Art lovers finally got the chance to check out Jamel Robinson’s UNFETTERED in person this past Saturday at Established Gallery. The exhibition was up and ready to welcome visitors for the original March 14 opening, but then the gallery was forced to close after a stay-at-home order was issued in New York in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jamel Robinson poses next to his work, Love Divine, 2019, at Established Gallery “To have a body of work that I had been waiting to show the world...,” Robinson recalled on Saturday afternoon, “then to have the whole world change…. We’re just... Continue reading

Dozens of Brooklyn artists, cultural leaders, public officials, and volunteers came together to paint NYC’s first Black Lives Matter mural in Brooklyn on June 13th. Massive 28-foot-tall bright yellow letters spanning 375 feet along Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant—from Marcy Avenue to Brooklyn Avenue—spell out "Black Lives Matter." The names of Black women and men killed by racism and police violence are written on life-size silhouettes standing at each end of the mural. Black Lives Matter mural on Fulton Street, between Marcy & Brooklyn Avenues, Bed-Stuy "You are going to see everyone from Emmett Till to Freddie Gray to Michael Brown,... Continue reading

Faith Ringgold, American People Series #20: Die, 1967 (photographed at MoMA, March 2020) Unrest on U.S. streets sparked by police violence in predominately Black neighborhoods in the 1960s inspired Faith Ringgold’s gripping 1967 painting American People Series #20: Die. Ten stylishly and identically dressed men and women—Black and white—are entangled in a chaotic blood-spattered clash as two small children cling to each other and watch in fear. The work is an "abstraction of what the fights were really all about, and they had a lot to do with race and class, and no one was left out," according to Ringgold... Continue reading

Today is the twelfth day of protests in New York City where thousands continue to rally for justice for George Floyd and demand an end to racism and police violence. Below is a list of some ways local arts organizations are getting involved. More than 2,000 NYC art workers have signed an open letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio demanding that the city defund the NYPD and invest in communities of color. The letter was penned in response to the worldwide protests calling for justice for George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was killed on... Continue reading

In early April, Park Slope artist Jenny Belin launched 100,000 Flowers, a series of floral drawings and paintings to support local healthcare workers and commemorate those who have lost their lives to COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Jenny Belin "I had just finished watching the 2002 documentary Matisse meets Picasso, on YouTube, and was inspired by how both artists were incredibly prolific while working in solitude," Belin explained in an email. The 100,000 Flowers project began with three small works she painted in one sitting and blossomed from there. Belin has now completed more than 50 paintings, typically 8”x10” or 9”x12”,... Continue reading

Support artists and help supply personal protection equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers by purchasing artwork from Support New York, an online exhibition launching on Wednesday, April 29. Support New York flyer (Designed by: Matt Barteluce) Organized by artist and printmaker Kirsten Flaherty, the fundraiser will feature nearly 150 works by artists from all across the country. "During this uncertain time, and while our government assistance has been lacking, the artist community has come together to assist those New Yorkers in need," Flaherty said in an email. "Featuring over 100 artworks including [pieces by] Natalie Frank, James Rosenquist, April Gornik, and... Continue reading

UPDATE: Good news! Arts Gowanus announced today that the 28 artists at Spaceworks' 540 President Street location will not have to move. "We are happy to announce that the landlord has agreed to allow the artists to stay and has given them an option to extend their leases AND the artists who have opted to vacate have all been given an extended move out period of one month beyond whenever the stay at home mandate ends," an email from Arts Gowanus sent on May 8 reads. "We are thrilled with these developments!" The note goes on to thank ArtBuilt, Brooklyn... Continue reading

In late February, prior to COVID-19 closures of cultural institutions and non-essential businesses in NYC, I went to check out Larry Bell's Still Standing at Hauser & Wirth in Chelsea. A Standing Wall by Larry Bell at Hauser & Wirth Bell is known for his reflective glass cube sculptures (example here) as well as experiments with special surface treatments that push "the optic possibilities of glass as a medium." The exhibit showcases work he created from 1970 to the present, including two recent 8-foot-high glass "Standing Walls" or icebergs. According to the press release the "exhibition charts a less explored,... Continue reading

Judd, the first U.S. retrospective of the minimalist master’s work in more than 30 years, officially opened last week at MoMA. The exhibition includes four galleries showcasing work spanning three decades of Donald Judd’s career, including some early paintings and sculptures and several examples of his signature "boxes" and "stacks." Untitled 1991, enameled aluminum (foreground) and Untitled 1986 (back) Born in Excelsior Springs, Missouri in 1928, Judd started off as an abstract painter and art critic in NYC, writing approximately 600 reviews from 1959-1965, according to MoMA. He began incorporating three-dimensional elements into his work, such as a baking pan... Continue reading

