Might I encounter the rousing side of Bushwick in this weekend’s top art picks? As I share the sexy side of our artsy enclave on this week’s #BushwickDaily Insta-Takeover, I am tempted to untap the sultry, suprising or bravely sensual side of the neighborhood art scene. Whether blatant or subtle, upfront or shyly concealed, I’ll be seeking it out at this Friday and Saturday’s art openings. Bushbabies, prepare to be artfully empassioned.
#1. Dressed in Light – 25 years of Photographs of the Nude @ Armature Art Space (FRI 6 – 11 PM)
Dressed merely in the light that graces them, photographer Peter Le Grand’s subjects are sure to allure at Armature Art Space’s Dressed in Light opening. Visitors will witness Le Grand’s technique of luminous infrared photography which he uses to capture a range of light otherwise inaccessible to the human eye. Through this, Le Grand entcices you to rediscover tone, texture, and light.
Friday night’s lustrious setting will be accompanied by live jazz music and a backyard garden party. I’ve been longing for an event like this as we finally settle into the Spring-like weather around Bushwick!
#2 UNDEFINED BY DESIGN @ Lorimoto (SAT 6 – 9 PM)
In a bold-faced move a group of visionary designers explore the fine line between art and graphic design. Curated by Brooklyn-based Designer Brian LaRossa, this exploration seeks not to find hard answers in the overlap between the two worlds, but to sincerely contemplate and enjoy it. In reviewing the allure of Undefined by Design, Designer/Writer/Critic Ellen Lupton writes, “Brian LaRossa’s provocative exhibition celebrates designers who defy the norms of their profession and who also make objects that we call ‘art’.”
Art and design as tempting, you might ask? How about this: Keetra Dean Dixon’s misbehaving piece, A-Way “opens its fly and comes undone.” See exactly what she means at Lorimoto’s opening this Saturday night!
#3 Show #10 @ The Parlour Bushwick (FRI 6 – 9 PM)
Artistic polar opposites Roberto Turnbull, Michelle Matson, and Posie Currin are brought together by mutual visual vocabularies as they share their takes on femininity, sexuality and ambiguity in Show #10, opening this Friday. The featured works will reveal the artists’ reactions to their culture and environment, from Roberto’s ambiguous take on his home country’s flag (of Mexico), to Michelle and Posie’s dramatic narratives of sexuality and the female archetype. Posie will display an apocalyptic and psychedelic video on the female consciousness, in contrast to Michelle’s humorous and surreal works that mix found objects with the female perspective.
#4 The Story of Elfranko Wessels @ Studio 10 (FRI 7 – 9 PM)
Strut your stuff over to the Morgantown catwalk and venture into 56 Bogart for a glimpse at the multi-channel video installation, The Story of Elfranko Wessels. Artist duo Erik Moskowitz and Amanda Trager boldy display footage of scenes they’ve shared with Elfranko Wessels, a South African émigré who they interviewed inside their home. A frenzy of scenes are projected through a unique mirror projector, forming a kinetic sculpture of clips that capture the emotional intensity of the recorded encounter.
Adding to the intrigue is an additional webcam projection revealing the artists’ live/work loft in real-time. Acting as a fourth character in the video, the footage creates a bizarre, vibrating double-space as the performers engage with one another.
#5 ETERNAL RETURN @ Life on Mars Gallery (FRI 6 – 9 PM)
Intense and de-Chirico-esque — sounds just right as I explore the intensity already taking place inside 56 Bogart. In metaphysical puzzle-picturing works, trancendental artist Arnold Mesches presents a new series of paintings that have been described as “enigmatic landscapes, cityscapes and nowhere-on-this-planet-scapes.”
For decades, Mesches’ trans-generational voice has been impacting the American social landscape through his powerful paintings and awe-inspring works. Through this exhibition, Life on Mars Gallery presents its inaugural one-person exhibition, as well as Mesche’s first solo show in New York in 11 years.