Welcome to Things to Do, our weekly roundup of happenings in the ever-buzzing New York art scene. Here, we present an expertly curated list of the best goings on that don’t require an invite—but might require that you reserve a spot in advance.
Thursday June 22
Opening: Mary Grigoriadis
James Cohan gallery, 52 Walker Street, 6-8 p.m.
Grigoriadis was an important voice in the Pattern and Decoration, a female-driven response to minimalism, and one of the four original founders of the first women’s cooperative gallery in America, A.I.R (Artists In Residence) in 1972. Influences abound, from the Guggenheim’s 1966 exhibition Systemic Painting to her childhood in the Greek Orthodox church. This new show at James Cohan is organized in partnership with Accola Griefen Fine Art, New York and features paintings and works on paper from the late-1960s through the mid-1990s.
Opening: Gilbert & George, The Corpsing Pictures
Lehmann Maupin gallery, 501 West 24th Street, 6-8 p.m.
The duo Gilbert & George met as art students in 1967 at Saint Martin’s School of Art, and ever since have shared a life and practice in the art history books as “living sculptures.” But what happens when those sculptures approach the end of their performance? This show tackles that question with comedy and memento mori, just as the Gilbert and George Center opens in their longtime neighborhood in East London.
Friday 23 June
Opening: Brigid Berlin: The Heaviest
Vito Schnabel gallery, 43 Clarkson Street
Andy Warhol would crown certain members of the Factory entourage Superstars, a dubious blessing that seemed designed to create political intrigue at the avant garde studio, mirroring the actual backbiting and gamesmanship of society at large. Some Superstars ended in tragedy, others embraced the insanity and came out on top. Brigid Berlin was definitely one of the latter, and Brigid Berlin: The Heaviest is the first exhibition ever to document all aspects of the artist’s life. In addition to works of art by Berlin, The Heaviest will present an array of documentary materials, including never before seen family photographs, letters and memorabilia, all organized by the noted curator, critic and author Alison M. Gingeras.
Opening: Cynthia Hawkins, Gwynfor’s Soup, or The Proximity of Matter
Ortuzar Projects, 9 White Street, 6-8 p.m.
You might have noticed the work of Rochester-based artist Cynthia Hawkins (b. 1950) at the Museum of Modern Art’s excellent show Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces from last year. This new show offers ten new works inspired by “a photograph of tomato soup that a friend shared on social media,” to quote the press release. “The interplay of overlapping beads of oil on broth, reflected light, and vividly saturated color initially appeared otherworldly to the artist, as the image was closely cropped enough for the soup to fill the entirety of the digital square.”
Opening: Birds Follow Spring
Michael Werner Gallery, 4 East 77th Street, 6-8 p.m
It’s summer which means most of our beloved galleries will soon start featuring group shows of their artists. Be sure not to miss Michael Werner’s, which will feature the work of London-based, Venezuelan artist Alvaro Barrington (b. 1983), Paris-based, French-Israeli artist Nathanaëlle Herbelin (b. 1989), Düsseldorf-based, Japanese artist Kaiso (b. 1986), Düsseldorf-based, German artist Christoph Matthes, Brooklyn-based, Haitian-American artist Andy Robert (b. 1984), Berlin-based, German artist Raphaela Simon (b. 1986), and Paris-based, French artist Pol Taburet (b. 1997) and Bronx-based, German artist Florian Krewer (b. 1986), whose remarkable solo show just closed at the gallery and mixed Eyes Wide Shut vibes with Fauvism to great effect.
