Untermyer Park in Yonkers, New York (photo by Allison Meier)
Today may be September 1, but it’s not Labor Day yet, so you’ve still got one week left to act like you’re on summer break. Make the best of this in-between time and the coming long weekend by taking an art-filled day trip, or by turning the day trip into a longer stay. Here are some of our favorites places to get out of town.
Melvin Edwards at the Zimmerli
When: Opens today
Where: Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University (71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey)
Melvin Edwards is a trailblazing African-American artist who, although he has received recognition in his lifetime, should be much more of a household name. This survey, the first retrospective for him in over 20 years, will feature many of his Lynch Fragments — brooding, evocative pieces made from tools, chains, and other objects — as well as a re-creation of his 1970 solo show at the Whitney Museum (the first by an African-American sculptor). And while you’re at the museum, do not miss Honoré Daumier’s terra cotta busts caricaturing government officials in 19th-century France or the museum’s fantastic collection of Soviet nonconformist art.
Distance from Midtown NYC: 45 mins by train; 50 mins by car
Untermyer Gardens
When: Open 7am to sunset daily
Where: Untermyer Park (945 North Broadway, Yonkers, New York)
A short stroll from the Greystone Metro-North station transports you to a frequently overlooked Beaux-Arts garden. Although it’s fallen into decay over the years, Untermyer Park still maintains the elaborate splendor imagined by lawyer and philanthropist Samuel Untermyer in the early 20th century. A walled structure reinterprets gardens of antiquity with huge mosaics and symbolic plants and waterways, the “Temple of Love” crowns a rocky outcrop as if stranded from a forgotten fairytale, and a vista leading down to the Hudson River is modeled after Italy’s Villa d’Este, with two real ancient Roman columns at its terminus. —Allison Meier
Distance from Midtown NYC: 1 hr by train; 45 mins by car
The interior of Philip Johnson’s “Glass House” (1949) (photo by Hrag Vartanian)
Philip Johnson Glass House
When: Through Monday, November 30 (tickets start at $25)
Where: The Glass House (199 Elm Street, New Canaan, Connecticut)
One of the symbols of 20th-century American architecture, the Glass House was designed by the architect Philip Johnson as his own residence. The historic house museum, which includes several buildings on the property, was opened up for public tours in 2007, and there are three different varieties (that last up to three hours). If you’ve always wanted to go but never been, now’s a good time to take the plunge and experience this one-of-a-kind building. —Cihan Küçük
Distance from Midtown NYC: 1 hr 10 mins by train; 1 hr 15 mins by car
7 Deadly Sins and Museums
When: Through mid-September/October (check participating institutions for details)
Where: Various
The Seven Deadly Sins is a series of seven concurrent exhibitions of contemporary and historic work organized by the Fairfield/Westchester Museum Alliance — each of which is dedicated to one of the deadly sins. Participating institutions include the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (sloth), Bruce Museum (pride), Hudson River Museum (envy), Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (lust), Katonah Museum of Art (gluttony), Neuberger Museum of Art (greed), and Wave Hill (wrath). A neat concept and an excellent reason to get out of the city. Check out the same-day pass if you plan on visiting more than one museum in a single day. —Tiernan Morgan
Distances from Midtown NYC vary
Lynda Benglis at Storm King
Lynda Benglis’s “Pink Ladies” (2014), cast pigmented polyurethane with bronze, and “Pink Lady (For Asha)” (2013), cast pigmented polyurethane, on view at Storm King (photo by Jillian Steinhauer for Hyperallergic) (click to enlarge)
When: Through Sunday, November 8 ($15)
Where: Storm King Art Center (1 Museum Road, New Windsor, New York)
I would pretty much always recommend a visit to Storm King, but the current Lynda Benglis exhibition makes it a must-do. The locus of the show is a series of fountains by Benglis, in which the motion of water seems to echo her superbly crafted forms, either pouring forth from oozing abstract pieces that suggest wings or splattering down from the tops of what look like stacked, upside-down cones — or beehives, or bugles. The coup of Benglis’s art is the intense physicality of it, channeled into utterly convincing forms that aren’t quite anything recognizable. Smaller works on view in Storm King’s galleries support the ones outside by further exploring the artist’s interest in landscape.
Distance from Midtown NYC: 1 hr 30 mins by bus or car
River Crossings
When: Through Sunday, November 1 ($12 at Olana State Historic Site)
Where: Olana State Historic Site (5720 State Route 9G, Hudson, New York) and Thomas Cole National Historic Site (218 Spring Street, Catskill, New York)
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site was named after the founder of the Hudson River School, while Olana was the residence of Frederic Edwin Church, Cole’s most famous student. River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home is an exhibition installed at the two historical sites, giving visitors an opportunity to unite the art of the mid-19th century and today. The show, which is curated by Stephen Hannock and Jason Rosenfeld, features 28 contemporary artists including Lynn Davis, Romare Bearden, Kiki Smith, and more. The exhibition takes place on both sides of Hudson River, so have a walk over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and enjoy the view. —Cihan Küçük
Distance from Midtown NYC: 2 hrs 15 mins by train; 2 hrs 20 mins by car
Party at the Parrish Art Museum
When: Daily (except Tuesdays), 10am–5pm ($10/students free with ID)
Where: Parrish Art Museum (279 Montauk Hwy, Water Mill, New York)
Close out summer at the Parrish Art Museum with a concert by The Ebony Hillbillies, one of the last black string bands in the United States; all you have to do is bring a lawn chair or a blanket and enjoy the music. Be sure to also check out Andreas Gursky: Landscapes, which showcases the German photographer’s highly detailed, colossal images, and Platform: Tara Donovan. The Brooklyn-based artist transforms everyday materials like drinking straws, toothpicks, and index cards into large scale sculptures, and at the Parrish, her material of choice is the beloved childhood toy the Slinky®. —Cihan Küçükçük
Distance from Midtown NYC: 2 hrs 30 mins by train; 2 hrs 10 mins by car
The Dan Flavin Art Institute
Inside the Dan Flavin Institute (photo by Jillian Steinhauer) (click to enlarge)
When: Through October, Thursday–Sunday, 12–6pm
Where: The Dan Flavin Art Institute (Corwith Avenue, Bridgehampton, New York)
Bridgehampton is, admittedly, a bit of a trek from NYC, but it is doable by train (Long Island Rail Road), and it is, for my money, a worthwhile journey. At the institute, there’s something unique about seeing all those Flavins installed in such a homely environment — you can tell that they’re smart, but you also get a sense of their playful side. The gallery downstairs is currently showing rare early works by the artist, a nice complement to what’s upstairs — and when you’re done with the art, you can head to the beach, keeping an eye out for the giant Richard Serra sculpture installed on a collector’s lawn along the way.
Distance from Midtown NYC: 2 hrs 40 mins by train; 2 hrs 10 mins by car
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With contributions by Cihan Küçük, Allison Meier, and Tiernan Morgan
