this week in art

RICHARD BUTLER: AHATFULOFRAIN

Richard Butler, “thelastauguriesofjuanitadelacruz,” oil on linen, 2013

Freight + Volume
530 West 24th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through Saturday, May 25, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-691-7700
www.freightandvolume.com
www.richardbutlerstudio.com

Before becoming a rock-and-roll star, leading the Psychedelic Furs to such 1980s hits as “Pretty in Pink,” “Love My Way,” “Forever Now,” and so many more, followed by his ’90s stint with Love Spit Love, Richard Butler studied painting at the Epsom School of Art and Design in England. As it turns out, the elegant English singer handles both the microphone and the paintbrush rather adeptly, as displayed at last fall’s excellent Psychedelic Furs show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and his current exhibition at Chelsea’s Freight + Volume, “ahatfulofrain.” Once again featuring his daughter in many of the works — “Some ninety percent of the paintings I make are based upon images of my daughter, usually distorted in one way or another,” he explains in a press-release interview. “She has become a cipher for me, an every man/woman.” — the Beacon-based Butler creates dark portraits with abstract geometric elements covering parts of his subjects’ faces or hovering in midair. Featuring such intriguing titles as “confessionalsinner,” “devilsbreath,” “whenisaidiloveyouilied,” and “yourheroestoowillbeforgotten,” the canvases combine melancholy with a surreal, dreamlike state bathed in a kind of eerie silence. “Inside you the time moves and she don’t fade / The ghost in you she don’t fade,” Butler sang on the Furs’ 1984 album, Mirror Moves, a chorus that can also be applied to this fine show.

DANCEAFRICA 2013

The Bronx-based Harambee Dance Company is part of 2013 DanceAfrica festival at BAM (photo by Derrek Garret)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
May 24-27, free – $50
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Last week, the incomparable Baba Chuck Davis, the founder and artistic director of BAM’s annual DanceAfrica festival, was one of the grand marshals of the seventh New York Dance Parade, the theme of which was “Unity Through Dance.” That same theme can apply to Davis and DanceAfrica, which this year brings three international companies to the Howard Gilman Opera House stage. Zimbabwe’s Umkhathi Theatre Works will perform the tribal dance Isitshikitsha, the hunting-and-gathering dance Chinyambera, the Shangani tribal dance Muchongoyo, and the social gathering Setapa, joined by the BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble. Atlanta’s Giwayen Mata’s program will include Perseverance: In My House, set to DJ Fresca’s “Amaphoyisa,” and the Lamban Dansa. Harambee Dance Company, which hails from the Bronx, will present the historical and spiritual journey Reflections, the partying Midnight in the City, and the musical piece “You Goin’ Get This Work.” As a special treat, Washington, DC’s Sweet Honey in the Rock will sing “Sabumoya,” “I Remember I Believe,” “Wholly Wholly,” and “Let There Be Peace.” As always, Davis will provide his welcoming address (“Ago!” “Amée!!”), introduce the Council of Elders, and honor those who are no longer with us. Meanwhile, BAMcinématek’s FilmAfrica will screen such movies as Taghreed Elsanhouri’s Our Beloved Sudan, Clemente Bococchi’s Black Africa White Marble, Charlie Vundla’s How to Steal 2 Million, and Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie’s animated Zarafa. BAMcafé Live continues the African celebration with a pair of free concerts: Abdou Mboup and Waakaw on May 24 and a Late Night Dance Party with Ralph McDaniels and Video Music Box on May 25. And the always fun DanceAfrica Bazaar will set up shop along Lafayette Ave. and Ashland Pl. Saturday through Monday, a global marketplace with great food, clothing, fashion, arts & crafts, and much more.

BE SWEET OUT THERE

Special one-day High Line installation uses Sweet Leaf bottle caps to make life sweeter for everyone (photo by twi-ny/ees)

The High Line, Chelsea Market Passage
West 16th St. at Tenth Ave.
Friday, May 17, free, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
212-381-9349
www.thehighline.org
www.sweetleaftea.com

The High Line, the elevated freight rail line on Manhattan’s West Side that has become possibly the city’s most spectacular public park, was once utterly abandoned, a postindustrial wasteland filled with broken glass, tin cans, bottle caps, rusted metal, and nature run wild. On Friday, it will be home to a bunch of bottle caps again, this time as part of a promotion for Sweet Leaf Tea designed to encourage the kindness of strangers. Between 10:00 am and 8:00 pm, park visitors can pick up one of three thousand bottle caps from Sweet Leaf, each of which bears an instruction to do nice things, such as “Hail a cab for a stranger,” “Buy your co-worker coffee,” “Pay attention to your pet,” and “Give someone a compliment today.” In a statement, Friends of the High Line cofounder Joshua David explained, “This installation shows how public-private partnerships can present engaging opportunities for High Line visitors while also supporting the ongoing maintenance and operations of the park, which is funded entirely by the generosity of private donors.” When all the bottle caps are gone, a hidden Sweet Leaf mural will be revealed — and New York may be an even sweeter place to spend a sunny spring Friday.

