There is a steady hum that has begun to permeate the streets of Bushwick. What is this noise, you say? It is the rhythm and the life of Bushwick, which is literally bursting at the seams with creative energy and vibrancy. While the New York art world is still catching its breath from last week’s Frieze Art Festival on Randall’s Island, Bushwick continues its stride, bringing new and exciting arts events each and every weekend. We at Bushwick Daily aren’t going to let you miss a single beat! Make sure to check out these art events happening in this weekend!
1. Ricky Powell NYC 1985 @ David Kesting Presents (Friday, May 17, 7-10PM)
Drawing timely and thought-provoking parallels between the New York art world in 1985 and Bushwick of today, David Kesting presents the photographs of Ricky Powell, who is renowned for his photojournalistic documentation of the artists living and working around him. Come view the artist’s works, featuring artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and reflect on the days when Manhattan was still cool (and cheap!) while appreciating our own Bushwick of today.
2. Surface Intentions: Corydon Cowansage, Mark Dorf, and Shawn Powell @ Harbor Gallery (Saturday, May 18, 7-9PM)
Artists Corydon Cowansage, Mark Dorf, and Shawn Powell each reword, re-imagine, and reflect on the concepts of space in this dynamic group show. Each artist approaches the concept of landscape differently as they are inspired by manmade surfaces, structures, and environments and the way they are integrated into our natural infrastructures. In unique ways, all three artists approach this contemporary artifice and the way we, as individuals, interact with this contrived world in our everyday lives.
3. Mathieu Lefevre: The Stuff Things Are Made Of @ Regina Rex (Saturday, May 18, 7-10PM)
On Saturday, Regina Rex opens the first posthumous show of Bushwick artist Mathieu Lefevre, originally from Canada, who tragically died while riding his bike on October 18, 2011. In a similar vein as “bad painting,” newly and previously shown works by the late Mathieu Lefevre both identify and poke fun and the artist’s contemporary colleagues. Lefevre’s pieces offer an insightful take on the art world’s tacit and often biting commentary of the world around it, yet its inability to laugh at itself. Celebrating the artist’s prowess in multiple artistic genres, the works are both powerful testament’s to the artist’s career as well as a continual reminder of his tendency to rebel and rattle against the status quo.
4. Naomi Reis: Unnatural Selection @ TSA (Friday, May 17, 7-10PM)
Naomi Reis investigates the intersection between the natural and manmade environments that we encounter in our daily lives in a variety of media, including works on paper, mixed media collages, vinyl, paintings, and live and artificial plants. Especially à propos to our contemporary urban lifestyles in New York City, Reis reflects on how accustomed we are to interacting with “nature” in a controlled and contrived way. Referencing the fabricated Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, for example, the artist will challenge you to perceive the habitat of New York City differently and reflect on the domesticated nature that it has become.
5. Julian Lorber @ et al Projects (Friday May 17, 7-10PM)
Using a combination of media, including acrylic paint, soot, archival tape, Julian Lorber focuses on the human impact on the urban environment and, in turn, the residue left by time and environmental factors on these manmade markers. Lorber’s pieces, both a comment on human presence and the perpetual movement of time, are beautifully realized in his abstract compositions. In a non-confrontational way, Lorber challenges the viewer to reflect on the human impact on the environment, denoted through the trace of presence, rather than the presence itself.
Check out more art openings and events in our Events Calendar, and add your own events to be featured in Bushwick Daily or get on our mailing list not to miss a single cool event in the area.