It is the height of summer and the beaches are calling our names; we count down the seconds before we can leave work in the afternoon, and vainly try to resist the urge to remain two feet away from our window AC units in our apartments. In these doldrums of summer the active galleries present us with experimental and group shows, tempting us with their lively and edgy content. This is a week for performance art, group shows, and maybe venturing out to a couple of galleries that are a little bit off the beaten path!
#1 Doppler @ Parallel Art Space (SAT 6-9PM)
Featuring 22 artists living and working in the US, Doppler focuses on works that create an optical or relational effect on the viewer in order to promote a reactionary response. Based on an earlier iteration of a stop-motion program by artist Sarah Klein that travelled throughout Europe in a travelling suitcase. Now showing in Bushwick, the curator/organizer Mel Prest wishes to continue what the show started, crossing boundaries to encourage cultural exchange with the show. Conflating both the visual impact of the pieces with this concept of transgressing national boundaries, the exhibition should prove to cause both visual and physical reactions to the work, as well as interpersonal.
#2 Humano (+): Dionicio Hector Mendoza @ SLAG Contemporary (FRI 6-9PM)
Commonly working with disposable items, such as plastic bottles, paper and other recyclables, Mendoza’s work plays upon the viewer’s perception of what he or she sees. Attempting to create something novel out of something thrown away, Mendoza also works to retain the functionality of the repurposed object; a sleeping bag, backpack, wheels and handlebars can take on the life of an ambulatory creature, while a sculpture utilizing bottles, epoxy and cardboard can conjure a vision of a cloud or skybound ship.
#3 Post-Dance: Performances on the intersections of performance art and dance @ Grace Exhibition Space (FRI 9-11PM, $15-20 suggested donation)
This is the second Friday in July that Grace will play host to the month-long Brooklyn International Performance Art Festival (BIPAF). The artists performing will push the boundaries of the definition of “dance” challenging its implications and very definition of choreography and composition. Moving far beyond “modern dance,” the dancers will introduce us to the concept of “post-dance,” further blurring the boundaries between performance art and the performing arts.
#4 Performance by Ryan Krause and Lucia Stavros @ et al Projects (FRI 8PM)
As part of the Adult Contemporary Exhibition, et al Projects presents a performance by composer and vocal performer Ryan Krause and harpist Lucia Stavros. The exhibition provides a telephone platform for oral work, offering a repurposed platform for receiving and experiencing audio and performance art.
#5 Maria Christina Alvarez @ Armature Art Space (THU 7-11PM)
Alvarez’s large-scale oil paintings epitomize much of our day to urban life experiences in your face pigeons, barking dogs and gray buildings. Yet some of the pieces create non sequitur situations in which wildlife and city life intersect. When we are used to viewing people as the main protagonists in urban landscape, the animal city dwellers become the main focus here in these vivid and robust paintings.
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.
