Art Rx: Bushwick Open Studios Edition

The 7th Annual Bushwick Open Studios (BOS) will be the focus of this week’s Art Rx. Stretching out across Bushwick, much of Williamsburg, and neighboring Ridgewood, but strangely still not including Bedford Stuyvesant, BOS 2013 will include 604 studios, events, shows, and happenings that are impossible to navigate without some help … so that’s where we come in.

If you only have a few hours to explore BOS, we suggest you check out 56 Bogart Street and 17-17 Troutman Street, two hubs that will whet your appetite with a mix of white box galleries, nonprofits, and studio spaces. There is enough in these two buildings to keep you busy for a few hours and they are both quite centrally located.

But if you’re more adventurous, and we love the adventurous ones, then here are our more detailed suggestions. Remember, the key to enjoying an open studios event is to explore freely. Consider it all a “choose your own adventure” of sorts. And stay tuned all weekend for our regular posts and tweets (@hyperallergic or from our team) helping you get the most out of BOS.

 Galleries

Mathieu Lefevre: The Stuff Things Are Made Of at Regina Rex (17-17 Troutman Street, #329, Brooklyn, NY 11385)

Lefevre was killed in 2011 while biking in East Williamsburg. This posthumous solo show will show the brilliance of this French-Canadian artist whose work is infused with humor. He’s still an influential figure in Brooklyn’s art community.

Anna K.E. at Interstate Projects (66 Knickerbocker Avenue, Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

One of the highest quality galleries in the area, you can always be assured that Interstate will present a tightly curated show. Do yourself a favor and check this out.

Fern Dog at Norte Maar (83 Wyckoff Avenue, #1B, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

41+ artists were asked to draw gallery director Jason Andrew’s dog. Yes, this is a wacky idea but considering the line up of artists it should be a lot of fun and, most important, it captures what BOS is all about, community spirit.

Andrew Seto’s Lazy Reader at Theodore:Art (56 Bogart Street, Basement, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

This is London-based Seto’s first one-person show in the US, and I’m eager to see his take on abstract painting.

Transmissions: A mixed collaboration between Bushwick and Tokyo artists at Airplane (70 Jefferson Street, Basement, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

Two galleries, Airplane in Bushwick and a gallery in Tokyo will simultaneously co-host this exhibition, which will unfold and develop over the course of three days. Each gallery will be equipped with a video projector and a printer. Artists in each country will be invited to transmit their work abroad and what the final remix will be is anyone’s guess.

Lorimoto (16-23 Hancock Street, Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11385)

This brand new space has planned its opening to coincide with BOS, and it’s starting things off with a group show.

 Art Books & Zines

Bushwick Art Book and Zine Fair at Blonde Art Books in Schema Projects (92 St. Nicholas Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

This small art book shop will host the an art book and zine fest. Should you go? Yes. Why? Because zines are awesome.

Book Sale at Luhring Augustine Bushwick (25 Knickerbocker Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

A special sale of artist books, catalogues, and posters, including a number of rare and out of print publications.

 Artist Studios

Shaun Acton, Jessica Hargreaves, Kathleen Vance, Debra Zechowski, Yiji Hong (1013 Grand Street, #6, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11211)

An eclectic building, lots to see, including Kathleen Vance’s eco-infused sculptures.

Liz Ainslie and Desiree Leary (83 Meserole Street, #302, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

These two artists (one is a painter and one is a photographer) will make you want to look again and again.

Bruce Dow (Brooklyn Fireproof, 119 Ingraham Street, #407 Brooklyn, NY 11237)

Dow uses Eames chairs as his medium. Strange? Perhaps, but they’re mesmerizing.

Björn Meyer-Ebrecht (1182 Flushing Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

I keep recommending Meyer-Ebrecht’s studio because everything he makes is pretty astonishing. An errant modernist, his work probes our desire to endlessly manufacture utopias.

Ryan Michael Ford (513 Johnson Avenue, #2, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

In Ford’s world, comic books, surrealism, abstraction, and graffiti easily mingle.

Dennis McNett/Wolfbat Studios, Wolfbat Intergalactic (41 Varick Avenue, #415, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

McNett is a master of the sculptural print.

Rob de Oude (1717 Troutman Street, #220, Brooklyn, NY 11385)

Colorful optical abstraction is the name of the game at this studio, and an added bonus is that it is connected to Parallel Art Space, which is hosting What I Like About You, a group show of international artists organized by Brooklyn artist Julie Torres, who asked 19 international artists to select a work from a Brooklyn artist, and show that work alongside their own with a brief explanation of what drew them to that particular artists’ work.

Tyrome Tripoli (217 Troutman Street, Garage/Driveway, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

Tripoli can transform any piece of colorful garbage into art. I should mention that he’s a bit of a legend in the neighborhood.

Ashley Zelinskie at The Active Space (566 Johnson Avenue, #5, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

Robots will outlive people, and Zelinskie makes art for robots. This is art for the Singularity.

 Misc.

Walking Into the Dashboard at 3rd Ward (195 Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

Our event, co-produced with Tumblr, is back, and you can see the more concise video only version at 3rd Ward during BOS. More details here.

Bike Tour of Bushwick Agriculture (The starting point is Bushwick Campus Farm, 400 Irving Ave. Enter at Front Gate, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

This is a free guided bike tour with established locavores in the Bushwick food community. The tour will be led by Chrissy’s Cooking Club. They will visit a working farm located on a high school campus, a full hydroponic lab setup on a roof-top, a community garden, a community farm, a roof-top container garden, and more. Participants will be asked to throw in a few dollars as a tip for lunch at MoMo.

Rooftop Hydroponic Farm at the Bushwick Starr Theater (Rooftop at 207 Starr Street, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

Curious about urban farming, food justice issues, or green space, then check this out. Boswyck Farms has built a rooftop hydroponic farm in partnership with the Bushwick Starr Theater. Stop by and learn about hydroponics, and meet the local farmers.

Bushwick Community Art Market (Salad Wheel, 9 Jefferson Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

This community market will feature local artists work ranging from original paintings to prints, jewelry, zines, and sculpture.

BOS Performance Art Showcase at Brooklyn Fire Proof (119 Ingraham Street, Gallery/Cafe/Outdoor Courtyard, Brooklyn, NY 11237)

Socio-politically aware performance art will give you a flavor for the local performance art scene.

Screening of Beijing Punk and live music at Loft 594 (594 Bushwick Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

On Saturday, June 1, a special feature-length documentary shot in 2008 about Beijing’s punk and counter culture scenes will be screened. Tickets are $10. The organizers explain: “Encountering public apathy and state suspicion, the punk in China is a creature that should not exist. But we find that there is an explosion of counter culture simmering just below the surface of the Chinese psyche. The underground punk music scene in Beijing centers around a club with a name that is the same in Chinese as it is in English. D-22 has become a magnet and a cross roads for young Chinese musicians with the urge to rebel.”

Anti Fascist Poster Art: Spanish Civil War to Present at Norbert’s Pizza (1215 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11221)

A local pizzeria will line their walls with anti-fascist artwork ranging from the 1930s to the Present.