DEGAS, MISS LA LA, AND THE CIRQUE FERNANDO

Edgar Degas, “Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando,” oil on canvas, 1879, (© National Gallery, London / Art Resource, NY)

Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Ave. at 36th St.
Through May 12, $10-$15
212-685-0008
www.themorgan.org

The arrival of Edgar Degas’s lovely 1879 painting “Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” on these shores is reason enough to cheer. But curator Linda Wolk-Simon has taken the canvas, on loan from the National Gallery in London, and made it the focus of the wonderful exhibit “Degas, Miss La La, and the Cirque Fernando,” continuing at the Morgan Library through May 12. Shown at the Fourth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris in 1879, the painting depicts popular circus performer Miss La La suspended in midair, her teeth clenched on a rope. The Prussian-born Miss La La, who was also known as the Black Venus and La Femme Cannon, among other nicknames, is like an angel rising to the heavens, her angled limbs and white boots and costume echoing the big top’s unique architectural structure, something that Degas actually struggled to re-create. The lines and colors of the rope, the windows, the arches, the dress, and her body come together in spectacular fashion, albeit with a gentleness that was probably not apparent at the live performance itself, which Degas attended several times. No other circus or audience members are shown; it is as if the viewer is experiencing a private show performed only for them. Degas chose to paint this act instead of another of Miss La La’s highly touted tricks, in which she uses her teeth to hold up a cannon weighing more than 150 pounds while it fires away, perhaps because this one is more elegant and spiritual. Hanging in the middle of the far wall on the second floor of the Morgan, the painting is surrounded by preparatory sketches, books, posters, letters, and related works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry-Gabriel Ibels, and Tiepolo that place Degas’s masterpiece in historical context while also revealing his fascinating creative process. It all comes together in a kind of artistic three-ring circus, highlighted by a dynamic centerpiece that deservedly rises to the top.

FRIEZE NEW YORK 2013

Paul McCarthy’s giant “Balloon Dog” welcomes visitors to the 2013 Frieze New York art fair (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Randall’s Island Park
May 10-13, $42 ($75 with catalog), 11:00 am – 6:00/7:00 pm
646-346-2845
friezenewyork.com
frieze new york 2013 slideshow

The Frieze Art Fair returns to Randall’s Island for its second year, after having made quite a splash in its New York debut last May. Filled with pomp and circumstance, the fair is set in and around a long, winding tent designed by the SO-IL firm, housing displays by more than 180 international galleries, featuring works by an all-star lineup of artists that includes Ai Weiwei, Andreas Gursky, Brice Marden, Carl Andre, Carsten Höller, Catherine Opie, Chris Ofili, Dan Graham, Dan Perjovschi, Danh Vo, Do Ho Suh, Dorothea Tanning, Douglas Gordon, Ernesto Neto — and that’s just the first part of the alphabet (going by first name, per the Frieze website). Outside, the sculpture park boasts pieces by Tom Burr, Saint Clair Cemin, Tom Friedman, Paul McCarthy, Nick Van Woert, Franz West, and others, several created specifically for Frieze. There will be special projects by Liz Glynn, Maria Loboda, Mateo Tannatt, Marianne Vitale, and Andra Ursuta; Glynn has created a secret bar that serves cocktails and magic, while Ursuta’s “Would It Were Closing Time, and All Well” reimagines the fair as a village, complete with cemetery. Haroon Mirza, Trisha Baga, and Charles Atlas and New Humans will provide audio-based installations. Among the discussions are “Suzanne Lacy in Conversation with Nato Thompson” dealing with public art and activism, “Readings: Art in Literature” with Katie Kitamura, Rachel Kushner, and Ben Marcus, who wrote a specially commissioned story for Frieze, and talks with Lydia Davis, John Maus, Joan Jonas, and Douglas Crimp. Admission is a whopping $42, which is difficult to justify, especially for the casual art fan, who might be better served by checking out some of the other art fairs this weekend — NADA, Parallax, Pulse, cutlog, and Collective .1 are all up and running, with tickets ranging from free to $25. In addition, to get to Randall’s Island, visitors have to book a ferry ($12.50 round trip) or bus ($5.50) in advance or take a car service, taxi, or drive themselves (parking is $20 – $40), so attendance is quite a commitment. Is it all worth it? That’s the $42 question.

