This Week in Art 4.3-4.9: Theaster Gates & Laylah Ali Win Awards

John Baldessari. Space Available, 1966-67. Ink on canvas; 12 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches. Private collection. John Baldessari: Paintings 1966-68 is on view at Craig F. Starr Gallery April 7 through May 20, 2017.

This week artist Theaster Gates was awarded one of the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ 2017 architecture awards for the work of his nonprofit, the Rebuild Foundation, and his “exploration of ideas in architecture.”

On April 6, Laylah Ali will receive the Sam Fox School Dean’s Medal at Washington University in St. Louis—where Ali earned her MFA in 1994—for her “outstanding contributions to the field of art.”


Events & exhibitions

New York City

  • This week a new exhibition featuring some of John Baldessari’s earliest works is opening on April 7 at Craig F. Starr Gallery. John Baldessari: Paintings 1966-68 brings together experimental works, small canvases, and larger text and photo-text paintings, and is on view through May 20.
  • Jacob Lewis Gallery is hosting a reception this Thursday from 6-8pm to celebrate the opening of a new two-person exhibition featuring work by Emilio Perez and Leonardo Drew (on view April 7–May 6).
  • This is the last week to see Raymond Pettibon’s monumental exhibition at the New Museum. Raymond Pettibon: A Pen of All Work closes this Sunday, April 9.

Saratoga Springs, NY

Princeton, NJ

Providence, RI

Edinboro, PA

Fort Myers, FL

  • An opening reception for the exhibition James Franco & Kalup Linzy: Collaborations is being held at Florida SouthWestern State University’s Bob Rauschenberg Gallery on Friday, April 7 from 6-8pm. An exhibition featuring new and past work that includes an artists’-designed billboard project, Collaborations will be on view through June 3.

Denver

  • Shade, an exhibition pairing the work of artists Clyfford Still and Mark Bradford, is opening this Sunday, April 9 at both the Denver Art Museum and Clyfford Still Museum. The collaborative two-venue presentation “underscores the legacy of abstract expressionism” and will be on view through July 16.

Los Angeles

San Francisco


United Kingdom

Napoli, Italy

Helsinki, Finland


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!