Celia Paul Makes Her Own Way
Plus, Frank Stella’s collection of Navajo weavings and Martha Cooper’s iconic New York.
If there's a theme to this week's issue, it's artists going their own way. There's the incomparable Celia Paul — muse, author, painter-chronicler — who lets the "material world fall away" in her stark, desaturated portraits, John Yau writes in his review below. Her works go on view in New York for the first time in over a decade, at Gladstone Gallery in Chelsea.
Then there's Frank Stella. I don't mean his instantly recognizable geometric paintings, but rather his extensive collection of boldly colorful 19th-to-20th-century Navajo weavings, which are on view through next week at Arader Galleries on the Upper East Side. Shirking typical collecting benchmarks in favor of personal taste, he really lived with these textiles — wrapping himself up in them when he felt cold, for instance.
In that spirit of finding your own way, below, we offer you a maze of ways to get lost in art — pick your own path.
Celia Paul Transcends Her Own Mythology
She puts her own spin on autobiography, exceeding her own cult status as a monastic artist. | John Yau
What Now: 2026 Transforms Philadelphia
The five-week city-wide festival features over 30 projects created by local artists, each carefully selected by ArtPhilly's curatorial committee to deepen the artistic heart and soul of the city. These artist projects interpret the United States’s 250th anniversary and spark important conversations about its future.
Weaving Art History
A Look Into Frank Stella’s Mesmerizing Collection of Diné Textiles
The late artist’s trove of Navajo weavings is on public display for the first time at Arader Galleries in NYC ahead of a sale. | Rhea Nayyar
Keeping It Local
The Small Miracle of Greenpoint Open Studios
The annual festival, which went on hiatus during the pandemic, welcomed visitors into the workspaces of over 250 artists in the Brooklyn neighborhood. | Aaron Short
Kingston Locals Can’t Stand City’s “Soulless” New Signage
New site markers installed in the Hudson River Valley city last month have been decried as “bland,” “ugly,” and “sterile slop.” | Rhea Nayyar
From Our Critics
Imani Williford
Martha Cooper: Streetwise at Bronx Documentary Center
"Growing up in New York City is about making do and having the world as your playground. We have parks, but we also have fire escapes, fire hydrants, streets, rooftops, windowsills, alleys, and vacant lots on which to unleash our energy."
John Yau
David Humphrey: Anecdote at Kate Werble Gallery
"I now see Humphrey as a gadfly, quietly and insistently challenging the status quo not by trying to knock the train of postmodernism over, echoing the heroic mode, but by being slyly subversive, as if placing pennies on the track."
What Else Is Happening?
- Brooklyn's Borough Hall subway station is now home to a playful joint mosaic project between ruby onyinyechi amanze and Miotto Mosaic Art Studios that features swimming, aliens, bikes, and more.
- The P.I.T. in Williamsburg is screening Cultural Capital, a documentary about NYC's status as an "art capital," with a Q&A after. (Thurs June 4) [propertyistheft.org]
- Visual AIDS, The Film-Makers’ Cooperative, and MIX NYC are teaming up for a screening of 12 experimental films by queer and trans filmmakers. (Thurs June 4) [e-flux Screening Room]
- Learn how to help facilitate art builds at Many Hands Workshop! (Thurs June 4 & Tues June 9) [mobilize.us]
- Artbook @ MoMA PS1 Bookstore is hosting its sixth annual — and largest-yet — stoop sale! (Fri June 5–Sun June 7) [Artbook]
- Maysles Documentary Center is hosting a free 16mm film workshop for those aged 13–25! (Fri June 5–Sun June 7) [Mayles Documentary Center]
- King Manor Museum in Jamaica is hosting a hands-on weaving workshop! (Sat June 6) [kingmanor.org]
- The People's Forum is hosting print-making open studios at the Elizabeth Catlett Art Space! (Sat June 6 & Sat June 20) [peoplesforum.org]
- The J.M. Kaplan Fund in Chelsea is hosting a moderated conversation on three overlooked LGBTQ+ preservationists. (Tues June 9) [nyclgptsites.org]
- Visit Pigeoneer Works — that's not a typo — a fully functioning pigeon coop by artist Duke Riley, on the roof of Pioneer Works! (Ongoing) [pioneerworks.org]
- Frank Ape — a creation of artist Brandon Sines — has great guide to free and low-cost resources for NYC artists. [Frank Ape]
