TUESDAY, APRIL 2
Exhibition: “Photography and the Civil War” at the Met
Today, war photography is a well-established genre, even if its character may be changing as a result of the proliferation of aerial warfare and remote-controlled—drone—weapons. The Met is going back to its roots, in the very earliest years of modern photography, collecting more than 200 images of the American Civil War. —Andrew Russeth
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3
Event: “CKTV” at BAM
Cleopatra’s and Chris Rice’s karaoke-video exhibition “CKTV,” which has previously appeared at Bushwick’s Tandem bar and the Shanghai Biennale, is screening at BAM through May 10. For the project, dozens of the city’s finest artists have produced videos for a thrilling variety of jams, including Nicholas Buffon, Ryan Foerster, Zak Kitnick, Maggie Lee, Rachel Mason, New Humans, Annie Pearlman and many, many more. This night audience participation is encouraged, and abetted by a Happy Hour that very honorably runs for half of the show, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., with $5 beers and $6 cocktails. Sounds like it will be a great time. —A.R.
Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, 8 p.m.–12 a.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 4
Opening: Yael Bartana, “And Europe Will Be Stunned,” at Petzel
For her debut solo show at Petzel, Yael Bartana, who represented Poland at the 2011 Venice Biennale, will present her film trilogy And Europe Will Be Stunned (2007–11), a propaganda–styled series that concerns the Jewish Renaissance Movement in Poland, which calls on Jews to return to the country en masse. I have only seen part two, Mur i wieża (Wall and Tower) (2009), but it was elegant and haunting and it whetted my appetite for the other sections. The whole thing clocks in at just an hour, and seems likely to be a pretty good use of your time. —A.R.
Petzel, 456 West 18th Street, New York, 6–8 p.m.
Opening: Andrew Kuo at Marlborough Chelsea
You may know Andrew Kuo from his terrific graphics in The New York Times Magazine, his ubiquitous presence in group shows or his very fine Twitter and Instagram accounts (@earlboykins). Expect paintings about elation, anxiety and the New York Knicks. —Dan Duray
Marlborough Chelsea 545 West 25 Street, New York, 6–8 p.m.
Opening: Kenny Scharf, “Kolors,” at Paul Kasmin
These new works play with Color Field language and, according to the press release “beckon the viewer into vibrant, other-worldly, biomorphic atmospheres composed of a variety of shapes, dimensions and details.” Also important: one of the sculptures at the show was, just before, installed a statue at the Standard, which means this is probably going to be a scene. I’m being told to mention that there’s a catalogue published by Standard Press, Paul Kasmin Gallery and Damiani. So there you go. —D.D.
Paul Kasmin, 515 West 27th Street, New York, 6-8 p.m.
Opening: Zach Harris at Zach Feuer
Zach Harris will have his first exhibition at Zach Feuer Gallery, which will included paintings and wood reliefs. —Michael H. Miller
Zach Feuer, 548 West 22nd Street, New York, 6–8 p.m.
Opening: Marisa Merz at Gladstone
Gladstone will present an exhibition of early works by Marisa Merz, the only female artist in Italy’s Arte Povera movement of the late 1960s. —M.H.M
Gladstone Gallery, 515 West 24 Street, New York, 6–8 p.m.
Performance: Philip Birch, “The Spectre As It Resolves Its Own Gravity,” at 47 Canal
We are intrigued (and honestly a bit daunted) by the description of Philip Birch’s one-act play. Here’s a taste of the press release: “A Man stands nonplussed by the state in which he resides. The Spectre confronts the Man with his inadequacies and the failures of his own politic. The Man’s role within a larger consciousness and the Collective is called into question.” Cheery stuff. —Zoë Lescaze
47 Canal, New York, 8 p.m., also April 5 and 6
FRIDAY APRIL 5
Opening: David Scanavino at Klaus von Nichtssagend
David Scanavino shows new sculptures and wall works that are, according to a release, partly inspired by a trip to the artist’s alma mater, Columbine High School, and “place the viewer in direct physical and psychological relationship to the institutional structures they pass through every day.” —M.H.M.
Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, 54 Ludlow Street, New York, 6-8 p.m.
Opening: Weird Science at Jack Hanley
I don’t recognize all the names here, but Jack Hanley’s great and so are the people I do recognize. Bjorn Copeland: cool artist, cool member of Black Dice. Slavs and Tartars: sure, you know them, good right? Also Ajay Kurian of the roving gallery Gresham’s Ghost. Good stuff. SMART stuff. Go, why don’t you? —D.D.
Jack Hanley, 327 Broome Street, New York, 6-8 p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 6
Opening: Cordy Ryman, “Adaptive Radiation,” at Dodge
It’s been a good couple of weeks for wooden artwork (see “Against the Grain” at the Museum of Arts and Design and Virginia Overton at Mitchell-Innes & Nash), and Cordy Ryman’s new show is no exception. Scraps of 2x4s seem to be taking over the gallery’s walls and floor in a major installation that looks something like a mosaic made out of toy blocks. —Z.L.
Dodge Gallery, 15 Rivington Street, New York, April 6, 6-8 p.m.