What We Have Left: The Best in Art This Weekend
I admire the people who have smart and thoughtful things to say today. I especially admire the people who are hopeful, and remain committed to their work, and remain committed to being a part of what comes next. I am not so smart, and I do not have any resolve, and I am confused. And so I’m glad that I have this weekly art roundup to write, and no one is expecting me to say anything worthwhile: I can do what I do best, which is to offer other people’s work as solace in the face of and as an explanation for The Great Confusion.
There is a lot to see. Please do not mope; do not be lazy. Get out there and appreciate the good work people continue to do, and then use what you learn to get (and stay) politically awake and organized.
THE MET BREUER: MASTRY — KERRY JAMES MARSHALL
Most people have seen this already. If you’re one of them, I suggest seeing it again. Peter Schjeldahl, in the New Yorker, wrote that this show had a “breakthrough feel: the suggestion of a new normal, in art and in the national consciousness.” I hate to say it, but this morning makes Schjeldahl seem wrong. Go see Kerry James Marshall and remind yourself of Marshall’s exhilarating commitment to blackness, to celebration, and to painting. Exhibition open through January 29, 2017. Image: Past Times, Kerry James Marshall.
PROSPECT PARK, LEFFERTS HISTORIC HOUSE: MONUMENT TO THE UNELECTED—NINA KATCHADOURIAN
The first thing I read this morning was Hrag Vartanian’s insomniac post-election post on Hyperallergic. In response to the main question—what are we supposed to do?—he wrote: “We will build new partnerships and solidarities, challenge old and broken models, and make something better, stronger, and, yes, more diverse.” I hope so. Hrag also covered, recently, an installation by Nina Katchadourian at the Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park. It’s a collection of yard signs from losing campaigns, and today, Nina will add the Clinton/Kaine sign (she made both). In an installation that’s easier to read as an invocation of forgotten times, that addition will be a reminder, hopefully, that losing doesn’t mean it’s over. Installation open through Sunday, November 13. Image: Hrag Vartanian for Hyperallergic.
UNISEX SALON + DOPPELGÄNGER PROJECTS: ROSETTA
Six artists come together in this group show curated by Doppelgänger projects. The exhibition promises lights, and color, and a little mysticism, and, if the title is any indication, a key to understanding—something, anything. Opening: Saturday, November 12 6:00PM — 8:00PM. Image: Unisex Salon, via Instagram.
MARVIN GARDENS: BUNNICULA — ADRIANNE RUBENSTEIN, JENNIFER SULLIVAN
“Let us not grow weary,” Clinton said in her concession speech, quoting Galations, “let us not lose heart.” Adrianne Rubenstein and Jennifer Sullivan’s paintings and sculpture in this wonderful show—titled Bunnicula, after a vegetable-juice-sucking vampire bunny—are a playfully dark, disturbing, hilarious look at femininity. We cannot lose a sense of humor about women, about gender, about anything. This will help. Get there before it closes Sunday. Exhibition open through Sunday, November 13. Image: Marvin Gardens.
