I’ve always been a big fan of Bock’s creative practice, and Ki Smith Gallery on the Lower East Side is situated in one of NYC’s coolest neighborhoods, so it’s pretty much the bee’s knees too. Hence, it seems kind of unusual for me to have made absolutely no preparation for this show at all. I had made no effort whatsoever …
The Weight of Worth: Karley Wasaff Wants Us to Move On.
Your identity and the body that carries that identity is a statement that we learn to articulate over time. Becoming comfortable in one’s own skin is something that we often strive to achieve. Finding themselves more comfortable than they have ever been, Karley Wasaff is a multifaceted maven of movement who has embraced the journey of excavating who they are. …
The Last Days of Resistance & Myth at Ki Smith Gallery.
To refer to art as a revolution may seem cliché–and even passé–but the core intent of the practice still stands. The catalyst of change still remains. It will always have the power to raise awareness, provide brilliant commentary and readjust the societal lens. Those elements and efforts are very apparent in Resistance & Myth. A tight-knit group exhibition housed by …
Patty Horing’s Reflection Mirrors Its Audience at Anna Zorina.
Anna Zorina brought a bit of warmth to a chilly Thursday in Chelsea with the debut of Patty Horing‘s Reflection. Horing is known for creating honest but glaring portraiture that stays with the viewer long after they have left the gallery. To say that Horing’s work is memorable would be a well-intentioned understatement. There is a distinctive sincerity to her …
Permanent Instability Takes Hold at Kates-Ferri Projects.
It has been quite some time since we last visited Kates-Ferri Projects and with the fall art season now in full swing, we made it our business to check out their new group exhibition, Permanent Instability. Featuring an intimate creative cast that includes Guillermo Garcia, Martín Touzón and Saskia Fleishman, the show occupied both Kates-Ferri’s main gallery and B-side. This …
Nostalgia for Sale. | Amadeus Chavez Does It the Right Way.
Tapping into the core sentiment and distinct aesthetic of our gaming heydays, artist Amadeus Chavez has found a pocket between culture and commodification.
Caryn Casts Her Vote. | Jerry For Zohran Poster.
Nina Simone once proclaimed that it is the artist’s responsibility to reflect the times. New York City is on the verge of experiencing a potentially monumental shift in mayoral leadership and in true artist fashion, Caryn Cast has captured the current political climate to a delightful tee in her latest “Jerry for Zohran” print. Residing in Gotham herself, Cast lets …
Last Days: La Banda 2025 at Tappeto Volante.
The fourth edition of La Banda at Tappeto Volante is coming to an end this weekend and if you have yet to visit this lovingly layered group exhibition–NOW IS THE TIME! An ongoing creative family affair, La Banda first debut in 2021 a response to the socio-cultural disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now a mainstay exhibition hosted by …
MASKED at Mooncalf: The Maxwell Deter Q&A.
During his milestone special, Bigger & Blacker, comedian Chris Rock once joked: “When you meet somebody for the first time, you’re not meeting them, you’re meeting their representative.” The joke itself has become an insightful classic that despite its bluntness and comical ire, it is actually rooted in a psychosocial philosophy that permeates society on a very real level. The …
Nationalism, What Is It and Where Can I Buy Some?
Nightmerica, was a two-person exhibition by Winnie van der Rijn and Ryan Bock (aka Bockhaus) that opened on Friday, November 1st and closed Sunday November, 3rd – capturing the fleeting Halloween surreality and lingering pre-election tension in the unseasonably warm air. Nights earlier, I streamed a Republican presidential rally at Madison Square Garden from my Fire Stick, wincing as a …
Universe Backstory an Explosive Triumph by KIPNZ at DIANA NEW YORK.
For anyone who is a fan of puzzles and things which are unnecessary complex, Universe Backstory – on view at DIANA New York and presented by the Walton, NY-based KIPNZ gallery is a goldmine. Featuring works by conceptual painter Rhys Ziemba, narrative sculptor Paul Latislaw and indexical artist Annie Hayes, Universe Backstory features a suite of artworks that do anything …
heart beats dust Every Time: The Wendy White Q&A.
The astute shapes, the quirky but grounded palette, the almost off kilter arrangement of the pieces, it all congregates to create this ionic atmosphere that feels brilliantly charged–both condense and spacious all at once.
A Look Back On Bree Chapin’s Girl Dinner at Jutta Gallery.
Last week an expat returned to the Big Oyster to debut a show of monochromatic hot pink paintings that portray a surprising subtlety and calmness. The artist is Bree Chapin and she says “I am fascinated with the cultural implications of pink” and “I wrote this while sleep deprived in the back of a cab, lol”.
we’re just so glad you’re home at 81 Leonard: The Ophelia Arc Q&A.
