I recently contributed an article to Daily Art Magazine about visiting museums during a pandemic following their long-awaited reopening back in September 2020. When I wrote that article, I was fearful that New York City museums would be forced to close their doors again but thankfully that was not the case. My beloved city is bustling with energy one year after the shutdown and there is plenty to do. Art is in full bloom this spring!
Here’s a quick rundown of some exhibitions to see around New York City. Some of these shows may have just opened but do not sleep on the opportunity to get out and see them sooner than later. Weekends are always great but if you have flexible work hours or work from home, consider a weekday visit when you are off the clock or when the kids are back from school or finished with remote learning. Keep in mind that some museums are only open on the weekends and do not miss out on the fact that some institutions are waiving admission fees.
Just remember to visit the museum websites ahead of time to reserve and purchase (if necessary) timed tickets!
Brooklyn Museum
Lorraine O’Grady, Announcement of a New Persona (Performances to Come!), 2021 (right)
Lorraine O’Grady: Both/And, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, closes July 18, 2021
The Brooklyn Museum has devoted its Center for Feminist Art on the fourth floor to Lorraine O’Grady, Both/And (closes July 18). This long overdue retrospective of this artist’s career spanning four decades is the first of its kind for O’Grady who is in her eighties and still at it. The main parts of this show is presented in the gallery spaces surrounding Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party but there are more works to be found by O’Grady sprinkled throughout other galleries of the museum.
On the same floor and just opposite the Center for Feminist Art is John Edmonds: A Sidelong Glance (closes August 8, 2021). Make sure to walk through this exhibition of photographs depicting subjects posing with traditional African art objects. These beautiful compositions are subtle yet mesmerizing.
It’s always a party at the Brooklyn Museum and KAWS What Party (closes September 5) is no exception. Bring the kids for they will be excited to find many recognizable and playful pieces throughout the galleries that have been set aside for this special exhibition. Make sure that your admission ticket includes this exhibition when you book online. The museum staff is very strict about only admitting ticket holders at the precise time indicated on their pre-purchased tickets.
KAWS: What Party, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, closes September 5, 2021 (right)
New Museum
Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America (closes June 6) at the New Museum was conceived by curator, Okwui Enwezor (1963–2019) in 2018. Given the theme of grief running throughout this exhibition, one cannot help but feel the loss of Enwezor who played a prominent role in the meaningful expansion of contemporary art scholarship. In honor of Enwezor, this exhibition was brought to fruition by artist Glenn Ligon and curators Naomi Beckwith, Massimiliano Gioni, and Mark Nash.
As stated in the press release, this “exhibition brings together works that address black grief as a national emergency in the face of a politically orchestrated white grievance.” Arthur Jafa’s 7:25 minute video Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death, 2016, on the main floor puts this statement to work through a rapid succession of heartbreaking and uplifting clips reminding us of this country’s fraught juxtapositions of black excellence and the devastation, demoralization and utter destruction of black communities through systematic oppression. All set to a soundtrack that kept pace with the images flickering before our eyes. I was engulfed by this work and found it difficult to remove myself from the large dark room where this video dominated. I managed to make my way out to see the rest of this exhibition that has completely taken over the galleries of the New Museum.
MoMA PS1
Niki de Saint Phalle: Structures for Life at MoMA PS1 (closes September 6) shines a spotlight on Niki de Saint Phalle’s (1930-2002) creation of outdoor play and living structures. Prior to seeing this show, I never realized how invested this artist was with the making of larger-than-life interactive spaces that are reminiscent of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi and his monumental impact on the city of Barcelona. Seeing this visual connection between Gaudi but also recognizing Saint Phalle’s preference for the female form reinforced the playful character of this artist’s approach. Saint Phalle’s career was long and prodigious and although this show’s focus is primarily on her interactive structures, graphic projects as well as the production of luxury yet commercial items such as perfumes and scarves to self-fund her monumental art. This artist refused to be at the mercy of the art market and clearly lived a life on her own terms. The final room of the exhibition features a movie, narrated by the artist, that goes through the many phases of Saint Phalle’s career. Give yourself time to watch this film because it gives a more complete picture of the depth and breadth of Saint Phalle’s work.
Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration (closes April 4) is closing soon. If you have not already seen this show, see it NOW!
