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Focus Shanghai: Lu Chunsheng and Birdhead
Gallery: Thomas Erben, 526 West 26th Street,
Dates: November 18 - December 18, 2010
Exhibit: In this exhibit, Lu's film, History of Chemistry: Vol. 2 -Excessively Restrained Mountaineering Enthusiasts and Birdhead's photographs come together in a stirring vision of a media-bombarded Shanghai, a vision that's bound to resonate with New Yorkers. Birdhead -- actually two young artists Song Tao and Ji Weiyu -- were once asked in an interview how people not from Shanghai might view their work. They responded, "They may care about us, but we don't care about them. Ha ha."
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Odili Donald Odita: Body and Space
Gallery: Jack Shainman, 513 West 20th Street
Dates: November 18, 2010 - December 23, 2010
Exhibit: In his large abstract paintings, Odita, born in Nigeria, explores his African heritage, examining the interplay between race and politics. He's been compared to Rothko and Pollock and last year painted a multi-floor mural at Princeton's Butler College, a rare privilege only bestowed on a handful of artists. One of his earlier works entailed digitally removing some of the cover lines for Vogue to reveal the coded messages on display.
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William Earl Kofmehl III: Dear Father Knickerbocker, I Just Googled You
Gallery: Lombard-Freid Projects, 518 West 29th Street
Dates: November 6-December 21, 2010
Exhibit: Imagine the Trojan horse, but it's a squirrel and made of bronze: that's the first thing you'll notice at the Kofmehl show. The show also includes a projected interview between the artist and Bernie Goetz -- the two had met through a mutual friend before the latter's 1984 subway shooting. Seems random, but that's part of the point.
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A Group Show Curated by Matt Moravec
Gallery: Martos Gallery, 540 W 29th Street
Dates: November 18, 2010 - January 8, 2011
Exhibit: 26-year-old curatorial wunderkind Matt Moravec showcases the art of Brendan Lynch (whose past work has included a collage of internet porn arranged into a heart), Dominic Nurre (who had the excellent and difficult to navigate "Objection Room" at the P.S. 1 MoMA's Greater New York exhibit), Daniel Turner (who once burned his entire body of work) and his curatatorial partner Kyle Thurman.
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Robert Irwin: Way Out West
Gallery: The Pace Gallery, 32 E 57th Street
Dates: Nov 12, 2010 - Jan 29, 2011
Exhibit: Legendary artist Robert Irwin returns to Pace with his latest collection of light installations. His motto, "Always changing, never twice the same," is carved into the plaza floor of the Getty Center in L.A.
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Ugo Rondinone: Nude
Gallery: Gladstone Gallery, 530 West 21st Street
Dates: November 6 - December 23, 2010
Exhibit: Rondinone continues to demonstrate his versatility with this exhibit, the centerpiece of which is a collection of seven human-sized figures in repose against the wall. Rondinone created the rainbow "Hell, Yes!" that adorned the New Museum until very recently, an upbeat work that contrasts markedly with these Pompeii-like statues.
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Super Stars: Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum
Gallery: American Folk Art Museum, Lincoln Square branch, 2 Lincoln Square
Dates: November 16, 2010-September 25, 2011
Exhibit: Not just any quilts, mind you...star quilts. The motif has been a popular one for centuries. By the way, if you're looking for red-and-white quilts, that show is across town at the Park Avenue Armory.
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Tony Smith: Bronze
Gallery: Matthew Marks, 523 W 24 Street
Dates: November 6 - December 23, 2010
Exhibit: Smith is big with corporate art lovers -- you may recognize his work from various lobbies around town. These nine works, created between 1960 and 1970 all feature his usual geometric shapes with his signature black finish.
