By Henry Miller, Intro by Katarina Hybenova
Guys, we’re not even pretending that this week is about anything else than Bushwick Open Studios. It is not. If you have not experienced it before, you’re in for some treat; and if you’re a BOS longtimer you know that there ain’t a better weekend to be in Bushwick than the first weekend in June.
Hashtag your social media messages #BOS2015 and appear in our right-hand sidebar throughout the weekend. In the meantime you can follow how the neighborhood is buzzing with preparation for the greatest weekend (ever? we’ll see!).
Now enjoy our guide to area of Jefferson L train. Don’t forget to peek in on East Willy and Morgantown guides as well. As in the previous guides, 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!
#3 Jefftown
Perhaps the most playful district of this year’s BOS is the area around the Jefferson L train stop aka Jefftown. Hundreds of artist studios, restaurants, bars and simple joie de vivre are awaiting you. Explore large 17-17 Troutman St building buzzing with great artists, hang at the Bushwick Collective Block Party, and be grateful for this ultimate Bushwick experience. We know we are!
Dress Shop Studios, 322 Troutman St
SAT-SUN 12-7PM
A small but richly decorated venue partially hidden between residential buildings, 322 Troutman contains new work by Paul Bergeron, Dominique Festa and Joey Natoli among others. Jose Krapp’s surrealist drawings from previous exhibits make the promise of this show worth the visit.
Brooklyn Brush Studios, 203 Harrison Pl
FRI-SAT 12-7PM
Best known for her trippy and playfully entrancing neon light installations, Annesta Le will be showcasing new work alongside the vibrant work of Ben Hilario-Caguiat, which uses elements of anime to create abstract “dream worlds and shapes.”
382 Jefferson St
FRI 6-10PM, SAT-SUN 12-9PM
This studio space will be hosting six artists from Bushwick and six from Berlin, making for a wonderful opportunity to see the contrasts between the two artist havens.
4. Branded Rose, a Site Specific Sculpture
Norte Maar, 83 Wyckoff Ave
SAT-SUN starts at 11AM
This year Norte Maar prepared “Branded Rose,” a site-specific sculpture piece featuring hundreds of handmade roses by Carlton Scott Sturgill. A stunning image that is sure to feel all the more spectacular in person, “Branded Rose” will be paired with an exhibit celebrating Norte Maar’s ninth year in Bushwick.
5. Sonomi Kobayashi Open Studio
44 Stewart Ave
SAT-SUN 1-6PM
Sonomi Kobayashi will be exhibiting her abstract oil paintings, drawings, etchings and lithographs, in which she is striving to express the relationships between humanity, nature, earth and the universe.
Be Electric, 1298 Willoughby Ave
FRI 6-9PM, SAT-SUN 1-9PM
Celebrating its sixth year, Seeking Space is the official group art show of BOS composed of artists who are all… well, seeking space to show their work.
17-17 Troutman St
FRI-SUN 12-7PM
Go pay a visit to one of the most prominent art buildings in the area but be careful not to get sucked in for the entire weekend. There is A LOT to see. Our faves: Studio #315 will feature works by F.P. Boué, Peter Clough, Jennifer Gustavson, Rachael Clarke Hendel, Jeremy Olson, Russell Perkins, Andy Sowers, Bob Szantyr, and Sarah Tricker; studio #311 presents a group show of excellent Mark Sengbusch and Dave King among others. At studio #319, Sienna Reid examines, through her multidisciplinary work, how police and prosecutor create a murderess out of a young girl.
8. Street Radio Broadcast – 88.9 FM
Cheap Storage, 49 Wyckoff Ave
SAT-SUN 12-7PM
Members of Savage Severe will conduct a Live Radio Broadcast during Saturday and Sunday of BOS. Feel free to tune in, drop in, drop out of their sonic programming featuring all genres of music and non-music, spoken word, stream of consciousness poetry, phantom phone call-ins, creepy station ID’s, open mics for on-the-spot, street level public engagement, live performance and wild radio activation.
9. Artcade 3000 Indie Video Game Showcase
214 Starr St
FRI 5-10PM, SAT 1-10PM, SUN 1-7PM
Do you love video games and video game inspired art? Then you must stop by at Arcade 3000 because these guys are, for the third time in row, producing an art show dedicated to new indie games. Plus they have free beer!
Recommended by Julie Torres:
10. Harthaus 2015
1042 Hart St
FRI 6-9PM, SAT-SUN 12-7PM
Bushwick (power) couple Jessica and Oliver Ralli have been organizing a big art show in their house for three years in row. This year they’ve invited spectacular group of local artists including Matthew Miller, Stephen Truax and Ellen Letcher. Make sure you’re there on Friday at 7:30 p.m. for a dance performance–a collaboration between Oliver Ralli and The Pharmacy Project.
11. NEWD Art Fair
1896 Studio Building, 592 Johnson Ave
SAT-SUN 12-7PM
NEWD Art Fair is returning to BOS after its last year’s successful debut. The art fair will feature a selection of 11 exhibitors comprised of artist collectives, project spaces, non-profits and artist-run galleries including Bushwick’s Fresh Window, Signal, Sardine and NURTUREart.
12. 14’ CUBE: mobile gallery VOL.2
33 Wyckoff Ave
FRI 5-8PM, SAT-SUN 12-8PM
Live painting and projection form the centerpiece of this unique showcase from baCe, inc. production company head Nahoko Hayashi. An outdoor photography showcase from other Japanese auteurs like Fumihiko Sigino, Yuji Oboshi and Mari Maeda will be paired alongside provocative mini souvenirs courtesy of gift shop SHIN-YOSHIWARA.
13. Julia Sinelnikova Open Studio
Nonbinary Studios, 17-17 Troutman St
SAT-SUN 12-7PM
Artist Julia Sinelnikova (aka The Oracle) makes otherworldly installations using hand-cut mylar, resin, acrylic, LED lights, and projected light. She’s prepared a performance called “Conjuring Rebirth” in collaboration with Cultastic to go on at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Recommended by Christopher Stout:
14. Sylva Dean And Ventiko, Expect Expectations
All over Bushwick
SAT-SUN
Be on the look out for rogue performance artist Sylva Dean and Ventiko in wearable sculptures made of milk cartons from Bushwick Day Care Center.