The Drawing Center
David Hammons: Body Prints, 1968–1979 (closes May 23) at The Drawing Center treats visitors to a selection of about thirty body prints made by Hammons early in career and while he was living in Los Angeles. The show is accompanied by photographs documenting the artist’s process by Bruce W. Talamon that emphasize the artist’s use of body to create these powerful works.
Read more about this exhibition at Daily Art Magazine.
Also at the Drawing Center is Ebecho Muslimova: Scenes in the Sublevel (closes May 23) in the lower galleries.
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art
Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell (closes June 27) at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is a brilliant survey of an artist’s career that demands attention and praise. Do not miss the opportunity to follow the journey of this artist from her days as a student into her later series of renown self-portraits in nature.
Read more about this exhibition at Daily Art Magazine.
Make sure to admire the Chitra Ganesh’s site-specific QUEERPOWER facade installation, A city will share her secrets if you know how to ask (closes October 18).
Whitney Museum of American Art
I was swept away by the mid-career survey of Ethiopian born and New York City based artist Julie Mehretu (closes August 8) at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Mehretu’s abstract canvases grow in size and wow-factor over time with more recent canvases dominating the walls on which they hang. The later works are captivating for their layering of ink drawings of cityscapes, reminiscent of blueprints, beneath washes of color and geometric shapes that swirl across the surface. These compositions respond to the urgency of movements such Black Lives Matter, the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Hurricane Katrina and other events happening around the globe.
Making Knowing: Craft in Art, 1950–2019 (closes February 2022) is such a pleasure to walk through and has plenty of crowd-pleasing works by prominent artists using everyday materials in inventive ways.
Jeffrey Deitch
Karon Davis: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (closes April 24) at Jeffrey Deitch is THE show to see this spring. This exhibition closes soon and what a shame that it could have had a longer run. Davis uses plaster to create a tableau that recreates overlooked/erased episodes from U.S. history, pertaining to the contribution and persecution of Black Panthers to the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s. Erroneously remembered as domestic terrorists, Davis seeks to illustrate other truths that have been buried by the powerful and time. Uncovered in this gallery space is the community outreach that was very much part of the Black Panther initiative that included handing out groceries to those in need and to those who have suffered at the hands of institutional racism. At the rear of the gallery is the recreation of a court room showing the figure of a tortured Bobby Seale, seated and bound to a chair seated before a judge propped high above at his bench. These life size figures bring to the fore the gruesome efforts of the U.S. government to silence activists. Although this piece is a page from history, it just as easily could represent current turmoil. This solo show by Davis is a masterful installation that teaches a much needed history lesson.
El Museo del Barrio
ESTAMOS BIEN – LA TRIENAL 20/21 at El Museo del Bario (closes September 26) opened exactly one year after the museum closed in compliance with the Covid-19 shutdowns of 2020. Following the tragic events of the past year, this exhibition, featuring 42 up and coming Latinex artists, has opened under considerably changed circumstances from when the exhibition was originally conceived. This has been the case for most art spaces and from the perspective of the viewer, it is as if we are seeing these art works through new eyes. This inaugural triennial is a continuation of El Museo’s S-files exhibitions, held between 1999-2013. Life is forever altered due to the pandemic and the start of this triennial series feels like an appropriate way to mark the beginning of a new era.
Asia Society Museum
Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone, Part II at the Asia Society Museum (closes June 27). Make a note that the Asia Society Museum hours are Friday – Sunday, 11:00 am-3:00 pm.
More to come very soon…
Metropolitan Museum of Art
In the meantime, I have been reading Goya: A Portrait of the Artist by Janis Tomlinson (2020) which will surely compliment my visit to Goya’s Graphic Imagination at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (closes May 2).
Alice Neel: People Come First at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (closes August 1)
More to come…
Frick Madison
The Frick Madison is the most current tenant of the Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue at 75th Street. Originally the home of the of the Whitney Museum of American Art (1966-2014), it was briefly known as The Met Breuer (2016 – 2020) when the Whitney moved downtown into a bigger space. The Breuer building will be a temporary home for the Frick collection will its permanent space at East 70th Street undergoes a renovation and expansion. In the meantime, the Breuer building will house installations of the Frick’s permanent collection. This museum is only open to adults and children 12 years old and older, as is the policy of the Frick.
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