Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 1/21-1/27
In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top picks for 6sqft readers!
It may not be Armory week, but you can still get your art fair fill at the sixth annual Outsider Art Fair, which showcases non-traditional and untrained artists (think Henry Darger and modern counterparts). Taxidermy artist Joseph Grazi invites you to hear his musical side, and Mickalene Thomas shares her photographer inspirations at Aperture. Adrian Villar Rojas talks about his otherworldly sculptures with the Public Art Fund, and stencil legend Nick Walker takes up residence at the Quin. You can push your art experience to learn more about love with Lainie Love Dalby, or experience the aesthetics of Jessica Calderwood. Finish up the week with the Victorian sensibilities of Allison Sommers at Last Rites.
Nick Walker as curated by DK Johnston ↑
The Quin, 101 West 57th Street
January 21, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
British street art legend Nick Walker is the Quin Hotel’s first ever artist-in-residence. Tonight, he shares 25 new works.
Outsider Art Fair ↑
Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street
January 21-24
Outsider Art, aka Art Brut, aka Raw Art, is officially art created outside of the art scene, by untrained artists, with some historically having been diagnosed with mental illness. Set up like any other art fair, the OAF includes a mix of modern self-taught artists and historical works by eerie legends like Henry Darger.
“Flora and Flesh” by Jessica Calderwood ↑
RR Gallery at Reinstein|Ross, 30 Gansevoort Street
January 21, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
The RR Gallery on Gansevoort and Hudson is known for fusing fine jewelry with art jewelry and other artworks that inspire a finer aesthetic. Tonight join the Meatpacking space for a new show by multidisciplinary artist Jessica Calderwood. The exhibition will be a mix of Jessica’s enamel paintings, jewelry, and ceramic sculptures.
Ferrari Truck at Joseph Gross Gallery ↑
548 West 28th Street
January 21, 9:30 p.m.
Artist Joseph Grazi is known and loved for his massive sculptures (often featuring taxidermy bats). Tonight, he closes out the gallery’s winter show with an acoustic set by his band Ferrari Truck that shows off the visual artist’s musical talents.
Va Va Venus: Expanding Hearts at the Temple of Love ↑
BHATI Space for Creative Wellness, 1099 Flushing Avenue, Suite 307, Brooklyn
January 23, 3:00-6:00 p.m.
Performance artist, love guru and minister Lainie Love Dalby joins Go Pushpops for a truly different experience all about love. Instead of the typical pseudo-snubbed art experience, take a step inside Dalby’s Temple of Love, and reconnect with yourself, your lover, or the beauty of art around you.
“What Passing Bells”: A. W. Sommers Solo exhibition ↑
Last Rites Gallery, 325 West 38th Street
January 23, 7:00 p.m.
Allison Sommer’s miniature drawings and watercolors have amazed me for years. Her ability to render the morbid and grotesque with a gauzy haze of delicacy makes the subject almost glamorous (the Victorians would have approved). Tonight’s show is a slight departure from her previous work, inspired by a poem by Wilfred Owen whose text is incorporated into Britten’s “War Requiem,” and incorporating collage into her multi-layered drawings and paintings.
Public Art Fund Talks: Adrian Villar Rojas ↑
The New School, 66 West 12th Street Auditorium
January 25, 6:30 p.m.
The Public Art Fund’s talks are always a great way to get inside their featured artists’ heads. Tonight they talk with Rojas, whose sculptural work looks like it was lifted from ancient times–or apocalyptic and mythological realities. Either way, the massive creations are otherworldly and downright magical.
“Muse: Mickalene Thomas Photographs” and “tête-à-tête” ↑
Aperture Foundation and Gallery, 547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor
January 27, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Mickalene Thomas’s portraits are just as lush as her iconic large-scale, multi-textured, and rhinestone-encrusted paintings. Tonight, experience Thomas’ own photographs, as well as a slew of artists who have inspired her.
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Lori Zimmer is a writer, curator and founder of Art Nerd New York, an off-beat art history guide to the city. Lori also recently released her first book through Rockport Publishers, The Art of Cardboard: Big Ideas for Creativity, Collaboration, Storytelling, and Reuse. Follow her on Twitter @LoriZimmer.
