this week in art

REMEMBERING FUKUSHIMA: ART AND CONVERSATIONS

Eiko will lead a special program on March 11 at St. John the Divine commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Fukushima disaster

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th St.
Saturday, March 11, free with advance RSVP, 1:00 – 5:00
212-316-7540
www.eikoandkoma.org
www.stjohndivine.org

In 2014, New York–based Japanese teacher, dancer, and visual artist Eiko Otake brought her “Body in Places” solo project to Fukushima, site of the devastating 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. On March 11, Eiko, the current Dignity Initiative Artist in Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, will commemorate the sixth anniversary of the tragedy with a special memorial program at the church, held in conjunction with the closing of the exhibition “The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies,” which Eiko cocurated and includes William Johnston’s photographs of Eiko in Fukushima. “Remembering Fukushima” will feature William Johnston, Marilyn Ivy, Thomas Looser, Mark McCloughan, Alexis Moh, Nora Thompson, Megu Tagami, John Kelly, Carol Lipnik, DonChristian Jones, Geo Wyeth, Ronald Ebrecht, Ralph Samuelson, Elizabeth Brown, Jake Price, Katja Kolcio, and NYC iSCHOOL and is dedicated to writer Kyoko Hayashi, who was scheduled to participate but passed away on February 19 at the age of eighty-six. Writing about a “practice run” of the program, Eiko explained in a statement, “I found myself speaking not only of how this artmaking was a way for me to personally empathize with the destruction caused by nuclear energy but also about how much it meant to me to be a part of this larger event with so many intelligent and creative people. I felt (and feel) honored to be one of many figuring out how to empathize with, speak truth of, and remember the Fukushima disaster.” Conceived and directed by Eiko, “Remembering Fukushima,” presented in association with Asia Society and Danspace Project, will take place from 1:00 to 5:00; admission is free with advance RSVP.

OM LAB: OFFER YOUR VOICE

Visitors can contribute to a collective OM at Rubin Museum

Visitors can contribute to a collective OM in Rubin Museum installation

Rubin Museum
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Wednesday – Monday through May 8, $10-$15 (free Fridays 6:00 – 10:00)
212-620-5000
rubinmuseum.org

People have been chanting the sacred Sanskrit syllable “OM” for three centuries, believing it is “the sum total of everything.” Visitors are now offered the opportunity to become part of the largest collective OM in history in the participatory Rubin Museum exhibit “OM Lab.” Through May 8, everyone is invited to go to the sixth floor of the former Barney’s home and share their cosmic vibration in a sound booth. As you record your “OM,” your personal sound waves are projected on the wall behind the booth. As you wait in line, you can read banners that explore the derivation and utilization of the sound, including “The Supreme Mantra and Imperishable Truth,” “The Instrument of Transformation,” and “The Mantra of Many Faiths” (Hindu, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism). “OM connects you to history,” Rosanne Cash explains in her “Why I OM” video made for the Rubin. “We connect to those who have done it before us. . . . There’s something about it; it just feels so good in your head, and in your chest, and in your mouth. It’s familiar.” That connection will be felt when the Rubin turns all of the “OM Lab” recordings into a single, collective chant that will be on display beginning June 16 in “The World Is Sound” exhibit. “Sound has always been a primary aspect of spiritual inquiry,” yoga master Rodney Yee says in his “Why I OM” video. “There is an open sound, and then there is an ending, a closure. So, ‘Amen,’ ‘OM,’ I think they do something to the physiology of the human body. They create both a giving and a receiving. It ends up actually having an amazing unifying effect if people allow themselves to drop into it.” And you don’t have to be a practitioner to participate; going into that booth and letting your OM sing is a freeing, cathartic experience, even if you’ve never done it before. In conjunction with the exhibit, on April 22 ($25) calligrapher and artist Tashi Mannox will host “Sacred Syllables and Their Sounds,” followed by the launch of the second edition of his book Sacred Scripts: A Meditative Journey Through Tibetan Calligraphy, and on May 6 ($108), Satya Scainetti will lead the workshop “Mala for Mother’s Day,” in which participants can create a garland of prayer beads made from angelite, black onyx, carnelian, fancy jasper, green onyx, or rose quartz, each of which has different peaceful properties for the mind, body, and soul.

