This Weeks Must-See Events: Election 2016 Edition

by Paddy Johnson on November 7, 2016 Events

Ed Ruscha, Untitled, 1985, oil on canvas, 59 1/4 × 145 1/2 inches (150.5 × 369.6 cm) © Ed Ruscha

Ed Ruscha, Untitled, 1985, oil on canvas, 59 1/4 × 145 1/2 inches (150.5 × 369.6 cm) © Ed Ruscha

Expect the next three days to be filled with election news. Events are largely election related, and thus I will be wearing pant suits the whole god damned time. (Go Hillary!) Once that’s passed, there’s a whack of openings in Chelsea Thursday—Andreas Gursky, Paul McCarthy, etc—a must-see ceramics inspired show at Present Company in Bushwick Friday, and Smack Mellon’s 20th Anniversary exhibition Saturday. In short, nothing, not even an election, disrupts the art world.

 

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Mon

Equity Gallery

245 Broome Street
6:30 PM to 7:30 PMWebsite

Health Insurance 101

This seems useful: A workshop to provide artists with guidance on how to navigate Obamacare. Questions include:

What are my insurance options?
What are the new plans like?
How much will it cost me?
Am I eligible for a subsidy?
Am I eligible for free insurance or the $20/mo plan?
How do I document my income if I’m self-employed?
Where do I get care if I can’t afford insurance?

I’d like to add to this list: Who is a good doctor who accepts these plans?

Go to this workshop.

Tue

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

126 Crosby Street
6:00 PM - 11:59 PM Website

The Election Night Bash

In 2008 I spent election night at the Huffington Post HQ, which was just around the corner from Housing Works. It was one of the best nights in my life. Barack Obama was elected. The crowd was jubilant. I made new friends. It took me a record 20 minutes to get home on the subway. The next morning I went outside a line of toddlers were signing Obama’s name.

I’m a little more trepidatious about this election for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that the loser will need to concede. But, I can think of no place better to watch the results than Housing Works, a known lefty haunt that attracts friendly and thoughtful customers to its storefront and discussions. This event will be no different.

Storefront for Art and Architecture

97 Kenmare Street
7:00 PM to 9:00 PMWebsite

Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe: Paranoia Man in a Rat Fink Room

It’s hard to imagine doing anything that’s not election related Tuesday, but for those who want to hide, this Jonah Freeman Justin Lowe exhibition is a pretty good bet. Their installation will be comprised of three environments – a Canal Street style kiosk filled with the leftover DVDs and VHSs from Jungle Video, a comedy club partially inspired by the original Rat Fink Room, and a bathroom that has been converted into surveillance headquarters that will keep audio/video recordings of the last days of Storefront.

All of which is to say: Storefront for Art and Architecture is closing and this will be their last show. If you can’t make it to the opening get to this show. It’s literally your last chance to see anything in this venue.

Wed

Trump Tower, Roaming

725 5th Avenue
11:00 AM - 12:00 PMWebsite

Point and Laugh at Trump Tower

A reserved recommendation for this event, since I don’t think it’s polite to point and laugh at anyone, even Donald Trump. But, post-election night we’ll want to be doing something and this counts. The event has the added benefit of applying to any city in which there is a Trump Tower location.

Venus Over Manhattan

980 Madison Avenue
6:00 PM to 8:00 PMWebsite

Mike Kelley: Kandors

I’ve gone back and forth on whether Mike Kelley’s Kandor series was a bit too obvious. The title refers to the fictional planet “Krypton” where Superman was  born—Kelley has said the maquettes “function as a constant reminder of Superman’s past,” as well as “a metaphor for his alienated relationship to the planet he now occupies.”

Okay. Well, at the very least these crystal sculptures are beautiful, so there’s that. The show will include four Kandors and their associated projections and lenticular light boxes.

Thu

Pioneer Works

159 Pioneer Street
6:30 PM to 11:30 PMWebsite

Pioneer Works presents: PAF New York 2016

This show has a great group of exhibiting artists, though it’s a little thin on women participants. Curator collective PAF could do a better job on that front. Including one or two women just isn’t enough.

Anyway, if you want to see a dude heavy show showcasing art works that employ electronic music and the moving image PAF 2016 is for you. Jonathan Monaghan and Yoshi Sodeoka are particular favs over here at AFC —Monaghan for his meticulous renderings of architectural spaces and Sodeoka for his mad psychedelic GIFs.

Participating Artists: Alexander Campaz, Carpets Curtains, Micah Hesse, Vojtěch Fröhlich, Jonathan Monaghan, Plain, ROJ, Yoshi Sodeoka, Zuzana Žabková

Gagosian Gallery

522 West 21st Street
6:00 PM - 8:00 PMWebsite

Andreas Gursky : Not Abstract II

Nobody’s gonna claim there’s a lot of conceptual merit to Andreas Gursky’s photographs. The main talking point in his second show on the subject of abstraction is that his photographs aren’t abstract because you can still identify a subject. Great, got it.

Gursky is good at making eye candy that relies on scale, so that’s the reason to visit the show. Expect to see solar panels on rolling hills, ariel views of tulips, an amazon warehouse.

