Art fairs, art shows, book talks, Fashion Week…is it too much? Let’s call it Cultural Bingo and be grateful for the most overwhelming week of programming in ages. Summer’s over, folks, and we are so lucky.
A quick guide to this week’s art fairs:
The Big One is The Armory Show, opening to the public on Friday (we’ll be there for the preview on Thursday—drop us a line if you’ll be booth hopping!). We’re extra excited for booths from DIMIN, Fredericks & Freiser, The Hole, Nicodim, and so many more. Our work friends at Artsy wrote a pretty solid guide to the fair here.
The Smaller Big One is the Independent 20th Century at Casa Cipriani on South Street. Chic! Exhibitors include an interesting mix of power players with A+ eyes, like Almine Rech and Salon 94.
The Very Fun One is SPRING BREAK, opening to the public on Friday. The fair takes over an abandoned office building on Varick Street with a mix of emerging, weird, bad, and sublimely genius art.
There’s also VOLTA for emerging art at Chelsea Industrial and Art on Paper on Pier 36 and probably some others we’re missing, but we’re just getting back to this thing so give us a break.
Read on for a guide to the best of art and culture happenings. See you out there!
This week’s best bangers:
🆓 = costs $0, 🎨 = art, 🎼 = music, 🎬 = film, 📚= books, 🌳 = nature, 🎭 = performance, 🧠 = extra smart people, 🍸 = drinks available, 🦩 = party/friendly vibe
🔑 Click the venue link under each listing for full event details.
Tuesday, September 3
VERA presents “Seeking Alternatives” at Gonzo’s
Tonight’s panel discussion on alternative art spaces features “a rare glimpse into the state of the art world from some of its most intrepid young gallerists” with DIY pioneers and cool kids like Sara of Sara’s and others. We think you can only get tickets at the door, which means you might need to show up early. $15 admission gets you a drink.
Gonzo’s, 6 St Marks Pl 3rd floor, East Village
Tues from 7:30-9p 🎨 🧠 🍸
Other Tuesday events briefly noted:
NADA House 2024 opens at the historic Nolan Park House 17 (Governors Island), 🆓 🎨 (if you’re going to get on a boat, we suggest waiting for the opening reception on Friday)
Joshua Hagler’s Nihil III / Already Paradise opening reception at Nicodim (Soho), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
The Center for Fiction Presents the genius (genius!!) Garth Greenwell on Small Rain with one of our favorite New Yorker critics, Alexandra Schwartz at the Center for Fiction (Fort Greene and virtual), 7-8:15p 📚 🧠
Wednesday, September 4
Iria Leino: 1968–1970 opening reception at Harper’s
This show is Days & Nights catnip. Picture it: a smart Finnish artist and fashion writer goes to Paris in the late 1950s, then gets discovered by Madame Grès (“the queen of haute couture”) and made a supermodel by Karl Lagerfeld and after a minute is like, “you know what? This isn’t it for me.” So she quits, moves to New York, settles in SoHo among other artistic seekers, and kicks off an “ascetic life as a dedicated abstract painter” and Buddhist. Her work was never widely known, and much of it was only discovered after she died in 2022. We encourage you to read the whole backstory from Harper’s here because it’s bonkers. We haven’t even gotten to the part about the head injury in 1968 that forever shaped how Leino made her art (the work in this show is from that post-injury period.)
Selections from two of Leino’s painting series, Color Field and Buddhist Rain, are on view for the artist’s first ever solo show at Harper’s Chelsea gallery, with more pieces at their Armory Show booth.
Harper’s, Chelsea
Wed from 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Other Wednesday events, briefly noted:
The Kitchen in Focus opens at the Kitchen at 47 Canal (Soho), 10a-6p 🆓 🎨
Last Member Summer Night of the year at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden (Crown Heights), 6-8:30p 🌳🍸
Andy Meerow’s 100% opening reception at No Gallery (Two Bridges), 6-9p 🆓 🎨
Laurie Simmons’ Deep Photos / In The Beginning opening reception at 56 Henry’s 105 Henry spot (Two Bridges), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Thomas McDonell’s Figueroa St. Paintings opening reception at Europa (Two Bridges), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Arshile Gorky show opening reception at Hauser & Wirth on Wooster (Soho), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Ross Benjamin presents The Diaries of Franz Kafka in conversation with Elif Batuman (!) at McNally Jackson (South Street Seaport), 6:30p 📚 🧠 🍸
Thursday, September 5
Independent 20th Century art fair opens at Cipriani South Street (Seaport), 🎨 runs through Sunday
Art on Paper Fair opens at Pier 36 (Two Bridges), 🎨 runs through Sunday
Paul Anthony Smith’s Antillean opening reception at Jack Shainman (Chelsea), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Sara’s presents Babel opening reception at performances at Sara’s at Dunkunsthalle (Financial District), 6-9p 🆓 🎨
Leslie Baum’s a garden in a vase, echoes opening reception at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Jose de Jesus Rodriguez’s Long-Winded opening reception at Deli Gallery (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Christine Tien Wang’s CryptoFIRE Degen opening reception at The Hole (Bowery), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Jenny Holzer’s WORDS opening reception at Sprüth Magers (Upper East Side), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Jason Rhoades’ Drive II opening reception at Hauser & Wirth on 22nd St (Chelsea), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Leon Golub Et in Arcadia ego conceived by Rashid Johnson opening reception at Hauser & Wirth on 22nd St (Chelsea), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Friday, September 6
NADA Open House 2024 opening reception
Catch the official opening of NADA House on Governors Island this afternoon. “The collaborative exhibition brings together 17 art galleries and art spaces to present 21 artists in historic Nolan Park, with participants engaging the unique character of a 19th-century former military residence and exhibiting work in a diverse range of mediums.” Governors Island is currently hosting tons of non-NADA exhibits, events, and residencies by other arts organizations, so there’s plenty to see while you’re out there.
