TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Event: The 2014 SculptureCenter Benefit Gala
Come for the performances and projects by Radamés “Juni” Figueroa, Gobby, and Win McCarthy. Stay for the after-party (tickets here), which may or may not involve karaoke. Last year it certainly did. I sang “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates.—N.F.
The Edison Ballroom, 240 W 47th St, New York, 6:30 p.m., ticketed.
Opening: “Sturtevant: Double Trouble” at MoMA
It’s the opening reception for the first comprehensive of work by Elaine Sturtevant, who died last May after a 50-year career in which she consciously, precisely and hilariously aped the works of her male contemporaries.—N.F.
The Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd Street, New York, 7-9 p.m., invitation only
Event: “Paradiso: A Tribute to the Renaissance” Performa’s 10 Year Anniversary Celebration and Gala
Food artist Jennifer Rubell makes a triumphant return to the perishable medium, of which she is, hands-down, a master. Ms. Rubell will guide guests through a curated food experience based on Renaissance, and paying tribute to this year’s 13 honorees: “Renaissance Women of Performa.” An after party and dessert performance to follow. — A.M.
Weylin B. Seymour’s Williamsburg Savings Bank, 175 Broadway, Brooklyn, Cocktails and Dinner 6—9 p.m., Dessert, Performances, and Dance Party 9 p.m. — Midnight, ticketed.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Openings: Christopher Williams, Neo Rauch, and Franz West at David Zwirner Gallery
Zwirner is having not one, but three openings this week. Triple threat! Work by Austrian artist Frank West from the ’90s will be shown at 537 West 20th Street, new work by artist Christopher Williams (whose recent MoMA retrospective drew much fanfare) will be on view at 525 West 19th Street, and finally new small and large format paintings by Neo Rauch is at 533 West 19th Street. — A.M.
David Zwirner Gallery at 525 West 19th Street, 533 West 19th Street, and 537 West 20th Street, 6-8 p.m.
Event: NOT FOR PROFIT: A Fundraising Party to Support BHQFU
Bruce High Quality Foundation University, which teaches classes free of charge from its Avenue A headquarters/clubhouse, recently became a nonprofit. Congrats, guys! Now, about that whole “free classes” thing… yep, it’s time to raise some money. They’ve rounded up a pretty high-wattage host committee (Waris Ahluwalia, Kyle DeWoody, Bob Colacello, permanent BHQF pal Vito Schnabel) and Blood Orange will perform, which means this will be a hell of a party, because Dev Hynes can shred.
The Bruce High Quality Foundation Studio, 33 34th Street, Brooklyn, 9:00 p.m., ticketed
Opening: “Mario Schifano: The ’60s” at Luxembourg & Dayan
One of the most recognized figures in Italian Postmodern art, this restaged show—it was originally show at the gallery’s London space—will focus on the radical years when he was focused on distancing himself from fascist Italian politics and the dominant traditions of the region’s artistic heritage.— A.M.
Luxembourg & Dayan, 64 East 77th Street, open to the public during normal gallery hours
Opening: “The Last Picture Show” at Churner and Churner
It’s with great sadness that we announce the opening of Churner and Churner’s last show. The gallery set out four years ago with the hope of calling attention to “historically relevant but perhaps under-recognized” artists and “to connect those artists who came of age in the early ’70s, the so-called Pictures Generation.” Notably, it presented some of the last work by the late Taylor Mead. “The Last Picture Show is lovingly dedicated to my artists,” said Rachel Churner at the close of the show’s press release.—A.M.
Churner and Churner, 205 10th Avenue, New York, 6-8 p.m.
Fair Opening: Independent Projects
It’s an art fair in New York in November! Well, at least it will feel like one for the first few days, but at the end of its opening weekend on November 10 it will shift gears “to an exhibition where the visitor can walk through at his or her ease through a series of successive shows resembling a group exhibition.” A new art fair model? We’re ready, bring it on.—A.M.
Independent Projects, 548 West 22 Street, New York, Vernissage 6-8 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Opening: Urs Fischer at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise
Urs Fischer just got married to actress-turned-designer Tara Subkoff. Love, it’s in the air. Come see how the new nuptials will affect his artistic output at his latest show.—N.F.
Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, 620 Greenwich Avenue, New York, 6-8 p.m.
Opening: “George Condo: Double Heads/Black Paintings/Abstractions” at Skarstedt Chelsea
Back in February George Condo confessed that a recent batch of work had been influenced by a near death experience he’d had after three bouts of pneumonia and eventually legionnaires’ disease—often fatal. But thankfully, the artist survived, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that some of the twisted work he’s been creating in the time since may be directly related to the life-changing event. The newest portraits follow in the footsteps of Harold Rosenberg’s “action painting,” are incredibly abstract, and use silver metallic paint.—A.M.
Skarstedt Chelsea, 550 West 21 Street, 6-8 p.m.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9
Opening: “Deliverance: Larry Clark, Cady Noland, Richard Prince, Christopher Wool”
Twice a year the well-heeled go bunt the polo fields at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where billionaire collector Peter Brant has installed a new world-class show across the property. It goes all day, the art is wonderful, there’s plentiful lunch and liquor, it’s always a lovely time. This time the show is “Deliverance,” a heavy-hitting group exhibition featuring the intriguing mix of Larry Clark, Cady Noland, Richard Prince and Christopher Wool. Oh, Greenwich. It’s so leafy in the fall. My grandparents used to live down the street, so I’ll text my mom when the shuttle passes by Roberta Lane, right off North Street, by the North Street School, where I used to play football with my cousins every Thanksgiving. Ah, memories.—N.F.
The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, 941 North Street, Greenwich, 12-5 p.m., invitation only.
Event: Project Perpetual Dinner and Auction at The Four Seasons Restaurant
The always there, ever-smiling Jeff Koons has created another one of his beloved gazing ball sculptures. But before Koons fatigue sets in, wait, it’s for a good cause! Project Perpetual asked The Koons to make one of those fun Gazing Ball works—which The Koons once described as “a symbol for everything”—and so he whipped up a sculpture based on Picasso’s La Soupe, added the gazing ball, slung some Hermes Birkin bags on there for good measure, and voila, there you have it, a Jeff Koons ready for auction, all the funds going to the United Nations Foundation. My old buddy Simon De Pury will be on hand to wield the gavel at The Four Seasons.
The Four Seasons Restaurant, 99 E. 52nd Street, New York, 7:00 p.m., invitation only.