midcareer survey of the New York-based artist’s exploration of art and digital technology challenges the conceptions and limitations of painting as a genre.
“Richard Artschwager!” at the Whitney Museum, 945 Madison Avenue (through February 3rd, 2013)
This retrospective of seminal and uncategorizable artist will feature paintings, drawings, and sculptures from his eclectic oeuvre, including a number of his lozenge-shaped <em>blps</em>, which will also be installed on the High Line, near the Whitney's future home.
“Sinister Pop” at the Whitney Museum, 945 Madison Avenue (through February 31st, 2013)
As part of a multiyear attempt to reassess and readdress oft-overlooked periods of American art in the museum’s collection, “Sinister Pop” looks at the darker sides of Pop Art and the ways in which Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, and Claes Oldenberg subverted the unblemished American dream, as well as attempts by other artists less typically associated with the movement like William Eggleston and Vija Celmins.
“Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue (through December 31st)
This expansive collection intersperses artworks by Warhol with those from artists over the past 50 years whose work was either directly influenced by the Pop master or touched on a major theme that Warhol treated.
“Matisse: In Search of True Painting” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue (through March 17th, 2013)
Though he is acknowledged as one of the most accomplished painters of the twentieth century, Matisse compulsively worked and reworked his canvases throughout his career. Exploring this fact over the course of 49 characteristically colorful paintings, this exhibition examines a side of the painter that few people know existed.
"Picasso Black and White" at the Guggenheim,1071 5th Avenue (through January 23rd, 2013)
Covering the years 1904 to 1971, this highly anticipated new exhibition considers the artist's infatuation with a monochrome palette that evidences itself over 118 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper—and never drearily.
“Fore” at the Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125th Street (through March 10th, 2013)
Organized by Thomas J. Lax, Lauren Haynes, and Naima J. Keith, "Fore" is the fourth installment of the Studio Museum's "F" series, which also includes the shows "Freestyle," "Frequency," and "Flow." Featuring the works of 29 emerging artists, the exhibition reflects on the cultural and social changes that have taken place over the last half decade, represented through traditional media, including painting and sculpture as well as performance and time-based pieces.
— NONPROFITS —
Peter Nadin: “Taxonomy Transplanted” at the Horticultural Society of New York, 148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor (through February 8, 2013)
The Hort presents an exhibition of work by artist and farmer Peter Nadin, whose paintings on handmade paper are inspired by the farm in Greene County, New York, at which they are created.
Ann Hamilton: “the event of a thread” at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (through January 6th, 2013)
If you’ve seen Instagram pictures of people on swings in front of a giant white curtain, this is where they were taken. The exhibition also incorporates readings, sound, and cages of pigeons to create an immersive, multisensory experience rightfully worth sharing with your friends.