Ophelia Arc’s work puts you in a chokehold. Her dramatically malformed knitted sculptures are perplexing as they are intriguing. It invokes feelings of awe and uneasiness–a perfect mixture when consuming art that is meant to move you.
SHIRIN ABEDINIRAD in Conversation with Micaela Giovannotti.
Shirin Abedinirad is a conceptual, multimedia and performance artist from Iran currently residing in the United States. I came across her work few years ago while doing research on Instagram for a project on women empowerment by female artists expanding beyond the limitations of their own medium and into the Metaverse.
Looking Anywhere But Here: Marguerite Wibaux’s ‘SEEN’ at The Locker Room.
For Marguerite Wibaux, seeing is a matter of intimacy—and intimacy has multiple levels and takes multiple forms. “Seen,” a show up at The Locker Room until May 5 is a show as much about how we perceive one another as it is about how we look past one another or willfully ignore what is before us.
An Ephemeral Forever: The Brittany DiMauro Q&A.
Another memory that serves me well is encountering DiMauro herself as she installed a piece at the corner of St. Marks and 2nd Avenue, the gravesite of our beloved Gem Spa. She was alert but kind. The work and the sincere display of its process brought people in and that gave the installation a certain communal charm.
Surviving Mortality: The Jacquelynn Perkins Q&A.
erkins’ intentions are admirable and quite liberating. Through her work, she is redefining not only what is to be a woman but fine tuning the definition of humanity and what it means to be human.
Talking to Pablo. | Shawn Hricz at Solas Studios.
1965, Summerville New Jersey, 11:30PM. Shawn Hricz is born half an hour too early, at least according to his mother. His father celebrates. He’ll be able to claim little Shawn on his taxes for the previous year. Mother had been hoping Shawn would snag the title of “First Baby of the Year” and all the accolades that come with it, …
Beyond the Mauve Zone: MaryKate Maher’s Daring Solo Exhibit with FORMah Gallery.
“Beyond the Mauve Zone” speaks to MaryKate Maher’s ability to leap into the unknown, to create chasms just beyond the visible in pastel hues and jewel tones that evokes a cherished, precious object linked to the viewer’s imagination.
“Sanctuary” Offers Respite at The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center.
Works by Pamela Allen, Cecilia Andre, María Dusamp, Stephen Hilger, Guillermo Mena, LuLu Meng, Jeffrey Morabito, Frank Parga and Manju Shandler each produce windows through which their respective associations between material and place emerge fully formed.
The Movement of Light and Cyberspace: An Interview with Daniel O’Toole.
Daniel is not limiting himself to paint on canvas; his latest work “Voices From the Void” is a tech-driven sound installation created with the help of a sizable team.
Making HERSTORY: Women Ruled at AIPAD’s The Photography Show.
Did galleries take their cue from the masterfully curated exhibition at the Met, “The New Woman Behind the Camera” from 2021?
Can I Kick It? Sculptor Shawn Farrow Laces Up.
Although Farrow utilizes some highly accurate design features, he also incorporates certain subtleties that makes his work more than just replicas.
Mario Moore Helps Unpack “My Labor.”
“My Labor” is also an undeniable display of great skill and burgeoning technique that wills you to sing its praises.
Making Friends with Pajtim Osmanaj.
Pajtim Osmanaj was raised and educated in Kosovo, and lives and works in New York. His work grapples with discordant elements and reconciles them in ways that can be startling to an American eye.
Martín Touzón’s Dissolution Opens at Kates-Ferri Projects.
It was a frigid Friday night and the weather was nothing short of bone chilling; but Martin Touzon still managed to receive a warm reception with his debut solo exhibition, Dissolution, at Kates-Ferris Projects.
Adebunmi Gbadebo Displays Remains at Claire Oliver.
Remains from Adebunmi Gbadebo takes us on a journey of knowing. When you walk into Claire Oliver Gallery, a certain gravitas greets you at the door.
The Rebirth of Shahar Kramer: An Artist Who Found Herself Outside Herself.
Creativity can work in many ways. Times where it works from the inside out, times when it works from the outside in. In Shahar Kramer’s case, there was a shift that finds the young artist with a foot in both the former and the latter.
Interview: The Last Days of A Few Good Men.
There is something familiar about Patty Horing’s latest solo exhibition, A Few Good Men. Hosted by Anna Zorina Gallery, the exhibition greets you with a certain warmth.
The Red Skein: Swoon Breaks 12 Year Hiatus with New Book.
It is often said that great things take time and after a twelve year hiatus from publishing, renowned artist Swoon has returned with the must-have monograph, THE RED SKEIN.
