Inhale, exhale! There is a lot to see this coming weekend during the ninth annual Bushwick Open Studios. We broke down the area into five geographical areas and hand-picked the crème de la crème for you. This week, we’re publishing one guide every day. To have our guide always at hand, don’t forget to pick up a copy of Bushwick Notebook magazine (coming soon, stay tuned!).
To make our list even more awesome, we asked three local art experts for their recommendations and sprinkled them on top of this compact guide. Julie Torres (artist and curator); Christopher Stout (artist and founder of Bushwick Art Crit Group) as well as Jason Andrew (curator; co-founder of Norte Maar and co-owner at Outlet Fine Art gallery) all chipped in recommendations for your total enjoyment of this year’s Bushwick Open Studios! Here is your guide to everything off Morgan! (Check out our yesterday’s guide to East Williamsburg as well.)
#2 Morgan
The glorious, Morgantown, the land of Roberta’s, Momo Sushi Shack and of course the quintessential yellow 56 Bogart building filled with artist studios and galleries. The catwalk of artists and other artist-wanna-look-alikes who are showing off their coolest thrifted outfits blowing off gray clouds cigarette smoke because they’re so bohemian. But be careful, because 56 Bogart building has the ability (and content) to suck you into its vortex for the entire weekend. Get off at the Morgan L train stop and join the artsy circus!
1. Luis Rosenfeld’s Street Gallery
27 Knickerbocker Ave
FRI-SUN 9AM – 7PM
Photographer/street artist Luis Rosenfeld wheat-pasted his portraits onto the walls at 27 Knickerbocker Ave. Stop by during the weekend and witness his fascination with speed light photography and its possibilities.
2 . “Home Improvement” on Rock Street
Rock St between Bogart St & Morgan Ave
SAT-SUN 11-6PM
The small Rock Street doesn’t see much cultural action during the year as it is privately owned by Board’s Head. However, Rock Street will rock for the third time in row this year, as Deborah Brown and Leslie Heller curated a sculpture show for the occasion of BOS. Expect to see works by Ian Cochran, Jaynie Crimmins, or Kate Starbuck Elliot, all revolving around the concept of home. The reception with bands and performances goes down on Sunday 4:30 to 6 p.m.
3. Double Double Visions Visions
The Active Space, 566 Johnson Ave
FRI 6-9PM, SAT-SUN 12-10PM
Artist Christian Ruiz Berman has vacated his studio to celebrate his second year of participation in BOS with a nice big group art show. Expect to see works by Cristina Camacho, Matthew F Fisher, Doty/Glasco or Mark Joshua Epstein.
315 Seigel St
FRI 5-8PM, SAT 12-7PM
Photographer Dan Perrone will present his works selected from an on-going series of large-format photographs titled “Warm Static” from 2007 to present.
5. Ellen Hackl Fagan Open Studio
229 Cook St
FRI 5-7PM, SAT-SUN 12-7PM
The studio of interdisciplinary abstract painter, Ellen Hackl Fagan, is tucked behind Odetta gallery, which she also runs. Fagan uses synaesthesia, digital media and interactive performance as tools for developing a corresponding language between color and sound.
Odetta, 229 Cook St
FRI 12-6PM, SAT 12-8PM, SUN 12-6PM
In a two-person show, Odetta presents Bushwick-based artist and gallerist Mary Judge and Brooklyn-based artist Gilbert Hsaio. Both artists use the simplicity of fundamental forms, the circle and the square, as their jumping off point, and move into maximalist paintings employing figure ground reversals, pattern and optical diversion.
Recommended by Jason Andrew:
7. Frank Ape
Pine Box Rock Shop, 12 Grattan St
Everybody loves Frank Ape, an iconic character created by artist Brandon Sines, and lucky for us Brandon is Pine Box’s featured artists for this year’s BOS.
7. Rockin’ Granny Love
in front of 56 Bogart St
SAT-SUN 2-5PM
In her interactive performance, Dr. Lisa Levy, the self-proclaimed psychotherapist, dressed as “Grandma” will be sitting in her rocking chair outside in front of 56 Bogart Building instructing passersby to sit in her lap so she can rock them and give them some conditional love.
8. Phil Buehler’s Fergusson
in front of Brooklyn Fire Proof, 119 Ingraham St
SAT-SUN 12-7PM
The quiet tree-lined street Fergusson, MI where Michael Brown was shot and killed by the police is covered in flowers and stuffed animals these days portraying a very different community than the riot images continually replayed by the media. Photographer Phil Buehler allows you to step into the scene thanks to his 8′ tall, 8′ diameter panorama photograph installed on the street. Phil will have also other work exhibited in studio #2 on the first floor.
Recommended by Julie Torres:
9. Thrice Legendary, or Forever Thens
Centotto, 250 Moore St #108
SAT 2-6PM
Legendary apartment gallery of Bushwick artist, writer, scholar and polyglot, Paul D’Agostino is celebrating its 8th birthday this BOS. The group show at view is “a rather studio-centric show featuring works by dozens of artists based hither and yon, alongside ‘legendary’ notes to send you nearby and beyond.”
10. Sky Fortress Cantina
75 Stewart St #405
FRI-SUN 8AM – late
Go, peek in the Sky Fortress loft, which houses a creative collective of the same name. They will be sharing their lifestyle during a 72-hour performance during which they’ll be serving food for donation. Expect also DJs, performers, painting, and of course a ton of art.
Recommended by Jason Andrew:
11. Spread Art Summer Group Show VIII – Transplant: Own Your Dirt
16 Harrison Pl
SAT 12-10PM, SUN 12-5PM
Through visual art, durational performance, and a series of panel discussions, Brooklyn and Detroit artists transform an empty lot in the heart of Bushwick into a site-specific consideration of physical and psychological placement and replacement.
12. LANDED Meditation & Ritual Lab
Surreal Estate Redux, 15 Thames St #3
SAT 7-8:30PM
Join a meditation class for practitioners of magic, which is a discipline of meditation to
achieve the aims of the magician, witch or mystic. Are you a beginner? Worry not, this is open to all levels of experience.
Recommended by Julie Torres:
13. Mixtape II
56 Bogart St
FRI 6-9PM, SAT-SUN 1-6PM
Get ready for a fun, sprawling show curated by Todd Bienvenu and Michael David in their studio across the hall from Life on Mars gallery on the ground floor of 56 Bogart building. Peek to the Life on Mars gallery too as they’re hosting a summer invitational group show focused on portrait.
Check out also our BOS 2015 Guide to East Williamsburg