Like a breath of fresh air, the exhibition Fresh Paint showcases a vibrant array of recent work by 18 eclectic artists at the new Greenwich Village gallery Art of Our Century. Half of the participating artists are exhibiting work that has never been shown before. "The first thing I asked the artists was, 'Do you have new work that you’d like to show?'" curator John Gagné explained last Friday, the day following the jam-packed opening reception for Fresh Paint. Along with recently completed works, the exhibit also includes pieces Gagné finds "startling, surprising, courageous, charming, and seductive." L-R: Natasha Wright,... Continue reading

Enjoy great local art while you enjoy a pint at Threes Brewing! On Monday, the Gowanus watering hole hosted the opening of Arts Gowanus at Threes: Showcase featuring work by a trio of local artists: Demarcus McGaughey, Bria Whitney, and Danie Herard. Demarcus McGaughey, El Tiguere Con Su Trompeta Displayed above a booth in the back of the venue, Gowanus-based artist Demarcus McGaughey's El Tiguere Con Su Trompeta captivates passing bar patrons. The title of the arresting 30" x 40" acrylic painting translates to "The Thug with his Trumpet," McGaughey explained at the opening reception. "This piece is one of... Continue reading

Death need not be final according to the group exhibition currently on view at BRIC. Employing objects commonly associated with death—a cemetery, flowers, shrouds, and memorials—the ten female-identifying artists showcased in Death Becomes Her demonstrate that the act of mourning the dearly departed can serve as a pathway to "self-discovery, inquiry, and introspection." Death Becomes Her installation view. Mimi Bai's Conjuring a future full of pasts (2020) is in the foreground and three images from Keisha Scarville's Placelessness of Echoes (and kinship of shadows) are displayed on the left. Catalina Ouyang, past imperfect (Lipotes vexillifer), 2019, and past imperfect (Psephurus... Continue reading

A portrait of Lizzo rests on an easel in artist Jenny Belin’s Park Slope studio. The charismatic performer's energy is channeled through electric blue eyeshadow and vivid pink feathers around her shoulders. "I was really happy with this one," Belin said of the newly completed work. "She’s got so much personality." Jenny Belin stands beside her recent portrait of Lizzo Stunning, stylish portraits of feminist icons, glamorous film stars, and a menagerie of animals, line the walls of Belin’s sunny studio overlooking 9th Street. "I’ve always painted animals because I’ve always loved animals," the artist explained Monday morning. Originally from... Continue reading

Park Slope’s 440 Gallery celebrates its 15th anniversary with a group exhibit showcasing work by all 15 members of the artist collective. "15": 440 Gallery Members Show (l-r) Nancy Lunsford, Star of Bethlehem, 2006; Ellen Chuse, Floating: Gold, 2019; Janet Pedersen, Night Sky 1, 2019; Karen Gibbons, Common Ground, 2019 The space opened at 440 6th Avenue in January 2005 as a pop-up exhibiting artists from co-founder Nancy Lunsford’s weekly figure drawing workshops. Following the success of the month-long show, Lunsford and co-founder Shanee Epstein decided to keep the storefront going as an artist-run gallery. "We’ve had 20 to 25... Continue reading

Artist Yohanna M. Roa dismantles art history books and carefully pieces them back together, restructuring the art world’s discriminatory past one page at a time. La Bodega Gallery The Past: Instructions For Its Use, Roa’s solo exhibit currently on view at La Bodega Gallery, features dozens of pages torn from art history tomes reinterpreted using needlework, yarn, and thread. Identities are concealed with gauzy veils, scenes are embellished with colorful foliage, trim, and borders, and book leaves are stitched together and transformed into everyday items historically associated with women. "Art history has systematically denied the participation of women in the... Continue reading

Antony Gormley debuted a massive sculptural work at Brooklyn Bridge Park‘s Pier 3 earlier this week as part of Connect, BTS, a global arts project funded by the K-pop boy band BTS. The British artist’s New York Clearing is a sprawling construction of interconnected aluminum tubing that spirals and loops in and around itself “without beginning or end,” according to the Connect, BTS website. Overlooking the East River and set against the Manhattan skyline, the work is meant to “converse with the city.” This is the first time the piece has been exhibited outdoors. The Brooklyn Bridge Park website notes... Continue reading

Currently on view at David Zwirner is a terrific exhibition highlighting the short but prolific career of artist Noah Davis. Noah Davis, Mary Jane, 2008 Born in Seattle in 1983, Davis studied painting at NYC's Cooper Union before settling in Los Angeles. The exhibition, organized by Helen Molesworth, showcases more than 20 of Davis’ paintings that depict intimate scenes inside African American homes and surreal images “that traffic in magical realism,” Molesworth says in the release. “Loneliness and tenderness suffuse his rigorously composed paintings, as do traces of his abiding interest in artists such as Marlene Dumas, Kerry James Marshall,... Continue reading