TALES OF OUR TIME

Tsang Kin-Wah, “No(thing/Fact) Outside,” vinyl, 2016 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St.
Through March 10 (closed Thursday), $18 – $25 (pay-what-you-wish Saturday 5:45-7:45)
212-423-3587
www.guggenheim.org

The Guggenheim’s “Tales of Our Time” exhibition, featuring half a dozen contemporary Chinese artists and collectives, comes to a close this week with several final events. On March 7 and 8 at 7:00 and 9:30, Raimundas Malašauskas and Marcos Lutyens’s hour-long, site-specific “Hypnotic Show” is a conceptual, imaginary experiment in cognitive narrative. On Wednesday afternoon, 1:30 to 5:45, Yangjiang Group’s “Unwritten Rules Cannot Be Broken” will be activated for the last time, a tea gathering in which visitors can sit down in a peaceful environment, sip tea, contemplate calligraphy, and measure their heart rate and blood pressure before and after the communal experience. The second exhibition of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative, “Tales of Our Time” consists of specially commissioned works commenting on place and history, inspired by the 1936 book Gushi xin bian (Old Tales Retold) by Lu Xun. In “Taxi,” Taipei artist Chia-En Jao films his political conversations with cabdrivers as he goes to historically significant locations; meanwhile, his unique coat-of-arms flag titled “Arms No. 31” reveals key moments in Taiwan’s history through detailed symbolism. Zhou Tao’s two-channel video “Land of the Throat” depicts current landscapes undergoing development, with some futuristic, otherworldly elements added. Kan Xuan’s “Kū Lüè Er,” which translates as “to circle a piece of land,” is a multichannel installation of stop-motion cell-phone pictures and sandstone sculptures of barbed wire exploring the evolution and erosion of cities and the relationship between nature and humanity.

In addition to the Wednesday tea gathering, Yangiang Group’s “Unwritten Rules Cannot Be Broken” boasts a balcony garden and a three-level green post of calligraphy that references a newspaper headline in which former vice president Joe Biden discussed healthy competition between China and the United States. Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-Wah’s “In the End Is the Word” references the battle between China and Japan as ships fight it out on the ocean, concluding with a stream of phrases from such philosophers as Marx, Sartre, Derrida, and Nietzsche (“The end of its miserable life,” “Fill and refill all over again”) pouring off the screen, morphing into “No(thing/Fact) Outside,” the vinyl words spreading over nearby walls, a staircase, the floor, and even an elevator. Sun Xun’s “Mythological Time” revisits the coalmine of his hometown of Fuxin in a stop-motion charcoal animation and mural reminiscent of the work of William Kentridge. Finally, Sun Yuan and Peng Yu’s “Can’t Help Myself” is a giant industrial robot that performs balletic moves as it tries to keep viscous red liquid resembling blood into a confined area around it while the liquid inevitably oozes away and at times ends up splattered on the polycarbonate wall, referencing both automation and endless violence. Speaking of place and history, the Guggenheim is also celebrating its eightieth anniversary with the greatest-hits exhibition “Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim,” exploring the past, present, and future of the collection.

TOUCHING INFINITY: A CONVERSATION WITH LEE UFAN

Lee Ufan will be at Asia Society on March 8 for an Asia Week conversation with curator Michelle Yun (photo courtesy Lee Ufan)

Who: Lee Ufan, Michelle Yun
What: Discussion between artist Lee Ufan and curator Michelle Yun
Where: Rose Conference Hall, Asia Society, 725 Park Ave. at 70th St., 212-288-6400
When: Wednesday, March 8, free with advance registration, 6:30
Why: In conjunction with Asia Week New York, Korean-born conceptual artist and philosopher Lee Ufan will sit down with Michelle Yun, Asia Society Museum senior curator of modern and contemporary art, for “Touching Infinity: A Conversation with Lee Ufan.” A painter, sculptor, and leader of the Mono-ha (“School of Things”) movement, Lee had a dazzling exhibition in 2011 at the Guggenheim, “Lee Ufan: Marking Infinity,” about which we wrote, “Lee emphasizes how experiencing his work is built on the concept of relationship, between humans and nature, the artist and the object, the viewer and the installation, different objects within a piece, and even the exhibition and the museum itself.” The talk will focus on the eighty-year-old Lee’s recent residency at famed porcelain company Manufacture de Sèvres and his work in clay.

CRITICAL JUNCTURES: GLENN LIGON

Glenn Ligon and Samora Pinderhughes will be in conversation at YoungArts event at NYLA

Glenn Ligon and Samora Pinderhughes will discuss pivotal moments at YoungArts event at New York Live Arts on March 5

Who: Glenn Ligon, Samora Pinderhughes
What: National YoungArts Foundation Salon Series
Where: New York Live Arts Theater, 219 West 19th St., 212-691-6500
When: Sunday, March 5, $10, 2:00
Why: In 2011, New York City–based visual artist Glenn Ligon had a major midcareer retrospective, “Glenn Ligon: America,” at the Whitney. In 2009, Berkeley high school pianist and composer Samora Pinderhughes was named a YoungArts Winner in Jazz Keyboard. On March 5 at 2:00 at New York Live Arts, the two will take part in the latest edition of the National YoungArts Foundation Salon Series, “Critical Junctures: Glenn Ligon,” as they look at pivotal moments in their creative process while placing it in sociohistorical context. The Salon Series, which “brings together creative alumni voices and offers audiences an opportunity to engage with internationally renowned and emerging artists,” will be back at New York Live Arts on May 14 with “Critical Junctures: Alexei Ratmansky,” in which the Russian-American choreographer will be in conversation with 2011 YoungArts Dance Winner and ABT soloist Cassandra Trenary.

