NEW
The Body Politic: Long Island Biennial 2024
The Heckscher Museum of Art presents the 2024 Long Island Biennial. It is the 8th edition of the juried show and the first to be a themed competition. The exhibition features artwork by 60 contemporary artists from across Nassau & Suffolk counties. In this year of global elections, as some 60 countries representing half of the world's populations hold regional and national leadership votes-The Heckscher Museum of Art invited Long Island artists to submit work that engages with contemporary social, cultural, or political issues. 762 artwork entries were received, with 79 selected for exhibition representing artists living in communities stretching from Floral Park to Montauk.
2. A Journey Untitled I; Untitled II; Untitled III; Untitled IV; Untitled V
Over the span of five decades, Oliver Lee Jackson has developed a singular practice, creating complex and layered work in which figuration melds with abstract fields of vivid color. While Jackson is better known for his expressive, figurative paintings, the artist also has a robust sculptural practice that he has honed over his long career. The works on view on the High Line were produced by the artist for this exhibition. Since 2020 Jackson has constructed several monumental slotted steel sculptures, largely based on smaller works of his from the late 1990s. The artist honors his utilitarian material, and yet the painted, cut, and pockmarked surfaces animate the sculptures beyond their material properties.
The sharp angles and abstract shapes Jackson cuts from the steel coalesce into elegant, perceptible figures. In Untitled II, a male figure with truncated legs is rendered in purple and black with a red heart covered in gold leaf attached to his steel chest. A tray of pencils and a bowl of coins indicate the figure’s humble circumstances while the massive form exudes physical power—an ambiguity of references that underlies much of Jackson’s work.
A number of the works on view also continue Jackson’s exploration of a minimal “stick figure” approach to figuration.
Two distinct head motifs are repeated in Jackson’s presentation; topped with a simple red/orange hat, Untitled I features two faces painted with rudimentary, but distinct, expressions on each side. Untitled V is an abstract sculptural interpretation formed from three interlocking steel plates painted in white with blue trim, and eyes, birds, flowers, and other imagery rendered in black on the outward-facing side to further animate the form.
On view at the Western Rail Yards, Oliver Lee Jackson’s energetic work complements the section’s simple gravel pathway and original self-seeded, wild landscape.
LAST CHANCE
3. Jean-Andre Antoine From Prince St. with Love
Closes Sunday, September 29
Rather than roaming the city looking for scenes to capture candidly, street photographer Jean-Andre Antoine returns to his "office," the same bustling corner of Prince and Broadway in SoHo several days a week and waits for his subjects to approach him, occasionally asking “the originals” (his term for distinct New Yorkers), for a portrait. In this installation, you will see New Yorkers of all kinds: writers, street artists, musicians, models, filmmakers, and many unnamed, of various ages and backgrounds captured on Antoine’s 1947 Crown Graphic camera. He leans into the rarity of both his subjects and materials, capturing special, fleeting moments on Prince Street.
On view at Fotografiska New York the over 50 original polaroids on view in this installation have been selected from Antoine’s personal archive. Antoine’s 1947 Crown Graphic camera uses an instant film that has long been discontinued, so along with the brevity of these chance encounters, there is a rarity to the materials he uses. The artist sources this film from around the world and continues his practice with the understanding that the amount of this usable film in existence is decreasing with each photograph he takes. Because the film is expired, it often comes with built-in distortions that add another layer of unpredictability and irreproducibility to the images that he takes. The unpredictability of the film, chaos of the city streets, and the uniqueness of each subject combine in an instant to make each singular photograph.
4. Fall-O-Ween
Opens Saturday, September 28
The tricks and treats of fall come to life at New York Botanical Garden with plentiful pumpkins, gourds, and ghouls—and all sorts of fun-filled activities to celebrate this season of frights and foliage!
Day or night, there’s fun for all ages from pumpkin carving face-offs, to the return of the popular beer sampling event, Bales & Ales. Enjoy an evening light trail on select nights for kids (and adults!) to show off their Halloween costumes. Come savor the season as autumn in the Bronx brings vibrant color to our backyard!
5. Playing with Design: Gameboards, Art, and Culture
On view at the American Folk Art Museum this exhibition features over 100 handmade gameboards. The presentation includes early examples of classic games of Parcheesi, checkers, and chess, as well as hand-painted iterations of Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders made in the United States between the mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
Playing with Design is divided into thematic sections that explore ideas of history, culture, design, and craftsmanship within American game-playing. Some examples evoke the familiarity of contemporary games, while others give material shape to historical ideals, including morality, religion, patriotism, entrepreneurship and imagination.
The gameboards on view speak to underlying concepts of adventure and risk-taking as fundamental to American life, as seen through games organized around the themes of a train journey, a whaling expedition, or a trip around the world. The exhibition also explores the shift toward modernism at the turn of the twentieth century, relating the bold, geometric colors of hand-painted boards to the work of celebrated painters such as Piet Mondrian, Ellsworth Kelly and Jasper Johns.