Art Nerd NY’s top art, architecture, and design event picks – 6/29-7/5
Art Nerd New York founder Lori Zimmer shares her top art, design and architecture event picks for 6sqft readers!
If you’re staying in town for the Fourth weekend, be sure to flex your cultural muscle! Check out a mix of fine art and architecture twice this week- first catch a slice of the Vatican at Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus, then head to the Park Armory for a project by Ai Weiwei and Herzog & deMeuron. Spend some time in City Hall Park with Katja Novitskova’s new series of sculptures, then relax in the rarely-opened New York Marble Cemetery for a group show by Ugo Rondinone. Party it up on the cobblestone streets of Wooster for their annual block party, then grab a blanket and catch Brigitte Bardot on the big screen under the stars. Finally, experience Paris’ Urban Arts Fair at Spring Street Studios- and check out a book signing with me on Friday!
UP CLOSE: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ↑
Westfield WTC, 185 Greenwich Street
Through July 23
A taste of Italy comes to the Oculus! Check out life-size reproductions of the most famous ceiling in the world, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, inside the incredible Oculus.
Katja Novitskova’s EARTH POTENTIAL ↑
City Hall Park
Through November 9
Scattered throughout City Hall Park are seven large aluminum sculptures featuring online-sourced, digitally-printed images of the Earth, celestial objects, and enlarged, seemingly alien but terrestrial organisms, exploring Novitskova’s interest in science, the internet, and SciFi.
Hansel & Gretel- Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron with Ai Weiwei ↑
Park Avenue Armory, 894 Lexington Avenue
Through August 6
Our current culture of consistent surveillance is explored in this incredible exhibition collaboration between artist and architects, that takes over the main hall of the armory. Visitors are asked to explore the dark paths while being monitored by drones.
Urban Art Fair ↑
Spring Studios, 6 Saint Johns Lane
Thursday, June 29-Monday, July 3
The popular Parisian fair comes to New York for the first time, bringing the finest in graffiti, street art, and urban art from its beginnings to current leaders in the genre. Programming includes a talk by seminal East Village Fun Gallery founder Patti Astor, as well as a book signing by yours truly with Crash, Logan Hicks, Nick Walker and Joe Iurato.
Wooster Street Block Party ↑
Wooster Street
Thursday, June 29, 6:00-8:00pm
Celebrate with the local shops and organizations along the historic cast-iron buildings and cobble-stoned streets.
French Films on the Green: Jim Jarmusch’s pick: Contempt ↑
Transmitter Park, 2 Greenpoint Avenue
Friday, June 30, 8:30pm
Grab a blanket and a bottle of wine to check out a free viewing of Brigitte Bardot in “Contempt,” chosen by Jim Jarmusch.
Ugo Rondinone: I ♥︎ John Giorno- Welcoming the Flowers ↑
New York Marble Cemetery, 41 1/2 Second Avenue
Saturday, July 1, 2:30pm
The gorgeous cemetery is a truly magical place- hidden as a lush oasis behind a funeral home in the East Village. The massive group exhibition is part of the multi-venue “I ♥︎ John Giorno”, which inspects queer overlap of reading and performance in contemporary North American poetry, trace the broad influence of Giorno’s poetics.
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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 is also the author of two books, The Art of Cardboard: Big Ideas for Creativity, Collaboration, Storytelling, and Reuse and The Art of Spray Paint. Follow her on Twitter @ArtNerdNY or Instagram @TheLoriZimmer
