016. Public, Free Art Things To Do Next Week 🌞
(*except for The Frick, actually--they want your money)
April was a sleepier art month for me. I didn’t see too many things I would give a rave review, aside from the Lyles & King show I wrote about last time, which is up through May 10th.
However, May will bring us a lot of cool stuff to look at and discuss, old and new:
Old (Sort Of)
The Frick has reopened and I can’t wait to go see the Fragonards in their renovated home.
Also, I just learned there is a John Singer Sargent exhibition at The Met! “Sargent and Paris” is largely focused on a single portrait in the Met’s permanent collection, and includes portraits by his contemporaries and preparatory drawings. I still think the best place to view Sargent is probably the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where they have my favorite one hanging:
New!
If the above is boring to you and you’d prefer to keep things downtown/contemporary, don’t fret! Tribeca Gallery Night, which seems to be organized by Seesaw, is taking place this Friday, May 9th. Galleries typically close at 6, but most will be open until 8pm.
Here is more info - you can easily search in the Seesaw app to see who is participating, but it seems like everyone in the neighborhood. I’m sure no one else will have the same idea as me and attempt to get a table at The Odeon after :)
Lastly, I booked tickets for an art fair I hadn’t heard of before this year, called Esther. It’s being held at The Estonian House (5/6 - 5/10) and some very cool, small galleries are participating. Tickets are free and you can grab them here! They are hosting “drag clown bingo” on 5/7 which sounds like a blast if you can make it…
Lastly lastly, I do have ONE GOOD SHOW for you.
I keep thinking about this show, which I saw last week, and will probably swing by again Friday night.
Takako Yamaguchi: Innocent Bystander at Ortuzar (5 White Street) through May 31st.
There is good art and then there is excellent art and then there is flawless art I could not imagine benefitting from critique. Yamaguchi’s Innocent Bystander series falls into the latter category.
These large, painted works on paper soak up finishes of shiny foil and matte paint, creased and worked over. Decorative motifs are layered over ancient-seeming women and landscapes that look like traditional Japanese woodblocks on acid, swirled with sperm-like forms. There is something unifying about them, as if the entire history of art could be compressed into a single, modern work.
If you examine Yamaguchi’s oeuvre (I’d suggest flipping through the past exhibition books at the desk in the gallery), you’ll see that her style is typically much smoother, more modern and futuristic. I love the distressed, layered texture of these works in comparison to the rest of her catalogue. This show is not to be missed!
It’s beautiful in NYC today, get out there and see some art! xx