Hauser & Wirth

511 West 18th Street
6:00 PM to 8:00 PMWebsite

Paul McCarthy: Raw Spinoffs Continuations

Oooh, 15 years of the best of Paul McCarthy! That’s gotta be good! The press release promises work from his series ‘WS’, ‘Caribbean Pirates’, and ‘Pig Island’,and describes the show as focusing on his process of  making and un-making of an artwork. Expect to see some giant figurative butt plugs.

Fri

Gladstone Gallery

530 West 21st Street
10:00 AM to 6:00 PMWebsite

Jim Hodges: I dreamed a world and called it Love

It’s hard to imagine Gladstone filled with Jim Hodges intimate work, but I’m glad to get an opportunity to see it. His sculptures reference homosexual and S & M themes, and generally exhibit a curiosity for materials. This exhibition will show mirrored glass works, hand cut mosaics, milled camouflage techniques and more.

Present Company

254 Johnson Ave.
7:00 PM to 10:00 PMWebsite

A Round About

A 12 person show of artists who all have some interest in ceramics be it the material of clay itself or the vocabulary of the practice. Expect to see more than just ceramics here. Sculpture, painting, video, and photography will all be on view.

Participating Artists: Zimra Beiner, Deborah Castillo, Amy Gartrell, Kate Gilmore, Kristen Jensen, Ellie Krakow, Keiko Narahashi, Adam Parker Smith, Elisa Soliven, Leah Tacha, Jessie Rose Valla, and Betty Woodman

Sat

Smack Mellon

92 Plymouth Street
5:00 PM to 9:00 PMWebsite

20th Anniversary Show

This is going to be a fun show. For the occassion of Smack Mellon’s 20th anniversary, the non-profit is launching a 90+ works by artists who have participated in their Artist Studio Program. The show is curated by Charlotta Kotik, the former curator at the Brooklyn Museum.

It’s a good opportunity to take a look at the breadth of artists Smack Mellon has supported over the years. They focus on under exposed artists and non-commercial art, so it will be interesting to see who the alumni are and where they are at now.

Participating artists:
Golnar Adili, Nadia Awad, Nicole Awai, David Baskin, Amy Bennett, Jesse Bercowetz, Lea Bertucci, Sonya Blesofsky, George Boorujy, Michael Paul Britto, Matt Bua, Haley Bueschlen, Torsten Z. Burns, Maria Buyondo, Eduardo Cervantes, Patty Chang, Mike Crane, Jennifer Dalton, Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. Davidson, Blane De St. Croix, Esteban del Valle, Molly Dilworth, Oasa DuVerney, Ira Eduardovna, David Ellis, Emcee C.M. Master of None, eteam, Nona Faustine, Chitra Ganesh, Ghost of a Dream, Skye Gilkerson, Cate Giordano, Susan Graham, Kirsten Hassenfeld, Valerie Hegarty, Tyler Henry, Wayne Hodge, Janelle Iglesias, Yoko Inoue, Steffani Jemison, Jennie C. Jones, Gautam Kansara, Jena Kim, Shin il Kim, Hiroshi Kimura, Chelsea Knight, Tom Kotik, Liz Magic Laser, Joan Linder, Andrea Loefke, lovid, Erica Magrey, Joanna Malinowska, Esperanza Mayobre, Diane Meyer, Megan Michalak, Joiri Minaya, Cheryl Molnar, Ivan Monforte, Nyeema Morgan, Carlos Motta, Shana Moulton, Rachelle Mozman, Lori Nix, Jeanine Oleson, Jessica Ann Peavy, Meredith Pingree, Shannon Plumb, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Lina Puerta, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Heather Rowe, Claudia Schmacke, Dread Scott, Donna Sharrett, Jean Shin, Karina Aguilera Skvirsky, Kwabena Slaughter, Stephen Sollins, Suzanne Song, Micki Spiller, Mónika Sziládi, Ari Tabei, Dannielle Tegeder, Chat Travieso, Kako Ueda, Juana Valdes, Kai Viestra, Tobaron Waxman, Saya Woolfalk, Seth Wulsin, Rona Yefman, Bryan Zanisnik.

Sun

Prentis and Watson Halls

632 W 125th St
3:00 PM to 6:00 PMWebsite

Columbia Visual Arts MFA Open Studios

Visit the studios of students in one of the best art schools in the country. You won’t be disappointed—and if you are, you’ll have a story to tell.

Joeun Aatchim, Michal Alpern, Dana Buhl, Lucy Lord Campana, Andrew Cannon, Nash Glynn, Maggie Goldstone, Allison Janae Hamilton, Taylor Ashby Hawkins, Duy Hoàng, Iris Yirei Hu, Juntae TeeJay Hwang, Kim Junsung, Peter LaBier, Alex Mctigue, Julia Medyńska, Cy Morgan, Rocío Olivares, Jenna Basso Pietrobon, Adam Liam Rose, Emily Ludwig Shaffer, Lynn Spanke, Sara Stern, Dylan Vandenhoeck, Kristin Walsh, Derick Whitson, Bryan McGovern Wilson, Zou Zhao (Xi Xi), José Delgado Zúñiga

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