Editors’ Picks: 8 Great Art and Design Events This Week

If you’re starting to feel like summer’s flying by, you’re not alone; this week heralds the Midsummer Party at the Parrish Art Museum, a cultural high point of the season for Long Island’s East End. We’re also already into the second week of MoMA’s Summer Thursdays, that series of live music performances that’s become a staple of the season.

If you prefer to keep things on the quiet side, head out to any of the myriad group shows opening around the city this week, or escape upstate to enjoy the first weekend of Magazzino Italian Art’s curated film series. It seems like the summer art season is in full swing wherever you go; enjoy it while it lasts.

Past exhibition of work by Sebastian Black at C-l-e-a-r-i-n-g, Brooklyn. Photo: C-l-e-a-r-i-n-g, Brooklyn

1. ‘Keep Me Warm’ Group Show
C-l-e-a-r-i-n-g Brooklyn

The contemporary gallery’s bright and airy Brooklyn space will be host to a trove of works by the venue’s veteran artists. Included in the lineup are Harold Ancart, Jean-Marie Apriou, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Sebastian Black, Huma Bhabha, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Aaron Garber-Maikovska, Ryan Foerster, Daniel Dewar and Gregory Gicquel, Myranda Gillies, Hugh Hayden, Marguerite Humeau, Zak Kitnick, Hannah Levy, Calvin Marcus, Marina Pinsky, Loïc Raguénès, and Lili Reynaud-Dewar.

Where: C-l-e-a-r-i-n-g, 396 Johnson Avenue, Brooklyn

When: Opens Wednesday, July 11 from 6–9pm; on view through August 10. Summer hours: Monday – Friday , 11am – 6pm

Justine Kurland, “My Mother as Eleanor.” Contact print. Photo: Courtesy of Higher Pictures

2. Justine Kurland and Bruce Kurland, ‘Airless Spaces’
Higher Pictures

This two-person exhibition pairs 4-by-5-inch contact prints by Justine Kurland with 17th-century-Dutch-inspired still life paintings by her father, Bruce. The juxtaposition of the two bodies of work serve to illustrate a unique family relationship (Bruce’s paintings appear in some of Justine’s photographs) while also building the narrative of their individual lives.

Where: Higher Pictures, 980 Madison Avenue, New York City

When: Opens Wednesday, July 11 from 6 – 8pm; on view through August 31. Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11:30am – 6:30pm

Rosemary Engstrom, “M&M S&M”, 2018. Mixed media video installation. Photo: Courtesy of ClampArt

3. Rhode Island School of Design 2018 MFA Graduate Show
ClampArt

A selection of works by graduates of Rhode Island School of Design, ranked among the world’s leading art and design schools, opens at ClampArt this Thursday. Artists on view include Chase Barnes, Erick Medel, Jay Simple, Jiehao Su, Nicholas Bridges, Rosemary Engstrom, and Shawn Bush, and the show will include a wide range of two- and three-dimensional media.

Where: ClampArt, 247 W. 29th Street, New York City

When: Opens Thursday, July 12 from 6 – 8pm; on view through July 20. Summer hours: Monday – Friday, 10am – 6pm

Recommended: Parsons Students Create Dazzling Chairs for Roche Bobois

4. Summer Thursdays: Nkumu Katalay & The “Life Long Project” Band
The Museum of Modern Art

Timed in conjunction with the exhibition “Bodys Isek Kingelez: City of Dreams,” the “Rumbianfunk” artist will be sharing his signature Afro-funk sounds for this week’s iteration of Summer Thursdays. The artist’s style developed as a mix between his upbringing in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and his move to New York in the late 1990s.

Where: The Museum of Modern Art, Sculpture Garden, 11 W. 53rd St, New York City

When: Thursday, July 12, 5:30–8pm; live music begins at 6:30pm

From “Michelangelo Pistoletto – Cento Mostre, Il Terzo Paradiso” (“One Hundred Exhibitions: The Third Paradise”) (2013), dir. Matteo Frittelli. Photo: Courtesy of Magazzino Italian Art

5. Cinema in Piazza: Piero Manzoni, Artista and Other Films
Magazzino Italian Art

Magazzino’s curated film series will take place over the course of six weekend nights. The films will focus on Italian and international Post-war artists; this week starts with Piero Manzoni, Artista (2013) and Beuys and Beuys (2006) on Friday; and Michelangelo Pistoletto – Cento Mostre, II Terzo Paradiso (2013) and Troublemakers – The Story of Land Art (2015) on Saturday. All non-English films will be translated. Tickets aren’t available at the door; purchase them here.

Where: Magazzino Italian Art, 2700 Route 9, Cold Spring

When: Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 at 8pm

How: New Yorkers can take the train to Cold Spring station; Magazzino shuttles will take visitors to and from the event.

Parrish Art Museum’s Midsummer Party, 2015. Photo: Patrick McMullen / Parrish Art Museum, Flickr

6. Midsummer Party
Parrish Art Museum

Over 500 artists, philanthropists, business leaders, and art world guests will gather for the Parrish Museum’s annual midsummer benefit, which includes a cocktail hour, dinner, and live auction; lots include extraordinary experiences like a private studio tour and dinner with one of the night’s honorees, artist Keith Sonnier, and a 10-night Baltic Radiance cruise for two. The event will culminate in an extravagant afterparty with DJ Alice Longyu Gao; get your tickets here.

Where: Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill

When: Saturday, July 14, 6:30 – 10pm

David Wojnarowicz Photo: Courtesy of the Whitney Museum

7. David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night
Whitney Museum

David Wojnarowicz is known for his haunting work—spanning painting, writing, sculpture, film and photography—that documented the period in American history darkened by the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. Adopting a range of techniques, his radical and honest work was an inspiration to many artists and often controversial. This exhibition, co-curated by David Kiehl and David Breslin, is sure to have many devotees.

Where: The Whitney Museum

When: July 13

8. Columbia University 2018 MFA Summer Show
Times Square Space

Columbia University’s MFA Summer Exhibition is always hotly anticipated. This year, the show, called ‘feel that other day running underneath this one,’ is curated by Sara O’Keeffe, associate curator at the New Museum. The yearly show presents the work of first- and second-year MFA Visual Arts students.

Where: Times Square Space, 1500 Broadway, 14th Floor

When: Tuesday, July 10, 6 – 8pm