BROOKLYN MUSEUM FIRST SATURDAY: FUTURE FEMINISMS

Alfred Stieglitz, “Georgia O’Keeffe,” gelatin silver print, circa 1920–22 (© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, March 4, free, 5:00 – 11:00
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum goes feminist to the hilt with the First Saturday program “Future Feminisms,” part of its 2017 theme “A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum.” There will be live performances by Charlotte Dos Santos, Buscabulla, and Natasha Diggs with #SoulInTheHorn; a Blues Lounge Bar; a screening of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s The Trans List, followed by a discussion with writer Kate Bornstein and DJ and philanthropist Lina Bradford, facilitated by the Sylvia Rivera Law Project; a hands-on art workshop in which participants can make wearable handmade paper flowers inspired by the new exhibit “Georgia O’Keefe: Living Modern”; a Postcard Write-In hosted by Forward March NY; a Scholar Talk with Linda Grasso about her upcoming book Equal Under the Sky: Georgia O’Keeffe and Twentieth-Century Feminism; a screening of Suha Araj’s The Cup Reader and Pioneer High; pop-up gallery talks on “Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty,” hosted by teen apprentices; a tour of “Georgia O’Keefe: Living Modern” led by guest curator Wanda Corn; and the Brooklyn premiere of Fatimah Asghar and Sam Bailey’s web series Brown Girls, followed by a talkback with members of the cast and crew, moderated by Lindsay Catherine Harris. In addition, you can check out such exhibits as “Iggy Pop Life Class by Jeremy Deller,” “The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago,” “Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty,” “Infinite Blue,” “A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt,” and, at a discounted admission price of $12, “Georgia O’Keefe: Living Modern.”

ARMORY ARTS WEEK 2017

Art on Paper: Tm Gratkowski, “No Matter What,” collaged paper on wood panel (courtesy of the artist and Walter Maciel Gallery)

It’s that time of year again when the art world descends on New York City for the start of art fair season. There are no fewer than eleven fairs this week, with the next batch scheduled for May. Below is a brief look at March’s shows, highlighted by participating artists and special events and projects.

What: Moving Image
Where: 269 11th Ave. between 27th & 28th Sts.
When: February 27 – March 2, free
Why: “A viewing experience with the excitement and vitality of a fair while allowing moving image-based artworks to be understood and appreciated on their own terms,” with works by Rebecca Allen, Marcos Bonisson and Khalil Charif, Kevin Cooley, Adriana Duque, Zachary Fabri, Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani, John Craig Freeman, Claudia Hart, Robert Hodge, Marlon Hall, and Robert Pruitt, Iyvone Khoo, Christopher Manzione & Seth Cluett, Alexander Mazza, Joiri Minaya, Brenna Murphy, Damir Očko, Will Pappenheimer, Jacques Perconte, Jefferson Pinder, Jordan Rathus, Casey Reas, Michael Rees, Rick Silva, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Tamiko Thiel and Zara Houshmand, Naoko Tosa, Anton van Dalen, Arda Yalkın, Matteo Zamagni

What: The Art Show
Where: Park Avenue Armory, Park Ave. at Sixty-Seventh St.
When: March 1-5, $25
Why: “Offers collectors, arts professionals, and the public the opportunity to engage with artworks of the highest quality through intimately scaled and thoughtfully curated exhibitions that encourage close looking and active conversation with gallerists”

Friday, March 3
“Beyond New York: Cultural Vibrancy Across the U.S.,” Keynote at the Art Show, with Kaywin Feldman, Lawrence J. Wheeler, and Zannie Giraud Voss, moderated by Lindsay Pollock, Board of Officers Room, 6:00

What: NADA New York
Where: Skylight Clarkson North, 572 Washington St.
When: March 2-5, $20-$40
Why: “Contemporary Drag,” curated by Gordon Robichaux, and numerous special discussions and performances

Thursday, March 2
“Social Noise!” panel discussion hosted by Sam Hillmer, with Don Christian, Azikwe Mohammed, Maria Chavez, and Victoria Keddie, 5:00

Friday, March 3
“Contemporary Drag in Conversation: Stonewall Was a Riot,” with Lady Bunny and Horrorchata, moderated by David Yarritu, 2:00

