Art and Power Collide in New York City
The Epstein files rip through the art world's elite, yet hope emerges in the work of Goya, Amazonian artists, and three millennia of storytellers.
Call it conceited, call it tunnel vision, call it East Coast elitism or editorial hyperbole, but sometimes it really does feel like everything in the world runs through New York City. That drifted through my mind a lot this week, as I, alongside Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia, visited a number of wonderful exhibitions to put together our guide to what to see around the city right now. I thought not just about the content of the work on view — which ranges through the Amazon River, multiple national revolutions, and three millennia of storytelling — but also everything underpinning it: What history, iniquity, or (we can only hope) redemption strains through the cracks of the present?
This week, the New York art world contends with a deep rot that has hollowed it out from the inside, implicating David A. Ross, former head of the Whitney Museum and chair of the MFA art practice program at the School of Visual Arts, and Leon Black, who somehow still sits on the board at MoMA today, with surely more to come. It can feel deflating to lay claim to any part of such a system.
But there's this shot from Alison Nguyen's film at Storefront for Art and Architecture that I can't get out of my mind. With the lights of Manhattan's City Hall looming in the background, the artist fires arrow after arrow at some unseen target off-screen. It's a guerrilla action of almost embarrassing smallness — a handful of arrows against colossal, labyrinthine networks of power. But it's also a hopeful act: Keep at it, and something might just land.
Speaking of which — we've been at it for 16 years and counting. We're not owned by some megacorporation that compromises our politics, or, god forbid, a billionaire. Please consider supporting us with a paid membership today.
Five Shows to See in New York City Right Now
The Morgan Library & Museum tells the story of storytelling, the National Museum of the American Indian shows off the luxurious breadth of Indigenous glasswork in the United States, Goya issues a brutal warning in his Disasters of War series at the Hispanic Society, and still more.
Pratt Manhattan Gallery Presents “RugLife”
Sculptural carpets, woven works, and reimagined textiles by 14 contemporary artists examine housing, technology, social justice, and the environment.
From Our Critics
John Yau
Julia Fish at David Nolan Gallery
"You go wherever they lead you, not because you immediately know what is going on, but because of the deep, inimitable pleasure of connecting your self-reflective thinking to the external experience of looking."
Joanne Greenbaum: Amnesia at Nino Meier gallery
"Her tour de force compositions feel discovered in the process of their becoming."
What Else Is Happening?
- Local artist Phil Buehler unveiled a memorial display listing the names of the approximately 18,500 children Israel killed in Gaza in the last few years.
- Mnuchin Gallery will shutter after the death of its founder, Robert Mnuchin.
- The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is hosting free organ concerts! The next one's tonight. (Tues Feb 10) [stjohndivine.org]
- Mantua Nangala and Yukultji Napangati will be delivering a free performance consisting of singing and dancing inma in conjunction with their exhibition at Salon 94. RSVP to RSVP@salon94.com. (Thurs Feb 12, 7pm)
- Are you a Red Hook artist? Hometown Bar-B-Que is hosting its monthly hangout. (Thurs Feb 12) [instagram]
- Films by John Waters, Nan Goldin, Joan Jonas, and more will be screening at Judson Memorial Church. (Fri Feb 13) [New American Cinema Group, Inc]
- The Archivists Round Table is hosting a tour of Shigeko Kubota's archive. (Fri Feb 13) [nycarchivists.org]
- Artist and experimental musician Lizzi Bougatsos will be performing at Amant. (Fri Feb 13) [amant.org]
- You can get an aura photo, a flash tattoo, and find love, all in one place — at littlefield's 'Til Death Do You Valentine's Party. Profits go to the Immigrant Defense Project. (Sat Feb 14) [eventbrite]
- The Bronx County Historical Society will be teaching visitors how to scan old photos, flyers, and other documents and digitize them at the Mott Haven Public Library for free! (Tues Feb 17) [beyonk.com]
- Bring donations of records, books, zines — anything and everything — to multiple locations to support Lower East Side arts center ABC No Rio. (Through Thurs Feb 26) [instagram]
- Donate unwanted paint for the lucky artists who will be painting New York City garbage trucks! (ongoing) [nyc.gov]