Tuesday (Feb. 4) is your last chance to check out The Storyteller at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109, a retrospective of NYC-based artist Olivia Beens’ 40-year career. Beens’ oeuvre includes performance, installation, and sculpture and addresses identity, spirituality, motherhood, and feminism. Born in 1948 in Holland, Beens moved with her mother to Portugal when she was four. The pair moved to Flushing, Queens when Beens was seven after her mother married an American. The Storyteller: Olivia Beens Through The Decades, on view at El Barrio's Artspace PS 109 She received her BFA in sculpture from Pratt and earned an MFA from... Continue reading

Pioneering "Light and Space" artist, Doug Wheeler, returns to David Zwirner with another entrancing installation. Doug Wheeler on view at David Zwirner Known for his "innovative constructions and installations that engage with the perception and experience of light, space, and sound," according to the press release, Wheeler's current work is housed in a pristine white room at Zwirner's 519 19th Street space. An illuminated rectangle outlines the borders of the gallery's far wall. The cool glow of the imposing shape tests the viewer's sense of perception, the light evoking a celestial air that makes the space appear infinite, surreal, and... Continue reading

Happy Lunar New Year! To celebrate the Year of the Rat, Pearl River Mart presents artist Jerry Ma’s modern retelling of the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. Jerry Ma, Lion Dance Jerry Ma, Lion Dance In Wu Cheng'en's original 16th-century novel, Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), Sha Wujing (Sandy), and the mischief-making Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) accompany the monk Tang Sanzang on a pilgrimage to Central Asia and India to collect Buddhist scriptures. In A Chinatown Odyssey, Ma’s reinterpretation, the characters are transported to NYC’s Chinatown in the 1980s where they don streetwear instead of monastic robes and their... Continue reading

Brooklyn-based artist Gail Flanery celebrates friendship, collaboration, and women artists in Continuum, a group exhibit currently on view at Established Gallery. L-R: JoAnne McFarland, Free, 2012 and Tatana Kellner, Violent, 2018 While reading Mary Gabriel’s Ninth Street Women, which chronicles the careers of Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler, Flanery reflected on her life as an artist and the relationships she has developed with fellow women artists over the years. “I was musing over the time I’ve spent in my life as an artist here in the city and the people I know,” she... Continue reading

Time for a reality check. Artist David Kramer’s work showcases aspirational imagery juxtaposed with humorous yet sobering text, demonstrating that advertisers and social media influencers are full of crap. David Kramer, New Meaning, 2019 “The paintings of David Kramer are full of self-deprecating humor, irony, and witticisms that question the conceits of adulthood and the artist’s own place within it,” according to the press release for Essential Oils, an exhibition of Kramer’s recent work currently on view at Soho’s Owen James Gallery. “Through a combination of text and image, Kramer melds nostalgia with disillusionment.” Born in NYC, Kramer grew up... Continue reading

Currently on view at The Clemente in the Lower East Side is Queer + Peculiar Craft, an exhibition of contemporary ceramics and textiles that examines identity and challenges viewers' expectations of craft. Queer + Peculiar Craft installation view: works by Phoenix Lindsay-Hall (far left); Greg Climer (right and left of window); Koren Christofides (rear table); Andrew Cornell Robinson (front table); and Roxanne Jackson (far right) Curated by Andrew Cornell Robinson, the exhibit showcases “an intersectional group of artists who explore craft to transgress expectations of traditional materials, methods, and meaning,” according to the show’s press release. The show features a... Continue reading

Faurschou New York, a new private museum, debuted in Greenpoint in December with an inaugural exhibition entitled The Red Bean Grows In The South featuring work by 17 international artists including Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, Tracey Emin, Anselm Keifer, Robert Rauschenberg, and Danh Vo. Edward and Nancy Kienholz, The Ozymandias Parade, 1985 The title of the show was inspired by Love Seeds, a Chinese poem about longing, penned by Wang Wei during the Tang Dynasty era. Love seeds “sprout from the desire for what once was, or what could have been—the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are impossible,”... Continue reading

This is your last weekend to check out Blue, the final exhibition by artist Matthew Wong who took his life in Edmonton, Canada on October 2—about a month before the show’s opening. Matthew Wong, Starry Night, 2019, oil on canvas Born March 8, 1984 in Toronto, Wong shuttled between Canada and Hong Kong with his parents throughout his childhood, according to the New York Times. The artist was on the autism spectrum, had Tourette’s syndrome, and suffered from depression. He received his bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and later earned his MFA... Continue reading