This Week in Art 1.9-1.15: Artists Call for Inauguration Day Strike

Barbara Kruger. Untitled (I shop, therefore I am), 1987. Photographic silkscreen on vinyl; 111 x 113 inches. Courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery, New York.

Barbara Kruger. Untitled (I shop, therefore I am), 1987. Photographic silkscreen on vinyl; 111 x 113 inches. Courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery, New York.

This week was all politics for Art21 roster artists. More than 130 artists and critics including Cindy Sherman, Richard Serra, Joan Jonas, Barbara KrugerTrevor Paglen, and Julie Mehretu have signed a petition calling for cultural institutions to close on the day of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, Friday, January 20. While some are skeptical of the strike’s potential impact, others argue that it’s a necessary statement against “normalizing” the new president, while others purport that the proposed strike is only sowing seeds of divisiveness.

Also this week:


Events & exhibitions

NYC

Washington D.C.

SF

  • Saturday, January 14 | 8pm—Trevor Paglen will be performing a new work titled Sight Machine for one night only at Historic Pier 70. Created in collaboration with Kronos Quartet, the piece “explores the way machines see and interpret the experience of watching a musical performance.” Get tickets.

LA

  • A new solo exhibition by Season 8 artist Theaster Gates, But To Be A Poor Race, is opening this Saturday at Regen Projects. The artist and the executive director of LAXART, Hamza Walker, will be at the gallery for a conversation about Gates’ work this Sunday, January 15 at 2pm.

London

Cape Town, South Africa

  • Goodman Gallery’s Summer Show, featuring artists Alfredo Jaar and Shirin Neshat among others is ending its month-long run this Saturday, January 14.

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!