
LANCE BREWER/©GRAHAM MARKS/COURTESY ANDREA ROSEN GALLERY, NEW YORK
LANCE BREWER/©GRAHAM MARKS/COURTESY ANDREA ROSEN GALLERY, NEW YORK
Opening: “Empirical Intuitive Absorption” at Andrea Rosen
Does abstraction have any meaning beyond formalism? If abstract patterns appear in nature, does that mean it isn’t a formal style? And does abstraction always come out of nature? These were the questions artist Matthew Ronay had in mind when began conceiving this four-person show, cryptically titled “Empirical Intuitive Absorption.” It features an oddball mix of artists—Serge Charchoune, Fernand Léger, Graham Marks, Terry Riley, and Ronay himself. All eschew figuration, and in a release, Ronay wonders, “Does everything loop back into nature?”
Andrea Rosen, 525 24th Street, 6–8 p.m.
Reading: Mark Z. Danielewski at the Strand
Having made a name for himself with a wildly successful debut, 2000’s House of Leaves, writer Mark Z. Danielewski has finished the third installment of his “The Familiar” series. The Familiar: Honeysuckle and Pain begins with fleeting relief. Though Xanther and her cat look forward to a long summer break, a sense of doom, largely born of financial uncertainty, continues to hang over the rest of the family. Across the world, two other characters embark on a journey to find their missing cat, while yet another pair must confront their worst fear.
The Strand, 828 Broadway, 7–8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29
COURTESY THE ARTIST AND CALLICOON FINE ARTS, NEW YORK
Opening: Stefan Brüggemann at Hauser & Wirth
For his first show at the gallery, Stefan Brüggemann will be exhibiting new paintings—site-specific continuations of two of his ongoing series, “Headlines and Last Line in the Movies” and “Timeless.” For the former project, Brüggemann will present a new work, Headlines and Last Line in the Movies (Wall) (2016), which superimposes headlines from the week Citizen Kane was made over the last lines of dialogue from the movie, which are spray-painted onto mirrors. With this series, Brüggemann explores the way that the media and the entertainment industries are closely related, and the way that both influence society’s view of itself in ways that, whether intentional or not, are ultimately spurious. The second floor will be devoted to his new work, Timeless (69th Street, NYC), which is comprised of a mirrored grid covered in black and white vinyl text. The artist’s own text is written in Arial font, while appropriated segments are handwritten. Brüggermann’s linguistic manipulations reflect his anxiety over “a contemporary society in which time has accelerated to the point at which it is no longer perceived as linear, and dissolves into abstraction,” according to a press release.
Hauser & Wirth, 32 East 69th Street, 6–8 p.m.
THURSDAY, JUNE 30
MICHAEL TROPEA/COURTESY THE ARTIST AND RICHARD GRAY GALLERY
COURTESY BRUCE SILVERSTEIN GALLERY
Opening: “Goulding the Lolly” at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise
No press release is available for this show, but here’s what we know: it’ll be curated by the artist Brian Bellott, and Gavin Brown’s Enterprise’s site has a picture of a man’s face on a lollipop. Well, then. It does, however, have a nice, big artist list, featuring a number of good names, Gina Beavers, Josh Kline, Jamian Juliano-Villani, and Torey Thornton among them. There will also be performances by Raúl De Nieves and SADAF.
Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, 291 Grand Street, 6–9 p.m.
COURTESY THE ARTIST AND DAVID ZWIRNER, NEW YORK AND LONDON
Talk: Chitra Ganesh at the New Museum
To coincide with the current exhibition, “Simone Leigh: The Waiting Room,” Chitra Ganesh will lecture on the results of her recent investigations into the “aesthetics and performative gestures of protests” that have occurred outside the United States, according to a press release. In particular, Ganesh will focus on examples of disobedience in the Global South.
New Museum, 235 Bowery, 7 p.m. Tickets $15/10