Art reigns supreme in the summer. With countless outdoor installations to look forward to and many New York City art galleries preparing their summer shows for the new season, there is always something to see. That is, if you’re in Chelsea. We’re only partly kidding. While its true that much of the city’s art scene has moved south toward 22nd Street, some steadfast spaces still remain on the Lower East Side and Midtown. Here are our top 10 picks for the city’s must-see art gallery shows of the summer.
1. Old Truths & New Lies At Rachel Uffner
Rachel Uffner Gallery opened in 2008, owned by its namesake, a former director of the D’Amelio Terras Gallery in Chelsea. The shows here at its quaint location on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side take on a thoughtfully arranged disorder. The gallery’s current show, “Old Truths & New Lies,” was arranged with the purpose of being the “antithesis of a white male abstract painting show,” according to its curator, Fae Matto, but gradually took on its own form away from the reactionary. The show comprises a collection of paintings, fabrics and installation pieces. It is, in a word, eclectic, but unified by its minimalism, a rare feat for a show containing the works of nine different multi-genre artists. It will be open until July 31st.
2. The Ethics of Desire at Hauser & Wirth
Sitting near the water next to Chelsea Piers is Hauser & Wirth, formerly a Swiss modern art gallery founded by Ivan and Manuela Wirth and Ursula Hauser in 1992. It has since grown into an international enterprise with locations in Zurich, London, and two galleries in New York. It’s summer show, “The Ethics of Desire,” features the uncannily frank works by Ida Applebroog, whose depictions of simplified human forms with bold outlines, showcased in their entirety throughout Hauser & Wirth’s 18th Street location, were developed when she arrived in New York in the mid 1970s. Her canvases cover the walls, but also hang from the ceiling as well in arranged formations. Often, the viewer is forcefully pulled into these unusual situations by the surrounding figures, demonstrating Applebroog’s fascination with “the polemics of human relations.” The show ends July 31st.
3. Lee Ufan at Pace
Pace Gallery has outlasted most city galleries, founded in Boston in 1960 and expanding to five locations in New York City. One of its principle spaces on 57th Street is currently the home of Lee Ufan‘s newest show, the artist’s first in New York since his 2011 survey at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Ufan, active since the 60s, was one of the pioneers of the avant-garde ‘Mono-Ha’ (School of Things) group that rose to prominence around that time. One of his most recognizable styles, on full display at Pace is the single wide-angle paintbrush stroke on white canvas, sometimes full color, sometimes in a shaded ombré. Ufan’s work also includes several minimalist installation works using flat marble and stones. The end result is not unlike an industrial zen garden. The show continues through August 21st.
4. MAGiCSTANCE at On Stellar Rays
On Stellar Rays doesn’t quite strike you as a gallery as immediately as do most of New York’s prime spaces. The place’s name comes from a 9th century text by the famed Arab philosopher Alkindus, and showcases a number of eclectic and genre-bending artists. It’s current summer show, called “MAGiCSTANCE,” is actually a new installment in artist JJ PEET‘s “Stilifes” series. The works, though sculptural, elicit the careful arrangement of paintings. Each piece captures an unconventional mix of found objects, cobbled together in such unexpected ways that their form, not their function, takes centerstage. “MAGiCSTANCE” continues at On Stellar Rays until July 31st.
5. onthisisland at Cheim & Read
Cheim & Read was founded in 1997 by John Cheim and Howard Read and is known for its international mix of artists and exhibitions. It opened its summer show at its airy Chelsea location on West 25th Street, “onthisisland,” or the sixth solo exhibition by frequent collaborator Jack Pierson. The show consists of a number of watercolor and graphite works on paper surrounding a large installation of drift wood on and around a table. Like most of Pierson’s works, “onthisisland” shows an acute awareness of nature and its design, reminiscent in the many drawings and paintings that surround the drift wood. The show remains open until August 29th.
6. Hello Walls at Gladstone
Gladstone Gallery was founded by Barbara Gladstone 30 years ago after a career as an art history at Hofstra University. This summer, it premiers “Hello Walls,” a show composed of the works of multiple artists installed directly on the gallery’s walls. The show, which includes several wall-spanning paintings, typographics, and abstracts, fills the gallery’s space, despite the floors being empty, through their size, often spanning floor to ceiling and across the room. “Hello Walls,” featuring the works of sixteen different artists each contributing an addition to the exhibit on a space of the gallery’s wall, will remain open until July 31st.
7. This Room at Klaus Von Nichtssagend
Klaus Von Nichtssagend, believe it or not, is a made-up name for the gallery founded by Ingrid Kennedy and Sam Wilson. It opened in the Lower East Side in 2011 and currently houses its summer show, “This Room.” The show, taking up the entire gallery, is composed of the works of four artists who created four very different works in a single space. The effect of their juxtaposition is a room you can’t quite see all at once. Granted, the space is small, but as the individual pieces are so different, the room takes on multiple contexts and atmospheres, all somehow occupying the same space. The show will remain open until August 1st.
8. A Moment at Paul Kasmin
“A Moment” is the latest show from Brooklyn-based Spanish painter Santi Moix, whose large-scale floral paintings, and the sixth solo exhibition at Paul Kasmin Gallery since 2007. According to the press release, the show deals with a popular theme for Moix, that of “saturated biomorphic forms” that appear both concrete and abstract at times. Surreal depictions of plant and animal life line the walls at Paul Kasmin, taking on a substance of their own that seems to add a new element to their natural existence. The show is open until August 14th.
9. By the Book at Sean Kelly
Sean Kelly Gallery was founded in 1991 by its Brittish-born namesake and operated privately until 1995. In 2001, it moved to its far more spacious Chelsea location on 29th Street, like many of the galleries on this list. It’s current show, “By the Book,” a collaborative effort centered on literature and its role in contemporary art. The works range from paintings to sculptures to displays on the walls and also accompany a pop-up bookstore near the front gallery space by the German publishing house Hatje Cantz. The show will remain open until July 31st.
10. De Wain Valentine At David Zwirner
David Zwirner Gallery, opened for the first time in SoHo in 1993, has since expanded to two locations in the Chelsea area. Once every few years, it hosts the latest show from Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, and attracts thousands to its doors every day. On its relative downtime, it features and array of the most respected and renowned artists in the world. Its summer show, a survey from Minimalist sculptor De Wain Valentine, features a number of the artist’s pieces from the 1960s and 70s. Many of the sculptures are colored polyester resins, arranged throughout the space in the form of disks, columns, and shapes resembling that of natural minerals. The show will remain open until August 7th.
Next, read about 20 outdoor art installations this July in NYC. Get in touch with the author @jinwoochong.
