nyc art scene

thru June 29:

“Works on Paper 1976-1977”
 Palermo

David Zwirner Gallery, 537 W20th St., NYC

Drawn from museum and private collections, this exhibition has been organized in collaboration with the Palermo Archive on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the artist’s birth (in 1943 in Leipzig, Germany). The majority of the works on view were executed in New York, where (Blinky) Palermo lived and worked from 1973 until the spring of 1976. The artist died in February 1977. Executed at the end of the artist’s brief career, Palermo’s works on paper from 1976-1977 suggest a kind of summation of his artistic practice: not only do they exemplify his ongoing experimentation with the symbolic and formal possibilities of composition and space, but they also convey his understanding of color as a system of signs.

Opens Tonight, 6-8p:

“Above and Below”
 Gordon Matta-Clark

David Zwirner Gallery, 519 W19th St., NYC

an exhibition of late works by Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978), focusing in particular on his activities as a filmmaker. Curated by Jessamyn Fiore, the show features the artist’s explorations in subterranean New York and Paris alongside building cuts and projects involving aerial elevation. - thru May 4

Just Opened:

“REEL-UNREEL”
 Francis Alÿs

David Zwirner Gallery, 525 W19th St., NYC

new paintings and the 20-minute film, REEL-UNREEL, by Francis Alÿs. The artist was recently part of dOCUMENTA 13 and subject of a major survey at Tate Modern – where it was called the museum’s “finest show to date by a living artist” by Richard Dorment of The Telegraph - and the Museum of Modern Art and PS 1 here in New York. - thru Feb 9

Opens Tonight, July 11, 6-8p:

“People Who Work Here”
 curated by Rawson Projects

David Zwirner Gallery, 525 W29th St., NYC

the show bridges the emerging and established gallery scenes, two sides of the art world that are commonly thought of as isolated from one another. In turn, it plays on notions of inside and outside, art and work, center and periphery, while at the same time testifying to the interconnectedness of the New York art world and the relationships that exist between new and established artists and galleries in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Participating artists present work across a broad spectrum of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation. They include Cy Amundson, Justin Davis Anderson, Ben Berlow, Josh Brown, Aidan Sofia Earle, Joel Fennell, Brent Harada, Sam Martineau, Chris Medina, Dave Miko, Clive Murphy, Liz Nielsen, David Ording, Justin Phillipson, Ramon Silva, and Aengus Woods with John Holten. - Aug 10

Opens Tonight, May 4, 6-8p:

”Black Paintings”
 Yan Pei-Ming

David Zwirner Gallery, 519 W19th St., NYC

The paintings in this exhibition relate to events in the recent and distant past. In a departure from previous work by the artist, they extend beyond the depiction of a singular subject to reference broad historical issues and, in the process, the gap that exists between the events and their visualization. - thru June 23

Opens Tonight, May 4, 6-8p:

Alice Neel : Late Portraits & Still Lifes

David Zwirner, 533 W19th St., NYC

With a practice spanning the 1920s to the 1980s, Alice Neel (1900-1984) is widely regarded as one of the greatest figurative painters of the twentieth century. Based in New York City, Neel chose her subjects from her family, friends, and a broad variety of locals: writers, poets, artists, students, textile salesmen, psychologists, cabaret singers, and homeless bohemians. Her eccentric selection was thus also a portrayal of, and dialogue with, the city in which she lived. Through her forthright and at times humorous touch, her work engaged with ongoing political and social issues, including gender, racial inequality, and labor struggles. This exhibition includes portraits and still lifes made between 1964 and 1983, the last two decades of Neel’s life.   - thru June 23

Continuing thru Feb 25:

”SA MI 75 DZ NY 12”
 Doug Wheeler

David Zwirner Gallery, 519 W19th St., NYC

“Doug Wheeler has achieved something that defies comprehension in his illuminating large-scale installation currently housed at David Zwirner Gallery. Along with James Turrell and Robert Irwin, Wheeler, age 72, is considered a pioneer of the light and space movement that took place during the 1960s and ’70s in southern California. Dogmatic to a fault, Wheeler has turned down numerous offers from galleries and museums to represent and exhibit his work. As a result, New Yorkers are sadly Wheeler-deficient. SA MI 75 DZ NY 12, named to reference an earlier work he erected in Milan in 1975, is the fourth “infinity environment” created by the artist. The cerebral piece places limited quantities of gallery goers (if the artist had his way it would be one at a time) in an all-white room where day-to-night lighting is simulated in continual succession. While it doesn’t sound like much, the costly-to-produce piece is incredibly provocative and must be experienced to be believed.” - Mindy Bond, Flavorpill

Opens Tonight (Nov 4) 6-8p:

 MICHAËL BORREMANS
“The Devil’s Dress”

David Zwirner Gallery, 525 W19th St., NYC

“Borremans’ drawings, paintings, and films present an evocative combination of solemn-looking characters, unusual close-ups, and unsettling still lifes. There is a theatrical dimension to his works, which are at once highly staged and ambiguous, just as his complex and open-ended scenes lend themselves to conflicting moods—simultaneously nostalgic, darkly comical, disturbing, and grotesque. His paintings display a concentrated dialogue with previous art historical epochs, however their unconventional compositions and curious narratives defy expectations and lend them an indefinable yet universal character.”