It's no secret New York City gallery scene takes a breather each August. Many galleries close or have reduced summer hours as attention begins to turn, behind the scenes, toward September and the opening of New York City’s new art season. While there are galleries that phone it in (so to speak), we've put together a list of New York City gallery shows that are worth the exploration. 

Shows in Chelsea, Downtown, Brooklyn and Queens galleries highlight artists pushing the boundaries with art that deals with urban displacement through sculpture and installations, preserving marginalized culture and the processes of painting and art making, creating identity for those who cannot, and creating conceptual art about contemporary communication.

Following are our picks for summer gallery shows in August in New York City. Can't drag yourself away from the beach just yet? Don't worry. Many of the shows run into the fall.

CHELSEA

Kathryn Markel Fine Arts: “Following the Thread: A Group Show Exploring Textiles”

August 3 through September 2, 2017

With the group exhibition, “Following the Thread: A Group Show Exploring Textiles,” Kathryn Markel Fine Arts showcases artists who create and experiment with modern art through textiles.

The show will feature a range of styles, from the monochromatic abstract work of Holly Miller to small scale embroidery on paper by Emily Barletta. The artists, through the manipulation of fabric and thread, look to the tenets of painting to depict space, form and color.

Emily Barletta, Eric Blum, Sarah Irvin, Sydney Licht, Holly Miller, Gina Occhiogrosso, Marilla Palmer, Yolanda Sánchez and Debra Smith will exhibit work in the show.

Summer Hours: August through September, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Saturday and Sunday. Kathryn Markel Fine Arts is located at 529 W 20th St, New York, NY 10011. www.markelfinearts.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"Memory Trace Revisited, No. 2" by Debra Smith, 2017. Pieced vintage silk, 31 x 48 inches. Courtesy of Kathryn Markel Fine Arts.

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Paul Kolker Collection: “The Dot is in the Sky”

August 3 through September 20, 2017

In his 59th solo exhibition, Paul Kolker will present “The Dot is in the Sky” at the gallery’s West 25th Street space, featuring the artist’s sky paintings, which experiment with testing indirect perception.

Paul Kolker’s sky paintings, in which the viewer is the measuring instrument, are inkjet and acrylic on canvas works created from photographs of clouds and jet washes. In the exhibition, each work has a solitary painted dot as a focal point; directing viewers’ attention toward the dot allows optical illusions to create after images.

Paul Kolker Collection is located at 511 W 25th St, New York, NY 10001. Gallery Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sundays. www.paulkolker.com.

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"cumulonimbus bleu" by Paul Kolker, 2009. Acrylic and silkcreen ink on canvas, 96 x 96 inches in sixteen parts. Courtesy of Paul Kolker Collection.

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DOWNTOWN

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery: “Elaine, Let’s Get the Hell Out of Here”

June 29 through August 18, 2017

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery’s “Elaine, Let’s Get the Hell Out of Here” features five generations of artists whose work practices involve complicated and resistant positions on identity.

Taking its name from a line Joan Mitchell said to Elaine de Kooning during a party when faced with gender stereotyping, the group show features artists of different generations, mediums and contexts. With Mitchell, de Kooning and Grace Hartigan challenging the limits of Abstract Expressionism and its focus on the white male identity to contemporary artists Alex Bradley Cohen, Sable Elyse Smith, and Vanessa Thill mixing and matching generations before them to create their own unique styles, the exhibition showcases artists who disallow the materials, colors or strokes of their work to be pinned down.

Curated by Ashton Cooper, the exhibition features work by Deborah Anzinger, Alex Bradley Cohen, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Ralph Lemon, Al Loving, Rosemary Mayer, Joan Mitchell, Sheila Pepe, Sable Elyse Smith, Joan Snyder, Vanessa Thill and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung.

The gallery’s summer hours are Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery is located at 327 Broome St, New York, NY 10002. www.nicellebeauchene.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"Hollywood Interior" by Grace Hartigan, 1993. Oil on canvas, 66 x 78 inches. Courtesy ACA Galleries.

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James Fuentes Gallery: “Jessica Dickinson: ARE: FOR + remainders”

August 1 through September 10, 2017

Reception: September 8 from 6 to 8 p.m.

In her fourth exhibition with James Fuentes Gallery, Jessica Dickinson will present “ARE: FOR + remainders,” an installation that features her painting “Are: For” along with 18 “remainders” hung in sequence.

The remainders, which Dickinson started creating in 2010, are large-scale graphite rubbings of the painting’s surface made each time the work has gone through a significant change. Her work focuses on the sensations of time, light and matter within shifting philosophical, perceptual and psychological states. The show compresses time into the chromatic and tactile, while incorporating loss as a form of structure.

James Fuentes is located at 55 Delancey St, New York, NY 10002. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. www.jamesfuentes.com.

Click here for exhibition details. 

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Installation view of "Jessica Dickinson: ARE : FOR + remainders", 2017. Courtesy of James Fuentes, New York.

