While stories from the comedic to scandalous are whizzing around the art world a week after the Miami Art Basel Spring Break of the art world (and artists and gallerists alike continue to nurse epic hangovers), one would think that this would send the New York art world into a full-on art coma. Fear not, my fair citizens of Bushwick, for as the ragers who experienced Bushwick Gone Basel know, the Bushwick art world’s tough skin remains unfazed and ready to enter into a fantastic week of art events galore! Trying to stay in front of the onslaught of holiday madness, galleries and pop-ups all over, the neighborhood will be hosting openings featuring a slew of new artists and fun! Here are some of the Bushwick galleries that have something exciting to offer – see if you can catch ’em all!
#1 Will Horwitt: Drawings from the Sixties @ Schema Projects (THU 6PM)
One of the unsung artists from the 1960s, this show explores the drawings of Will Horwitt, who primarily worked in sculpture. In a similar vein with minimalist and industrial artists from that era, Horwitt was interested in the exploration of the spaces between that were created by his sculpture. His drawings presented at Schema are an integral element of understand not just his working method but his way of seeing.
#2 Terra Incognita and Tetes: Portraits by Contemporary Artists @ Storefront Ten Eyck (FRI 6PM)
Working within the tradition of painting, four artists – Lisa Corinne Davis, Shane McAdams, Kristine Moran, and Aaron Williams – delve into the specific genre of the landscape, reshaping, re-imagining and repositioning the viewer’s relationship to this traditional form. Each come from distinct backgrounds and tradition; the four artists will examine the vast and rich historical, natural, hypothetical, and cultural landscapes that have shaped them as artists. While often not initially recognizable, the liberal definition used here pushes the very topography of the landscape genre, taking it to new and interesting places.
Don’t miss Storefront’s second show in the Project Space, which will feature Tetes: Portraits by Contemporary Artists. As a nice counterpoint to the main gallery’s exploration of landscapes, Tetes will delve into the ever broad definition of portraiture. From the lifelike to the abstract and conceptual, each artist will surely bring their own idea of this, literally, iconic genre.
#3 3 Artists / 3 Weeks + 15 Artists in Black & White @ OUTLET (FRI 7-10PM)
For their second show since their curatorial and programmatic makeover, OUTLET gives us a group of three artists working with the concept of repetition and multiplicity. Mary Judge, John Redmann, and Ned Shalanski each approach their process from a different origins yet share a common thread of build-up and creation, and removal. Judge’s meticulous canvases balance between geometrical exactness and freedom of automatic drawing. In contrast, Redmann uses a printmaking process that originates from a paper sculpture, which he makes, crumples, prints onto them, and then uses their negative as the basis for his prints. Shalanski’s blend of expressionistic and geometric tendencies gives his work a feeling of contained chaos or conflict, as his compositions seem to almost exist in an uneasy yet dynamic balance.
Also on view will be fifteen intimate works by various artists, all in black-and-white, meant to present a vast overview of current artistic trends.
#4 The Trip @ Loft 594 Gallery (FRI 6PM)
Recently voted one of Bushwick’s top art galleries, Loft 594 offers a salon style vibe to a space without being stuffy. The airy space has become a great venue for exhibitions and is also a refreshing counterpoint to its neighboring 56 Bogart galleries. The current show, The Trip, will feature works by a wide array of artists whose work all focuses on the escape from the city in order to return to nature.
#5 The Sea is a Big Green Lens @ Studio10 (FRI 7PM)
This collaborative sculpture and sound installation put on by brothers David and Douglas Henderson aims to create a full body experiential installation in which the viewer is fully enveloped. Polyurethane and mirrored sculptured create a setting and pulsating electroacoustic sounds throughout the space create an environment in which viewers can fully experience the expansiveness of the space and sound.
#6 Annual Salon Exhibition @ The Active Space (FRI 7PM)
This Friday marks the Active Space’s annual Salon, which is a 0% commission show, meaning that every artist participating will get 100% of the the profit. Like the grand tradition of the French salon (without the snooty attitude), the salon is a perfect opportunity for artists to exhibit their works, to judge, and to be judged. If you are interested in participating, the gallery will still be accepting some submissions through Thursday, but make sure to check the website for details!
#7 A Little More to the Left + Tom Warren Pop-Up Studio @ Associated (SAT 7PM)
Reflecting on the ubiquitous nature of self-portraiture à la “the selfie” – and even the every so common artistic convention of artists delving into their own nature – a constructed portrait of another can offer a deep look into that person’s soul. This weekend at Associated, Solito Jibaro, Rachel Pontious, and Tom Warren investigate portraiture as a way of more deeply seeing their subject, whether it be connecting to a loved one or a complete stranger.
#8 Net Worth @ Transfer (SAT 7PM)
To celebrate the closing of their current show, Daniel Temkin’s Glitchometry, Transfer will be hosting a one-night event where over fifty artists will present forged works of other artists, all with the idea of undermining the concept of the unique object and fetishization of the artist and the work they create as “original” and “authentic.” With the object being subterfuge, the artists’ deception is all part of Temkin’s co-option of the art market; this undercurrent, or “shadow market” as he refers to it, is meant to undermine the way many collectors view art as commodity. A number of the works will be available to purchase anonymously using bitcoin currency.
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