Finding A Piece of Mind: A Form of Contemplation at Trotter & Sholer.
immediately invites one to get comfortable and stay a while. It is a thoughtful and tranquil exhibition that allows its audience a true moment to reflect.
The Standout Booths at Spring Break Art Show 2022 and Their Artists/Curators.
Summer is well on its way out and fall is nigh but Spring Break Art Fair is in full bloom.
Listening with Your Eyes: Downtown Stories at Colbo.
The venue was buzzing with a familiar vigor. It’s been awhile since the city has had a certain rhythm… a certain feel.
Leah Yerpe’s Internal Wilderness at Anna Zorina Gallery.
It was an early spring evening in Chelsea and I had the pleasure of barely making it to the opening reception of Leah Yerpe‘s current solo exhibition, Internal Wilderness, at Anna Zorina Gallery. I refer to “barely making it” as a pleasure because everyone had left so there was a sacred window in which one could take their time with …
MEANWHILE… A Celebration of Resilience.
As the world sputters and stalls, the creative engines of 2020 still roar with an unrelenting fervor. Even beneath the momentary rubble, seeds of change grow and break new ground, giving birth to new life and new ideas. Curated by Akeem K. Duncan of Quiet Lunch and Jillian Mackintosh of Brilliant Champions, MEANWHILE…is an expansive group exhibition that focuses not …
Nostalgia, Excess and the Warholian Theory of Identity.
The symbiotic duo of Kuzma Vostrikov and Ajuan Song presents I’m Not Afraid to Die, a photography exhibition exploring existential pop identity, curated by Milk + Night. Featuring a selection of 20 photographs, I’m Not Afraid to Die delves into Warholian theory about identity, as well as society’s fixation with nostalgia, excess, and self-portraiture. The photo series is inspired by …
Homecoming: A Journey to the Source. | A Ventiko Story.
Phos Hilaron: From the Masses Rise the Saints by Ventiko debuted in 2018 at Chinatown Soup. The show was an exaltation of togetherness countering the current socio-political landscape in which she took photos of 100 people, or saints, where each saint write a prayer during the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. She then created prayer candles of each saint …
Last Days of Hell Yes! by Tara Lewis at Lyons Wier Gallery
If you are in the Chelsea area this weekend we highly recommend that you make your way over to Lyons Wier Gallery to see Tara Lewis‘ solo exhibition, Hell Yes! Featuring dynamic portraits teeming with youth and vitality, this exhibition truly does pop. However, underneath all the teen spirit Lewis has embedded an underlying message in Hell Yes! that addresses …
Nichole Washington’s Rebellious Black Girl.
Hailing from Minnesota, painter Nichole Washington has been cutting her teeth since deciding to take a bite out of the Big Apple and is currently on the verge of debuting her first New York solo exhibition at Untitled Space in TriBeCa. Aptly titled Rebellious Black Girl, the exhibition is a milestone for Washington and a well-deserved opportunity to show Gotham’s …
Congruency at The Gallery.
“…a person is a fluid process, not a fixed and static entity; a flowing river of change, not a block of solid material; a continually changing constellation of potentialities, not a fixed quantity of traits.” Carl R. Rogers THE GALLERY is pleased to present Congruency, an exhibition that explores the attempt to achieve congruence in an unwieldy world. Objects have …
Shantell Martin Debuts First Artbook.
British artist Shantell Martin has been experiencing much success lately and has reached yet another milestone with the release of her first art book, Lines. A collaboration with Heni Publishing, the hardcover book is 240 pages long and contains up 175 illustrations. Lines will be available in March but is available for preorder now on the Heni website. A special …
Gelah Penn on Uneasy Terms
Undercurrent is pleased to present Uneasy Terms, a solo show by mid-career artist Gelah Penn. The exhibition will feature a 33-foot-long site-responsive installation, as well as monumental constructed drawings and small collages from two of the artist’s ongoing series, Stele and Notes on Clarissa (Volume I). Throughout her career, Gelah Penn has challenged artistic conventions and the traditional concept of …
Federico Guarascio: Mining the Senses through Film
Film Producer Federico Guarascio seeks to make the hidden apparent. His intuitive style of film production spans across both his art films and short documentaries, linking the human experience to a higher philosophical worldview. From his art film projects to his work as part of the Brooklyn Film Festival-winning team behind The Fourth Kingdom, Guarascio explores the diverse range of …
That Warm Fuzzy Feeling… | A Solo Exhibition by Greg Brown
We now find ourselves in the colder months, isolated and hibernating in our respective concrete huts. Occasionally we emerge bundled in various layers of fashionable cloth, rushing back and forth from one building to another. Forth and back. Back and forth. But in the midst of this pendulumic routine, Quiet Lunch wants to take the time to remind everyone of …