Martin Puryear. Big Bling in Madison Square Park, 2016. Photo by Scott Lynch for Gothamist.
This week’s art news highlights are largely community-based, involving one of our all-time favorite things: bringing visual art to as many people as possible.
- Ever wanted to own a work by Jeff Koons? Now you can, if your phone is a Nexus! Last week Google released three limited edition phone cases complete with custom backgrounds designed by the artist.
- Martin Puryear’s 40-foot public sculpture Big Bling officially opens today in Madison Square Park. The New York Times writes that the sculpture commands the park “like a kind of Trojan horse.’’
- The Wall Street Journal named Julie Mehretu the first of Five African Artists to Watch.
- And Mary Mattingly’s floating food forest, Swale, is only $11,911 away from becoming a reality. If you care about sustainable, responsible agriculture, check out the Swale’s Kickstarter.
Events & exhibitions
NYC
- Two exhibitions of Richard Serra’s work are currently on view at Gagosian galleries until July 29th:
- Serra’s steel sculpture NJ-1 can be seen at Gagosian’s 21st Street gallery,
- And his works Above Below Betwixt Between, Every Which Way, Silence (for John Cage) and Through are on view at Gagosian’s 24th Street location. [Read a review of both exhibitions in the New York Times.]
USA
- DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA — Laurie Anderson is performing Language of the Future at Moogfest on Saturday, and participating in an artist talk at the festival on Sunday.
- SANTA FE — Kiki Smith’s latest exhibition, Woven Tales, opened last Friday at Peters Projects. [Read a review in the Santa Fe New Mexican.]
- SAN ANTONIO — Richard Tuttle is visiting the Southwest School of Art as part of the Linda Pace Visiting Artists Lecture series. His lecture takes place Friday, May 20, at 6:30 pm in the Russell Hill Rogers Lecture Hall, and is free and open to the public.
- HOUSTON — This week is the last chance to see William Kentridge: Zeno Writing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The exhibition closes this Wednesday, May 18th.
- LOS ANGELES — Elliott Hundley’s new exhibition There Is No More Firmament opened Friday at Regen Projects where it will remain on view until June 18th.
Around the world
- ATHENS — Ai Weiwei is opening his first show in Greece this Friday, May 20th with the exhibition Ai Weiwei at Cycladic at the Museum of Cycladic Art. Ten percent of the exhibition’s proceeds will be donated to the refugee crisis.
- LONDON — Jeff Koons: Now opens this Wednesday at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery.
- CARLOW, IRELAND — A new exhibition of Yinka Shonibare’s work titled Recreating the Pastoral is on view at Visual Carlow until June 19th. [Read a review in The Irish Times.]
- BERLIN — A series of lecture-perfomances by William Kentridge are happening July 5th through the 17th at the Foreign Affairs Festival. Two exhibitions by the artist are also currently on view:
- Martin-Gropius-Bau’s NO IT IS! is up until August 21st,
- And Entirely Not So is on view at Kewenig Galerie until July 30th.
It’s impossible to include all the incredible exhibitions and art events happening this week in a single post. If there’s something you feel should have been included in today’s roundup, leave a comment below!
