The transformation of everyday objects and a tribute exhibition to an American abstract painter are on our list of new shows that shouldn't be missed in the New York City gallery scene. Selected exhibitions feature both modern and contemporary art and open in Brooklyn, Queens and across Manhattan. Expect to find sculpture, painting, installation, video and art that mingles with craft. Continue reading to discover what's opening in NYC galleries through September 30, 2018.
CHELSEA
Fergus McCaffrey: “Marcia Hafif Remembered”
September 27 through October 27, 2018
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Fergus McCaffrey presents “Marcia Hafif Remembered,” featuring works spanning from the 1970s up to the artist’s death earlier this year.
Curated by Alanna Heiss, Richard Nonas and Hanne Tierney—all friends of the renowned abstract painter—the exhibition includes four bodies of work installed in individual gallery spaces. Many of the works have never been exhibited before in New York.
Hafif primarily referred to works from the 1970s on as “The Inventory.” While her art is primarily monochrome and systematic, they are in many cases also complex and varied. The artist worked on the canvases methodically with handmade pigments, making them very complex. In addition to her artwork, Hafif also created critical essays and texts.
Fergus McCaffrey is located at 514 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001. www.fergusmccaffrey.com.
Click here for exhibition details.
.
"Table of Pigments" by Marcia Hafif, 1991. The Inventory: Paintings at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen and Kunsthaus Baselland, Switzerland, 2017. © The Estate of Marcia Hafif; © Marcia Hafif Trust. Courtesy of Fergus McCaffrey.
.
DOWNTOWN
Peter Blum Gallery: “Joyce J. Scott: What Next and Why Not”
September 27 through November 10, 2018
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Peter Blum Gallery presents “Joyce J. Scott: What Next and Why Not,” the artist’s first solo show with the gallery.
The exhibition includes approximately 20 sculptures created from the year 2000 and forward. The sculptures incorporate the artist’s trademark beadwork and focus on bridging the gap between craft aesthetics and contemporary sculpture. Influenced by the American Southern traditions of quilting, weaving and beadwork of her own family as well as a wide variety of other cultures and spiritual traditions, the objects deal with such issues as race, class, gender, violence and the extremes of human nature.
Peter Blum Gallery is located at 176 Grand St, New York, NY 10013. www.peterblumgallery.com.
Click here for exhibition details.
.
"War Woman II" by Joyce J. Scott, 2014. African sculpture, fused and painted mosaic glass, glass/plastic beads, wire, thread, metal keys and cast glass guns, 25 x 18 x 18 inches. Courtesy the artist and Peter Blum Gallery, New York.
.
UPTOWN
FreedmanArt: “Hiding in Plain Sight, Objects Common & Curious”
September 27 through December 29, 2018
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.
FreedmanArt presents “Hiding in Plain Sight, Objects Common & Curious,” in collaboration with American art critic, writer and poet Carter Ratcliff.
An investigation of the transformation of common, found, and readymade objects, the exhibition features works by early 20th century masters through today’s contemporary masters including Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Helen Frankenthaler, Pablo Picasso, Nancy Graves, Frank Stella, and Jean Shin, among others. The works on view revamp common, often disposable, objects while redefining art and life. The artworks assign permanence to the objects while blurring the line between life and art.
FreedmanArt is located at 25 E 73rd St, New York, NY 10021. www.freedmanart.com.
Click here for exhibition details.
.
"Tanz (glass series)" by Nancy Graves, 1984. Baked enamel on bronze, 19 x 19 1/2 x 10 inches. (Inv# FA591) Courtesy of FreedmanArt.
.
BROOKLYN
Smack Mellon: “Paula Wilson—Spread Wild: Pleasures of the Yucca” & “Luisa Caldwell—A Cat in God’s Garden”
September 29 through November 4, 2018
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 29, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Exhibiting Artist Talks: October 4, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Smack Mellon presents “Paula Wilson—Spread Wild: Pleasures of the Yucca” and “Luisa Caldwell—A Cat in God’s Garden.”
Paula Wilson will transform Smack Mellon's industrial space into a mixed media landscape that reminds of the high desert plains of New Mexico, where the artist currently resides. “Spread Wild: Pleasures of the Yucca” installation incorporate Wilson's paintings, prints, videos and sculptures which blend naturalistic and otherworldly qualities to create work that becomes a visual metaphor for complex strata of histories and culture.
For the installation at Smack Mellon, the gallery's towering columns become naturalist guides into this complex and unexpected world. Amid the installation, Wilson makes use of the Yucca plant, the Yucca moth and their ritual of pollination as representing mutualism. The work draws parallels to the ways the natural world can engender harmony and connects the work conceptually to the human rights and environmental movements.
Click here for exhibition details.
.
"Spread Wild: Pleasures of the Yucca" by Paula Wilson, 2018. Video with sound, 6:00 minutes. Courtesy of the artist.
.
“Luisa Caldwell—A Cat in God’s Garden” features drawings, collage, sculpture and large-scale installation that are an ode to surrounding oneself with things that bring happiness. The exhibition reflects Caldwell’s lifelong personal interests including cats, gardens and artbooks. Hundreds of her bright and bold drawings of flowers cover the gallery walls with their boldness bringing joy to the forgotten and found objects. Her work also reflects on the “cat craze” in digital media by treating cats as deities and things to worship.
Smack Mellon is located at 92 Plymouth St, Brooklyn, NY 11201. www.smackmellon.org.
Click here for exhibition details.
.
"Sentinels" by Luisa Caldwell, 2018. Re-imaged stoneware ceramic, 19 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches. Drawings from "The Tree of Life" series by Luisa Caldwell, 2018. Pen and marker on cardstock, 11 x 8 1/2 inches each. Courtesy of the artist.
.
QUEENS
Selenas Mountain: “Easy Lover”
September 29 through November 3, 2018
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 29, from 7 to 10 p.m.
Selenas Mountain presents “Easy Lover,” the gallery’s inaugural exhibition at its new location in Ridgewood, New York.
“Easy Lover” is a group exhibition that brings together artists from New York and Atlanta. The show takes its title from the 1984 song "Easy Lover" by Phil Collins of Genesis and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire. Exhibiting artists are Andy Cahill, Pastiche Lumumba, Heidi Norton, Mariana Garibay Raeke, Anjuli Rathod, Josh Reames, Saige Rowe and Julio Cesar Williams. The exhibition will include paintings, sculpture and video.
Selenas Mountain is located at 63 Woodward Ave #6321, Ridgewood, NY 11385. www.selenasmountain.com.
Click here for exhibition details.
.
"For heaven’s sake, can’t you do anything right?" by Andy Cahill, 2014. Acrylic and crayon on linen, 40 x 50 inches. Courtesy of Selenas Mountain and the artist.
.
________________________
NYC Gallery Scene - Highlights publishes weekly with exhibitions selected by Hamptons Art Hub staff. This edition was selected by Kathryn Heine and written by Sarah Drake.
_______________________
Copyright 2018 Hamptons Art Hub LLC. All rights reserved.