Martha Friedman lets her art speak for itself in “Amygdalas” installation in Frieze Sculpture Park (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: The second edition of Frieze turns out to be a rather pleasurable experience, with strong work, a well-laid-out space, and lots of food and drink (from Roberta’s, Mission Chinese, Saint Ambroeus, the Fat Radish, Frankies Spuntino, and others). Here are our highlights: Seung-taek Lee’s rock and frame pieces at Gallery Hyundai, Ryan McGinley’s nude photographs at Team, Adrian Lohmüller’s “The Ivory Girl” at Sommer & Kohl, Anish Kapoor’s pair of mind-bending optic charmers at Lisson, Daniel Arsham’s glass and resin life-size figures at Galerie Perrotin, Doug Aitken’s sonic table at 303, Daniel Firman’s “Linda” hiding near KAWS’s “NTY” painting, Tom Burr’s “Blue Smoke and Blue Mirrors,” Martha Friedman’s tonguelike “Amygdalas” in the Sculpture Park, Paul McCarthy’s giant red “Balloon Dog” at the entrance, Tom Friedman’s lip-smacking pizza, Twinkie, Ding Dong, and Sno Ball at Luhring Augustine, and Mateo Tannatt’s “The Smile Goes Round,” consisting of seven different-colored resting benches that feature live performances and written text that examines the differences between the sexes.

GRAND CENTENNIAL PARADE OF TRAINS

The 20th Century Limited will pull into Grand Central Terminal as part of Grand Centennial Parade of Trains

Grand Central Terminal
Vanderbilt Hall, Tracks 34-37, and other locations
May 11-12, free, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
www.grandcentralterminal.com

The world’s greatest train terminal, Grand Central, continues its centennial celebration with another in what has been a series of very cool events. On May 11-12, Grand Central Terminal — it was called Grand Central Station from 1900 to 1913, when it was rechristened with its current appellation — is hosting the Grand Centennial Parade of Trains, including Railroadiana, a model-train collectible show in one half of Vanderbilt Hall; Legos, Chuggington, and other family-friendly exhibits and activities in Kid Junction in the other half of Vanderbilt Hall; and a Historic Railcar Collection on tracks 34-37, featuring such classics as the 20th Century Limited, the Babbling Brook (1949), the Berlin (1956), the Birken (1954), the Cimarron River (1948), the Dover Harbor (1923), the Hickory Creek (1947), the Kitchi Gammi Club (1923), the Montana (1947), the New York Central 43 (1947), the New York Central 448 (1947), the Ohio River (1926), the Overland Trail (1949), the Pacific Sands (1950), the Salisbury Beach (1954), the Tioga Pass (1959), and the Wisconsin (1948), many offering tours, as well as a dozen Metro-North cars. (You can find the complete schedule here, including special store discounts.) In addition, the Times Square Shuttle will be running vintage 1940s and 1950s trains on track 4, which commuters can take between Grand Central and Times Square. There will also be live music, MTA Arts for Transit tours, a “World’s Tallest Track” attempt for the Guinness Book of World Records, Metro-North’s robotic Metro Man giving safety talks, author readings by Maureen Sullivan of her GCT-set book Ankle Soup, MTA K-9 police unit presentations, games and prizes, and more. In addition, stop by the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex to check out “On Time/Grand Central at 100,” an exhibition of works about the past, present, and future of the terminal by such artists as Penelope Umbrico, Jim Campbell, Vik Muniz, Paloma Muñoz, and others. (Please note that backpacks are not allowed in event spaces, and there will be no bag check.)

