Jeff Koons’s Trumpian Reflections
The African diaspora pictures itself, James Castle dreams of transcendence, and more to get you through a freezing week in New York.
"As I stood and looked at it on a drizzly gray day," John Yau writes of looking at a radiant painting by Edward Zutrau, "I forgot that it was raining." That's what art can do — stop you in your tracks, make you forget absolutely everything save for that essential encounter between you and the work.
On the other hand, there are some art experiences you wish you could forget. Yau also paid a visit to Gagosian's Jeff Koons show — and then shredded it in a review you definitely don't want to miss. (Take it from an editor, it's not often that a review makes you laugh aloud.)
It's still a blanket of white (and maybe more than a little gray) outside, and it might be just a bit too treacherous yet to make the rounds. But know that in art spaces all around the city, the beautiful, the bad, and the depraved await you. Until then, let our pieces below bring the outside world to you.
Jeff Koons’s Reflective Sculptures Mirror the One Percent
If any living artist needs a bit of self-reflection, it might be Jeff Koons. Too bad there's an utter lack of it in these mirrored sculptures, John Yau writes, before going on to compare them to Trump's gaudy new 90,000-foot ballroom. Oof.
Request for Proposals: Operator for the Harlem African Burial Ground Cultural Education Center
Learn about this opportunity to develop a cultural education center at the historic East Harlem site during informational sessions in January and February.
From Our Critics
Imani Wiliford
Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination at the Museum of Modern Art
"It presents an opportunity to examine what happens when the African diaspora defines itself and prioritizes its cultural habitus as a way of existing in the world."
John Yau
Edward Zutrau: Thirty Years, Two Worlds at Lincoln Glenn
"One can see where Zutrau added more paint to his brush and continued drawing the line, which slowly encircles the painting’s surface with a seismographic sensitivity that registers the hand’s determination and vulnerability."
What Else Is Happening?
- Marian Goodman, a giant of a gallerist, has died at 97.
- Queens Museum leader Sally Tallant stepped down after a mixed seven-year record to helm London's Hayward Gallery.
- Creative Time also got a new director and return employee — Jean Cooney, who comes from Times Square Arts.
- The newly reopened Studio Museum in Harlem evacuated visitors after a sprinkler emergency. Don't fret — everyone's safe, including visitors, art workers, and art — but they'll be closed until Saturday, Feb 7, for repairs.
- If your heat's out (or even if it isn't), the Laundromat Project has free hot chocolate. (Tues Jan 27) [instagram.com]
- Photographer Jamel Shabazz will be in conversation with Laylah Amatullah Barrayn about his newest book about Prospect Park at the Center for Brooklyn History. (Tues Jan 27) [bklynlibrary.org]
- Artists Megumi Shauna Arai, Gi (Ginny) Huo, Melissa Joseph, and curator Sofia Thiệu D’Amico will be in conversation at Asia Art Archive in America. (Thurs Jan 29) [aaa-a.org]
- Artist Larry W. Cook and scholar and curator Nicole R. Fleetwood will be discussing contemporary photography among artists impacted by the carceral system at Flex Space. (Fri Jan 30) [tiltinstitute.com]
- Li-Ming Hu will perform a piece based on a lecture by Andrea Fraser at Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture's New York office. (Fri Jan 30) [eventbrite.com]
- The Museum of the Moving Image is kicking off its new Touch Object Experience, in which visitors can feel cameras, life masks, and more. (Sat Jan 31) [movingimage.org]
- Brooklyn Reuse is teaming up with the Brooklyn Public Library to host a craft supply swap. (Through Sat Jan 31) [bklynlibrary.org]
- In honor of Philip Glass's birthday (and the 229th anniversary of Franz Schubert's birth), WKCR radio station will be blasting a 24-hour broadcast. (Sat Jan 31) [instagram.com]
- Boyfriend Co-op is hosting an art market fundraiser for Artists Unite for Palestine. (Sat Jan 31) [instagram.com]
- The Dyckman Farmhouse is offering guided tours every Friday and Saturday this season. (Through Mar 21) [instagram.com]