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Fridman Gallery: “Heather Dewey-Hagborg & Chelsea Manning: A Becoming Resemblance”

August 2 through September 5, 2017

Opening Reception: Wednesday, August 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Fridman Gallery presents ‘Heather Dewey-Hagborg & Chelsea Manning: A Becoming Resemblance,” a result of a collaboration between the two artists that began in 2015.

The exhibition features 30 3D printed portraits of Chelsea Manning, made by Heather Dewey-Hagborg while Manning was in prison. Derived from the cheek and hair clippings that Manning mailed out of prison, the portraits not only show the emerging technologies of genomic identity construction but also provided Manning a form of visibility and proof of existence during her time in prison. The portraits in the exhibit show the multitude of ways DNA can be interpreted, refuting outmoded notions of biologically inscribed identity, according to the press release. The exhibition also represents the first time Manning will be able to view her portraits in person.

Other events: A Discussion with Joanne McNeil and Dorothy Santos on Saturday, August 5 at 4 p.m. On Tuesday, September 5 at 6 p.m. there will be a XHOIR workshop with Colin Self and a discussion with Christiane Paul and Nora Khan.

Fridman Gallery is located at 287 Spring St, New York, NY 10013. Summer Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m. and by appointment. www.fridmangallery.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"Stranger Visions" by Heather Dewey-Hagborg, 2012-2013. Found genetic materials, custom software, 3d prints, documentation, dimensions vary. Courtesy the artists and Fridman Gallery, New York. Photo: Heather Dewey-Hagborg.

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The Drawing Center: “Where Do We Stand? Two Years of Drawing with Open Sessions”

August 3 through September 17, 2017

The Drawing Center’s group show “Where Do We Stand? Two Years of Drawing Open Sessions” features the work of the 36 artists who participated in the 2016-17 program. Work will be on view in the Main Gallery, the Drawing Room and the Lab.

The exhibition is drawn from the Open Sessions, a two-year program that invites artists to consider their relationship to drawing as a medium, process and metaphor and encourages them to work together through ongoing studio visits, group discussions and small-group exhibitions at The Drawing Center. Through the lens of contemporary drawing, the exhibition features traditional drawing forms as well as video, sculpture, photography and installation. The exhibition features work by Ezra Wube, Lei Lei, ruby onyinyechi amanze, Mustafa Faruki and more.

The Drawing Center is located at 35 Wooster St, New York, NY 10013. Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. www.drawingcenter.org.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"Blowing Smoke (after Bolaño)" by Jennifer May Reiland, 2015. Watercolor and pen on paper. 7 x 10 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

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Ulterior: “LESXFR vol.1”

August 4 through 6 and August 11 through 13, 2017

Screening Reception with XFR Collective: Friday, August 4, from 7 to 9 p.m.

In collaboration with XFR Collective, Ulterior Gallery will present “LESXFR vol. 1,” a screening of eight videos that have been transferred to digital format from archival footage shot on the Lower East Side and in downtown New York from the 1970s through the 1990s.

XFR Collective (pronounced “transfer collective”), a non-profit organization aimed at helping preserve audiovisual media, helped transfer the archival footage, which captures moments of culture, art and politics. The videos include footage of drug busts, riots, and poetry readings, as well as performance art, interviews and more. The exhibition features the work of Jim C., Andrea Callard, Franck Goldberg, Dov Jacobson, Joan Jubela, Mindy Stevenson, Minoru Yoshida and the Education Video Center’s footage of students from Forsyth Satellite Academy.

Ulterior is located at 172 Attorney St, New York, NY 10002. Gallery Hours: Thursday through Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. and by appointment. www.ulteriorgallery.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"Video still from Fragments of a Self Portrait #1" by Andrea Callard, 1972. Courtesy of XFR Collective, New York and Ulterior Gallery, New York.

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Aicon Gallery: “Gigi Scaria | All About This Side”

August 10 through September 23, 2017

Press Preview & VIP Reception: Thursday, August 10 from 6 to 8 p.m.

In his first major solo exhibition in the U.S., Gigi Scaria will exhibit “All About This Side” at Aicon Gallery.

Gigi Scaria’s work deals with the painful truths of migrancy and displacement by investigating and depicting urban topographies, modern city structures and the intended and unintended consequences for those who live amongst them. Scaria, who is based in New Delhi, creates labyrinthine buildings on canvases and uncanny structures in his canvasses, sculptures and installations. By examining the barriers people erect, his work reflects the alienation and displacement of city structures, social constructs and the resulting social prejudices that come from them.

Aicon Gallery is located at 35 Great Jones St., New York, NY 10012. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. www.aicongallery.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"Shadow of the Ancestors" by Gigi Scaria, 2015. Single-channel projection with sound, 4:00 minutes. Courtesy of Aicon Gallery.

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BROOKLYN

Small Editions: “Paperless”

July 29 through September 10, 2017

Small Editions will present “Paperless,” an intimate group exhibition of work that tests the failures of communication in both the public and private sphere.

