While I am always waiting with bated breath for the weekend to awaken me from my weekly doldrums, I am especially antsy due to the upcoming deluge of amazing art openings happening in Bushwick this week and next! As with the first buds of spring popping up along Knickerbocker, many galleries lie in wait for the spring exhibition season to hit and they have brought the goods with them this time. An especially difficult decision to make this time, here are the top five art events happening this weekend.
#1 Two Decades in Dance: The Photographs of Julie Lemberger @ Norte Maar (Friday, April 5, 6-9 PM)
We love Norte Maar for their ability to consistently present shows that both introduce Bushwick to the cutting edge, brand spanking new art happening today, as well as challenge us with exhibitions that are thought-provoking and academically inspired. This retrospective glimpses into photographer Julie Lemberger’s prolific career capturing dancers, choreographers, and iconic locations that represent a generation of New York dance. Norte Maar will showcase more than eighty of Lemberger’s photographs, offering a comprehensive overview of New York’s world of dance and performance, both on stage and behind the scenes.
I do not like green eggs and ham, Sam I am. Words that endure within every child who grew up on Dr. Seuss. On Thursday, 56 Bogart neighbors Art Helix and Mellow Pages are teaming up to unite us all through these famous words in a night of interactive and collaborative writing, eating and drinking. Bond with old friends and new in the single night event that will culminate in the production of a unified “text-piece,” which will then be on view at Art Helix and published in Teen Dregs and Scam.
#3 John Dilg and Karsten Krejcarek: A Two-Person Exhibition @ Regina Rex (Saturday April 6, 7-10 PM)
Using drastically different mediums, John Dilg and Karsten Krejcarek are both artists who are interested in confronting constructs of how memories and sense of place are shaped by the human psyche, both singularly and shared. Working with oil paint, Dilg shares his intimate canvases that recall a Japanese woodblock aesthetic with their flat monoplanar surfaces and intentional lack of referentiality. Juxtaposed with Krejcarek’s digital filmography’s hyper-realistic tendencies, both artists broach the subject of shared memory and collective conscience.
Whether on a massive or minor scale, the two artist collectives Vydavy and Project 59 are both interested in the connectivity within and between cultures. Project 59 is most specifically concerned with tracking and understanding shifts in life and society between reality and cyberspace, through the utilization of traditional as well as new technology. Searching for meaning on a more local and individual level, Vydavy focuses on interpersonal relationships through photo and film documentation of a series of performances. Covering the entire spectrum, the show should offer better understanding, or at least a new perspective, of the way people are, both on a local and global scale.
#5 BYO Art! @ The Living Gallery NEW LOCATION!! (Saturday April 6, 7-11 PM)
In observance of their recent move to their new location at 1094 Broadway, The Living Gallery brings back a familiar event: Bring Your Own Art! No, seriously, bring your own art to display on the walls to be judged by the masses. The gallery suggests that you arrive early if you would like to showcase your work, as space is limited. A great way for artists to increase their exposure, as well as a way to learn more about artists in the area! Musical performances by Hieroglyphics and Cum Blood.