Saturday, March 4
“Jacolby Satterwhite: Artist Talk,” with Jacolby Satterwhite, presented with Moran Bondaroff, 2:00

Sunday, March 5
“Contemporary Drag: Baby Tea,” featuring a conversation with Theda Hammel and performances by Matt Savitsky, Merrie Cherry, and Patti Spliff, presented by Tyler Ashley aka the Dauphine of Bushwick and Wise Men, 3:30

What: VOLTA NY
Where: Pier 90, West 50th St. at 12th Ave.
When: March 2-6, $25-$60
Why: “Showcases relevant contemporary art positions from emerging international artists, from cutting-edge trendsetters to next year’s rising stars [with an] approachable solo-booth format”

Friday, March 3
“Alternative Myths,” with Jesse Bransford and Dominic Shepherd, the Volta Salon with ArtNet, 1:00

Saturday, March 4
“Improv for Artists,” with Morgan Bassichis, Jill Pangallo, and Richards Smit, moderated by Hollis Witherspoon, 2:00

Sunday, March 5
“Art Meets Tech,” with Ashley Zelinskie, Valentine Uhovski, and Alicia Carbone, moderated by Ariel Adkins, 2:00

What: Spring/Break Art Show: Black Mirror
Where: 4 Times Square at 43rd St.
When: March 1-6, $15-$50
Why: “An internationally recognized exhibition platform using underused historic New York City spaces to activate and challenge the traditional cultural landscape of the art market”

What: Scope
Where: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West Eighteenth St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
When: March 2-5, $15-$150
Why: “SCOPE New York’s spirit of innovation has consistently forged the way for emerging artists and galleries. Attuned to nuances in the market and itself an influential force in the cultural sphere, SCOPE continues to usher in a new vision of the contemporary art fair.”

What: The Armory Show
Where: Piers 92 & 94, 12th Ave. at 50th St.
When: March 3-6, $25-$80
Why: “New York’s premier art fair and a definitive cultural destination for discovering and collecting the world’s most important 20th and 21st century artworks,” featuring Platform projects by Abigail DeVille, Fiete Stolte, Evan Roth, Jun Kaneko, Dorian Gaudin, Douglas Coupland, Ai Weiwei, Iván Navarro, Yayoi Kusama, Per Kirkeby & Lawrence Weiner, Abel Barroso, Patricia Cronin, Sebastian Errazuri

Friday, March 3
“What’s Technology Got to Do with It? Art in the Digital Age,” with Shiva Ahmadi, Charles Atlas, Marilyn Minter, and Thomas Allen Harris, moderated by Barbara London, 4:00

Saturday, March 4
“David Salle: The Painting Life,” artist talk with Joe Bradley, Alex Katz, Dana Schutz, and Chris Martin, moderated by David Salle, 2:30

Sunday, March 5
“Glenn O’Brien: Like Art,” artist talk with Glenn O’Brien, Jeffrey Deitch, and Andy Spade, 1:00

What: Art on Paper
Where: Pier 36, 299 South St.
When: March 2-5, $25-$40
Why: “Art on Paper’s medium-driven focus lends itself to significant projects — unique moments that have set the fair apart and established a new and important destination for the arts in New York City,” featuring special projects by Pablo Lehmann, Peter Sarkisian, Tahiti Pehrson, Valerie Hammond, and Timothy Paul Myers in collaboration with Andrew Barnes

What: Clio Art Fair: The Anti-Fair for Independent Artists
Where: 508 West 26h St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
When: March 2-5, free
Why: “Focuses attention on the kinds of contemporary art and interventions that are being created by independent artists the world over,” featuring works by Piero Manzoni, Carla Accardi, Maurizio Cattelan, Nina Berman, Denise Adler, Sonia Aguessy, Paul Bouchard, Peter Bradley Cohen, Robby Davis, Monica Delgado, Matthew Demers, Wenjun Fu, Orit Fuchs, Rachel Goldsmith, Larry Jones, Rusudan Khizanishvili, Gary Low, Rafael Melendez, Hayley Palmatier, Alicia Piller, Claudia Shapiro, Emily Strange, Kimberly Zeluck, more

What: The Independent
Where: Spring Studios, 50 Varick St.
When: March 2-5, $25
Why: “An invitational art fair devised by and for gallerists, which reexamines the traditional methods of presenting, viewing, and experiencing contemporary art”

What: New City Art Fair
Where: hpgrp Gallery, 434 Greenwich St.
When: March 3-6, free
Why: “A boutique art fair which aspires to globalize contemporary Asian art,” this year featuring works by Japanese artists Daisuke Takahashi, snAwk, So Sekiyama, Meguru Yamaguchi, more