NADA/PARALLAX/PULSE/CUTLOG/COLLECTIVE .1

NADA NYC
Pier 36 at Basketball City
299 South St. on the East River
May 10-12, free
www.newartdealers.org

Back in March, Armory Arts Week featured the Armory Show, Volta NY, Scope, the Independent, Moving Image New York, ADAA the Art Show, New City, Fountain, and Spring/Break art fairs. Now that we’ve all gotten the chance to catch our breath, the second part of the season is up and running this weekend with another slew of art shows around the city. While the main event might be the second edition of Frieze, held on Randall’s Island and charging a whopping $42 admission fee, there are numerous lower-cost options. At NADA, it does indeed cost nada to see more than seventy exhibitors at Basketball City, including Eleven Rivington, Klaus von Nichtssagend, Marlborough Chelsea, Churner and Churner, Feature Inc., and SculptureCenter. Among the special events and projects are Merkx & Gwynne’s “King Arthur Green Room,” a LittleCollector tour, a Lower East Side gallery tour, and an Eat up NY in the LES food tour at this show sponsored by New Art Dealers Alliance, which “believes that the adversarial approach to exhibiting and selling art has run its course . . . that change can be achieved through fostering constructive thought and dialogue between various points in the art industry from large galleries to small spaces, nonprofit and commercial alike.”

PARALLAX “ART” FAIR
Prince George Ballroom
15 East 27th St.
May 11-12, free with advance registration, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
www.parallaxaf.com

Parallax is a self-described “non-art fair that makes a uniquely refreshing conceptual statement about subjectivity and the commoditization of taste, offering an intellectual framework where visitors can dare to be themselves for a change.” Created by Dr. Chris Barlow, Parallax features works from more than two hundred international emerging and established artists celebrating “the luxury of objects” and examining new forms of acquisition.

Jani Ruscica’s “Screen Test (for a Living Sculpture)” is among the special projects at Pulse (courtesy of Otto Zoo)

PULSE
The Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th St.
May 9-12, $20 (run of show $25)
www.pulse-art.com/new-york

The always enjoyable Pulse is back at the Metropolitan Pavilion, with nearly fifty international galleries part of its main exhibition and another thirteen in its Impulse cutting-edge section. This year’s Pulse Projects features Tristin Lowe’s “Comet Nature,” Lisa Lozano and Tora Lopez’s “We Couldn’t Remember What We Came to Forget,” Franco Mondini-Ruiz’s “Spring Flings & Pretty Things,” Russell Maltz’s “Painted/Stacked,” Jason Rogenes’s “CH1M3R4,” and Tim Youd’s “Typing Tropic.” The multimedia Pulse Play lounge will be showing Jani Ruscica’s Screen Test (for a Living Sculpture), Robbie Cornelissen’s The Labyrinth Runner, and Lars Arrhenius’s The Street, there will be a Pulse New York Chelsea Gallery Walk and after-party on Thursday night, and a free shuttle bus will take people between Pulse and the Frieze ferry stop.

The cutlog fair makes New York debut with indoor and outdoor events

CUTLOG NY
Clemente Soto Vélez Center
107 Suffolk St. between Rivington & Delancey Sts.
May 9-13, $15 (run of show $25)
www.cutlogny.org

Making its New York debut, cutlog is a whirlwind event focusing on collaboration and innovation in multiple disciplines. Held at the Clemente on the Lower East Side, cutlog NY includes such exhibitors as Tel Aviv’s Art Connections, Paris’s Galerie Dix9 and Olivier Watman, Antwerp’s Marion de Cannière, London’s House of the Nobleman, Milano’s Edward Cutler, Lyon’s Céline Moine, Istanbul’s Gama, and Vancouver’s the Apartment, but it’s the special projects that highlight this highly anticipated fair. There will be projected images outdoors on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights; such live performances and installations as Movement Research re-creating Anna Halprin’s “Mirror Piece,” the Fantastic Nobodies’ “Free Car Wash,” Tyler Matthew Oyer’s cabaret “Gone for Gold,” Marni Kotak’s exercise-obsessed “Calorie Countdown,” a site-specific dance by Netta Yerushalmy, and Phoebe Rathmell’s “Visceral Transcendence,” among others; and talks with Harvey Stein and John Lurie.

Gaetano Pesce will be at Collective .1 Design with new installation and conversation

COLLECTIVE .1 DESIGN FAIR
Pier 57 at 15th St. and the West Side Highway
May 8-11, $25 (run of show $30)
www.collectivedesignfair.com

Another newbie is the Collective .1 Design Fair, founded by Steven Learner to present a curated examination of new and historical design. Approximately two dozen galleries will gather at Pier 57, including Demisch Danant, Jousse Entreprise, Lost City Arts, Maison Gerard, Mondo Cane, and Sebastian + Barquet, with installations by Gaetano Pesce, Sebastian Errazuriz, and Dana Barnes, tours, book signings with Christopher Bascom Rawlins and Jeffrey Head, and such Collective Conversations as “Inside the Design Market,” “Obsessed — Collecting in the 21st Century,” and “In Dialogue” with Gaetano Pesce and curator Daniella Ohad Smith.