NADA House, Governors Island
Fri from 2-5p 🆓 🎨
Other Friday events, briefly noted:
New York Fashion Week kicks off with activity in various locations but the big shows happening at the RXR’s Starrett-Lehigh Building (Chelsea), 🎨
The Armory Show opens to the public at the Javits Center (Hell’s Kitchen), 🎨
Photobook Fest opens at the International Center of Photography (Lower East Side), 🎨 runs through Sunday
SPRING/BREAK Art Show opens to the public at 75 Varick St (Hudson Square), 12-7p 🎨, runs through Monday
Melissa Stern’s A Leg to Stand On opening reception at DIMIN (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Elizabeth Radcliffe solo show opening reception at Margot Samel (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Teresa Baker’s Mapping the Territory opening reception at Broadway Gallery (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Alexandre Lenoir’s Between dogs and wolves opening reception at Almine Rech (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Abbey Williams’ Natural Sound opening reception at The Project Room of Broadway Gallery (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Anna Plesset’s American Paradise opening reception at Jack Barrett (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Élise LaFontaine’s Les Vagues opening reception at Jack Barrett (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
TEAK RAMOS: IN TRADITIONAL FASHION opening reception at Ulrik (Chinatown), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
Enchanted Gardens group show opening reception at IRL Gallery (Two Bridges), 6-8p 🆓 🎨
The Center for Fiction presents Danzy Senna on Colored Television with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Jennifer Egan at the Center for Fiction (Fort Greene and virtual), 7-8:15p 📚 🧠
Opening reception for Alejandro García Contreras & Le’Andra LeSeur at Pioneer Works (Red Hook), 7-9p 🆓 🎨🍸
Collina Strada presents Collina’s Horse Girl Season at Performance Space New York (East Village), doors at 7:30p 🎨 🎭
Saturday, September 7
Dike Blair show opens at Karma’s 22 East 2nd St location (East Village), 10a-6p 🆓 🎨
Hauser & Wirth’s Screening Room presents Without Gorky introduced by Gorky Foundation President and the artist's granddaughter Saskia Spender at Hauser & Wirth on 18th St (Chelsea), 3p 🆓 (with RSVP)🎨 🎼 🍸
Taylor White’s As You Weren't opening reception at The Hole (Tribeca), 6-8p 🆓 🎨🍸 🦩
Sunday, September 8
Day for Night: A Salon on Art & Nightlife at the Park Avenue Armory
We like the name, and we love taking nightlife seriously. This event “brings together scholars, writers, artists, and nightlife makers to enlighten nightlife as an art form, and discover the ways social and performative dance have intertwined in recent years.”
Park Avenue Armory, Upper East Side
Sun from 3-6p 🎨
Second Sundays at Pioneer Works
Every second Sunday, Pioneer Works opens their doors with special programming, food and drinks, music, and a chance to see what the PW artists-in-residence have been up to.
Pioneer Works, Red Hook
Sun from 12-7p 🆓 🎨 🎼 🍸 🦩
Hauser & Wirth presents a Book Launch & Reading: Nicole Eisenman: Maker’s Muck
This book launch features Nicole Eisenman and readings from the book contributors, including hannah baer, Sam McKinniss, Sam Roeck, Jasmine Sanders, Lynne Tillman and Janique Vigier. Imagine, Hauser & Wirth taking Eisenman to one of the dumps we used to drink at in college. Be sure to RSVP and come hang with us.
Parkside Lounge, East Village
Sunday at 5p 🆓 (with RSVP) 📚🎨🍸
Other Sunday events, briefly noted:
A Conversation between Rachel Kushner and Pulitzer Prize-winner (and one of our favorite writers) Hua Hsu at Paula Cooper Gallery (Chelsea), 4p 🆓 📚
Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir present Sunday Services at Earth Chxrch (36 Ave C in the East Village), 5p 🆓🎼 🦩
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THAT’S ALL, FOLKS
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