COURTESY SALON 94 FREEMANS
TUESDAY, JULY 7
Opening: “Torsos & Buckets” at Salon 94 Freemans
“Torsos & Buckets” is exactly what it sounds like—an exhibition of torso-shaped ceramic objects by Amy Bessone and bucket-shaped stoneware objects by Matthias Merkel Hess. Both artists reuse the forms and paint them differently each time. Some of Bessone’s torsos are slathered in black glaze, while others are more minimal. Similarly, some of Hess’s buckets are polka-dotted, while others are painted with only one tone.
Salon 94 Freemans, 1 Freemans Alley, 6–8 p.m.
Opening: “What Nerve! Alternative Figures in American Art, 1960 to the Present” at Matthew Marks Gallery
In this ambitious three-part show, an alternate history of American contemporary art is presented. The show deals with outsiders in American art history—ones that have little to do with the dominant style of their times, but ones which nonetheless have been considered important anyway. Broken into four groups, the artists shown in this exhibition will include Robert Arneson, Mike Kelley, Ken Price, and Peter Saul.
Matthew Marks Gallery; 502 West 22nd Street, 522 West 22nd Street, 526 West 22nd Street; 6–8 p.m.
Opening: “Peter Blum Edition: Books and Prints” at Peter Blum
There’s nary a press release to be found regarding the particulars of this show, but its roster of featured artists includes Huma Bhabha, Alex Katz, Helmut Federle, Yukinori Yanagi, and the late Canadian artist collective General Idea. We assume that books and prints are involved.
Peter Blum Gallery, 20 West 57th Street, 6—8 p.m.
COURTESY MATTHEW MARKS GALLERY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
Panel: The Hairy Who Panel Discussion and Book Signing at Matthew Marks Gallery
Hairy Who artists Jim Falconer, Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, Suellen Rocca, and Karl Wirsum will be at Matthew Marks for a panel discussion. The reason to celebrate? The gallery is releasing The Hairy Who Publications 1966-1969, a $50, limited-edition book featuring the Chicago collective’s first “comic books” to be published in full color. The occasion also marks a turning point in the group’s legacy of self-publishing.
Matthew Marks Gallery, 523 West 24th Street, 6:30—8 p.m.
THURSDAY, JULY 9
Opening: “Weird Science” at Marianne Boesky Gallery
This summer group show focuses on artists whose work is in dialogue with science. Based on its press release, which promises “humorous, grotesque, [and] beautiful” work,” the show has a horror-thriller vibe. Featuring everything from classical painting to digital imaging, “Weird Science” looks at the sublime, the uncanny, discovery, and experimentation in art today.
Marianne Boesky Gallery, 118 East 64th Street, 6–8 p.m.
Opening: Nobuyoshi Araki at Anton Kern Gallery
“EROS DIARY” is the name of this show, which features 77 new black and white photographs. These photos are distinct from the rest of the photographer’s oeuvre in that personal introspection is the dominant theme instead of the usual mix of eroticism and death. A press release states, “These photographs highlight an unusual softness and somber introspection as Araki internalizes recent personal traumatic events including the loss of his beloved cat, Chiro, his fight with prostate cancer, and later, the loss of vision in his right eye.” Touchingly, each photograph is also time-stamped as a tribute to the anniversary of Araki’s marriage to his late wife Yoko.
Anton Kern Gallery, 532 West 20th Street, 6—8 p.m.
©FAILE/COURTESY THE ARTISTS
FRIDAY, JULY 10
Opening: FAILE at the Brooklyn Museum of Art
FAILE is the name of Brooklyn-based artist duo consisting of Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller. Formed in 1999, FAILE synthesizes consumer culture with religious traditions, American folk quilts with comic books, and, on a grander scale, pop culture with both fine and street art. This overview will include The FAILE & BÄST Deluxx Fluxx Arcade, an interactive, graffiti-decorated environment created together with Brooklyn artist Bäst that includes video games, pinball machines, and foosball tables, as well as Temple, a life-size installation depicting the ruins of a temple devoted to consumerism.
Brooklyn Museum of Art, 200 Eastern Parkway, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, 5th Floor, Brooklyn, 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
Opening: “The Rise of Sneaker Culture” at the Brooklyn Museum of Art
“Sneakers have become a global obsession,” declares a press release. 150 pairs of sneakers produced by Adidas, Converse, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Prada, Damien Hirst, and Kehinde Wiley, including the footwear collections of hip-hop icon Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia, and Dee Wells of Obsessive Sneaker Disorder will be on view in this multimedia exhibition. From the shoe’s humble origins in the mid-1800s to its role as a status symbol in contemporary life, this show, the first retrospective of its kind, “contextualize[s] the sneakers and explore the social history, technical innovations, fashion trends, and marketing campaigns that have shaped sneaker culture over the past two centuries.”
Brooklyn Museum of Art, 200 Eastern Parkway, Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, 5th Floor, Brooklyn, 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
COURTESY AMAZON
SATURDAY, JULY 11
Screening: “Matthew Barney: The CREMASTER Cycle” at the Guggenheim
Matthew Barney’s CREMASTER cycle is much-discussed and rarely screened, and so, if spending an entire Saturday watching these five films sounds appealing, these screenings are a gift. Shown as part of the Guggenheim’s “Storylines” exhibition, the CREMASTER cycle is an experimental, non-narrative, out-of-sequence look at sexual development. Expect to be grossed out and intrigued in equal measure. And also expect a long line to see these films—over 5,000 people RSVP’d on Facebook.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, 10:30 a.m.–7:40 p.m., free with museum admission