Your Weekly Art Rx

Here again is your weekly New York remedy to cure you of what ails you: a list of exhibitions and events that will serve as your weekly dose of art medicine.

This week the doctor orders Beat Nite on Friday night, a Halloween blood fest and did we mention our editor is in a performance piece in Bushwick?

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 The Beat Returns to Bushwick

When: October 28, check nortemaar.org for the latest info

This Friday, Norte Maar is organizing their trademark Beat Night: Bushwick Art Spaces Stay Open Late event for the last friday of this month. Half art party and half bar crawl, this neighborhood art block party is a great way to explore select art spaces that range from legit commercial galleries to DIY apartment spaces. There are two special features for us at Hyperallergic this month: one, we’re sponsoring the night, two, our editor will be part of a one-night only performance titled “Clean Hrag” at English Kills. It is part of Rob Andrews’ first ever solo show.

Print out your useful neighborhood art map/guide here.

Here are some of our picks:

1. “Clean Hrag” by Rob Andrews at English Kills, yes, Hyperallergic’s editor is doing something … though we’re not sure what … with a typewriter in a circle of dirt and candles.
2. Bushwick’s newest gallery, Airplane, is located on Jefferson Street … which begs the question if this crew is into the 1960s rock band Jefferson Airplane.
3. Norte Maar is opening a show featuring a sculptural installation by Audra Wolowiec, paintings by Lindsay Walt and collages by Man Barlett.
4. Ryan Ford‘s paintings and objects are equal parts Eric Fischl, Neo Rauch and Keith Haring. His current show at Factory Fresh is worth a look.
5. If you haven’t heard, Baby X is a boy! Marni Kotak had her baby in Microscope Gallery on Tuesday. We guess Beat Nite was perfectly planned. There appears to be some type of video presentation planned for Friday night.
6. And don’t forget Grace Exhibition Space! They always have something planned and this Friday is no different.

 Halloween Blood Fest at Pandemic Gallery!!

When: Friday, October 28 at 9 PM
Where: Pandemic Gallery (37 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

This Halloween weekend Williamsburg’s Pandemic Gallery gets  bloody. The gallery will be in full “Kill Room” mode. We’re not sure exactly what that means, but Pandemic insists you dress in costume and expect to get covered in blood, which will be provided by the gallery. There will be a bloody pinata and zombie artworks by artist Wrona displayed behind a curtain of blood-drenched plastic.

 NYU’s Gallatin Gallery Wants to Show Us What Democracy Looks Like

When: Opening reception on October 28, 5 -7 PM
Where: NYU Gallatin Galleries (1 Washington Place at Broadway, Greenwich Village, Manhattan)

There’s been plenty of drama surrounding art exhibitions in response to Occupy Wall Street and now its NYU’s turn to jump on the bandwagon. This is What Democracy Looks Like at the school’s Gallatin Galleries features a set of screen prints by artists Kyle Goen and Dread Scott that connect the international aspirations of OWS and its roots in the Arab Spring and occupations in Europe.

 A Whole Lotta of Surrealist René Magritte

When: Opens October 28
Where: Blain Di Donna (at the The Carlyle Hotel, 981 Madison Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan)

The posh London gallery Blaine Southern is opening a US off-shoot, Blain Di Donna, in the Carlyle Hotel on New York’s tony Upper East Side. The gallery opens its doors with a survey of everybody’s favorite Belgian Surrealist, René Magritte. Thirty of his works, including paintings, works on paper and objects, will be on display. This is a must-see show for any Magritte fanatic.

 Tabaimo: DANDAN

When: Closes October 29
Where: James Cohan Gallery (533 West 26 Street, Chelsea, Manhattan)

Currently representing Japan at the Venice Biennale, video artist Tabaimo also has a solo show at James Cohan Gallery. Considering Tabaimo’s Biennale piece transformed the Japanese pavilion into the interior of a reflective well, expect something epic that merges the grotesque and the whimsical.

 Niki De Saint Phalle at Nohra Haime Gallery

When: Closes October 29
Where: Nohra Haime Gallery (730 Fifth Avenue, Suite 701, Midtown, Manhattan)

Nohra Haime is a gallery nestled on the 7th floor of a fancy Fifth Avenue building and it presents a retrospective of French sculpture and painter Niki De Saint Phalle that spans 44 years of the artist’s work. The exhibition sticks a little to closely to Phalle’s biography — the press release explains her psychological breakdown and shock therapy treatments, after which she “conquered her demons” and “embraced magic,” whatever that means. But Phalle’s earlier works in the show prove that sometimes crazy works in your favor. The first room is filled with sculptures and relief collages Phalle made in the 60’s that are jammed with creepy found objects like a rusty pair of shears or twisted baby doll figurines. The second room contains works that are much brighter by comparison with dancing female sculptures in vibrant colors ala Matisse, but they still retain a hint of macabre.

Performa 11 Launches Tuesday

When: November 1 – 21, 2011
Where: Click here for a calendar of events and locations

If you think this weekend is packed with art fun, then you’ve got another thing coming. Next Tuesday the much anticipated Performa biennial launches in NYC with three weeks of non-stop visual art performances around the city. This year’s biennial kicks off with the world premier of duo Elmgreen & Dragset’s theatrical performance “Happy Days in the Art World,” a darkly comic self-portrait of the two artists inspired by Samuel Beckett’s play Happy Days (1961).

Stay tuned for our guide to Performa next week.