The exhibition features work by Rachel Haberstroh and Max Fowler, Nyeema Morgan and Sujin Lee. Haberstroh and Fowler’s Infinite Wishing Well features printed tweets of wishes from users across the media platform that unfurl into a clear basin of water and eventually dissolve. Sujin Lee’s The Voice is an attempt to articulate the character of another voice, while Nyeema Morgan’s Forty-Seven Easy Poundcakes Like grandma Use to Make layers the original recipe from Morgan’s grandmother along with different configurations of the instructions, resulting in an illegible bramble of text with strike-throughs and arrows.

Small Editions is located at 60 Sackett St, Brooklyn, NY 11231. Viewing Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, from 3 to 6 p.m. www.smalleditionsnyc.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

Tiger Strikes Asteroid: “Revealing Reflected Refractions”

August 4 through September 10, 2017

Opening Reception: Friday, August 4 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Tiger Strikes Asteroid’s group show, “Revealing Reflected Refractions,” features multimedia work that questions and explores the world around us to refract unseen truths.

Curated by Rachael Gorchov and Jonathan Cowan, the show includes work by artists Karin Ferrari, Hai-Hsin Huang, Alison Kudlow and Nooshin Rostami. Karin Ferrari’s video unmasks subliminal messages and manipulations in Austria’s national news show “Zeit im Bild,” while Hai-Hsin Huang humorously yet poignantly depicts people in everyday life in drawings and paintings. Alison Kudlow relies on sunlight for work that questions the dogma of science and religion, and Nooshin Rostami’s site-specific sculpture is both a bridge and an obstacle.

Tiger Strikes Asteroid is located at 1329 Willoughby Ave #2a, Brooklyn, NY 11237. Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m. and by appointment. www.tigerstrikesasteroid.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"The MET #2" by Hai-Hsin Huang, 2016. Graphite on paper, 60 x 90 inches. Courtesy of Tiger Strikes Asteroid.

Cooler Gallery: “Milk Curd and Cherry Pits: Color Stories by Naomi Clark”

August 8 through 25, 2017

Opening Reception: Tuesday, August 8 from 7 to 10 p.m.

Cooler Gallery will present the solo exhibition “Milk Curd and Cherry Pits: Color Stories by Naomi Clark.”

Naomi Clark uses bold coloration, fragmented forms and gestural brushstrokes to paint her surroundings through an abstracted filter. Her work, which revolves around color, is meant to be a solace for viewers in their sense of the excitement of childhood, of unabashed creativity and freely thought ideas.

Cooler Gallery is located at 22 Waverly Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205. Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends by appointment. www.cooler-gallery.com.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"Untitled" by Naomi Clark, 2017. Courtesy of Cooler Gallery.

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ISCP: “Kiluanji Kia Henda: A City Called Mirage”

Through October 6, 2017

Talk: Kiluanji Kia Henda and Dariel Cobb discuss “A City Called Mirage” on August 29 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Click here for more details.

In his first solo exhibition in the United States, Kiluanji Kia Henda will show “A City Called Mirage” at ISCP, which features an immersive four-channel video installation as well as three interconnected series of photographs.

Henda, who uses real cities and their 3D models for his installation, explores the birth, life and death of modern cities. The artist found a sign in the Namibe Desert that inspired him to look at Dubai as the archetype of the contemporary city and look critically at neoliberal desires, and further link it to the urban reconstruction of his own city, Luanda, Angola. The exhibit also features a series of 50 photographs that documents large-scale sculptures assembled in the desert, based on the silhouettes of an imaginary city and using the geometric forms of African sona drawings as a blueprint, according to the press release.

ISCP is located at 1040 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Exhibition Hours: Tuesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m. www.iscp-nyc.org.

Click here for exhibition details.

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"A City Called Mirage" by Kiluanji Kia Henda, 2014–17. Courtesy of the artist.

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QUEENS

Knockdown Center: “Amie Cunat: The Clock Is Taking a Nap.”

August 3 through November 5, 2017

Opening Reception: Sunday, August 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Artist Talk: Sunday, August 6 at 5 p.m.

As part of “FiftyTwo Ft.,” a series of long-term wall-based artworks, Amie Cunat will display her mural “The Clock Is Taking a Nap.” in the East Corridor of the Knockdown Center.

The mural, which uses imagery from drawings of churches and other buildings in New York City, depicts tightly packed building-like structures across the wall as if they had been plucked from a dense urban neighborhood. The mural pushes the imagined landscape into contorted positions with the structures of the buildings appearing to strain under their own weight or seeming to float in the colloidal skyline.

Knockdown Center is located at 52-19 Flushing Ave, Maspeth, NY 11378. Exhibition viewing hours: Thursday through Friday, 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 2 to 8 p.m. www.knockdown.center.

Click here for exhibition details.

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NYC Gallery Scene - New Shows to Know publishes weekly (except in August) with exhibitions selected by Hamptons Art Hub staff. This edition was written by Genevieve Kotz. Click here to visit our Gallery Guide.

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Copyright 2017 Hamptons Art Hub LLC. All rights reserved..

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