Come explore the current 7 best art exhibitions in New York, curated exclusively for Behind the Scenes NYC by the art expert, Gisela Gueiros!
Our friend, contributor and art expert, Gisela Gueiros, sent us a list of the current 7 best art exhibitions in New York!
Take a look below to see what you love best, or…just go explore them all!
Tarsila do Amaral – MoMA
“Tarsila is one of the most important figures for Latin American modern art history. The show at MoMA is her first in the US and features her work from the 20s and 30s. Pay special attention to the painting ‘Abaporu’, 1928.”
Tarsila was born in 1886, in São Paulo, Brazil. In her early 20’s she moved to Paris to study at the renowned art school, Académie Julian. During these years she has to opportunity with working with important names like Fernand Léger, a renowned French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker.
The exhibition is named “Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil” and…
“…focuses on her pivotal production from the 1920s, when she navigated the art worlds of both São Paulo and Paris, and charts her involvement with an increasingly international artistic community, as well as her critical role in the emergence of modernism in Brazil.”
The exhibition unites over 100 paintings, photographs, drawing, sketches and historical documents.
Tarsila painted “Abaporu” in 1928 for her husband and famous Brazilian poet, Oswald de Andrade. It’s explained that:
“This landmark painting inspired the Manifesto of Anthropophagy, and became the banner for a transformative artistic movement, which imagined a specifically Brazilian culture arising from the symbolic digestion—or artistic “cannibalism”—of outside influences.”
Live through: June 3rd, 2018
Location: 11 West 53rd Street
Gordon Matta-Clark – Bronx Museum
“Totally worth the trip to the Bronx, ‘Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect’ examines the artist’s pioneering interventions in urban spaces. It features more than 100 works including rarely seen materials from his archive.”
This New York-born artist was born in 1943 and became well known for his site-specific art works in the 1970’s. He passed away at a very early age of pancreatic cancer, in 1978 (35-years old), but left a remarkable legacy.
Gordon went to Cornell University to study architecture, spent a year at Sorbonne in Paris, studying French literature and documented his work through videos and photography.
He’s best known for his unique series ‘building cuts’ (1972 – 1978), where he removed entire structures, carving them out and eventually naming these transformations “Anarchitecture”.
Live through: April 8th, 2018
Location: 1040 Grand Concourse
Dan Flavin – David Zwirner Gallery
“From 1963 on, Flavin would only use fluorescent light to create installations – or “situations,” as he preferred to call them – of light and color until his passing in 1996. The show examines his production during the 60s.”
The exhibition is named “Dan Flavin: in daylight or cool white”. Flavin was born in 1933, in Jamaica, New York City.
His minimalistic aesthetics was recognized and celebrated throughout his career and his work with fluorescent lighting truly shaped it.
Live through: April 14th, 2018
Location: 537 West 20th Street
Ellsworth Kelly – Flag Art Foundation
“Curated by his widow, photographer Jack Shear, the exhibition focuses on Kelly’s works in black and white, including drawings, paintings, photographs, and sculptures made in the first and last decade of the artist’s career.”
Ellsworth Kelly was born in Newburgh, New York in the year of 1923.
He served during World War II and when he returned to the US, he concluded his studies at Boston Museum School, then headed to École des Beaux-Arts, in Paris.
Jack Shear is currently the President of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation and continues his photography work, while living in Spencertown, New York.
Live from: February 23rd – May 19th, 2018
Location: 545 West 25th Street, 9th Floor
Zoe Leonard – Whitney Museum
“Opening soon, this show will be a must see! Zoe Leonard is one of the most remarkable artists of her generation. The exhibition looks across Leonard’s engagement with the history of photography, gender and sexuality, loss and mourning, migration, displacement, and the urban landscape.”
“Zoe Leonard: Survey is the first large-scale overview of the artist’s work in an American museum. The exhibition looks across Leonard’s career to highlight her engagement with a range of themes. More than it focuses on any particular subject, however, Leonard’s work slowly and reflectively calibrates vision and form.”
Leonard was born in Liberty, New York, in 1961. Her work primarily focuses on photography and sculptures.
She dropped out of school at an early age and moved to New York City to start shooting. It was the perfect place for her to shoot graffiti, apartment buildings, street, sidewalks and other details that captured her attention and her keen eye.
Leonard is known for her work as an activist in AIDS advocacy and Queer politics in New York.
Leonard’s Speech at the Highline, starts with “I want a dike for President…” Definitely worth reading!
Live from: March 2nd – June 10th, 2018
Location: 99 Gansevoort Street
Thomas Demand – Matthew Marks Gallery
“It is hard to believe that all that you see in Thomas Demand’s work are sculptures made of paper, he then photographs. Each Daily depicts an everyday scene originally captured by the artist on his cell phone re-created in paper and cardboard.”
“On a pair of separate video monitors suspended from the ceiling, two short films play on continuous loop. The films were created through a similar process, starting out as paper models before being photographed and animated in stop motion.”
In this upcoming exhibition, divided into two different rooms, you’ll be able to witness 7 new photographs and 2 new films, that Demand creatively presents as an installation.
Live through: April 7th, 2018
Location: 523 West 24th Street
Richard Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud – Acquavella Galleries
“This beautiful show features twenty landscapes by California painters Richard Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud who were also close friends. Themes explored include their use of vibrant color, painterly texture, sense of light, and aerial perspective.”
“Richard Diebenkorn & Wayne Thiebaud: California Landscapes”, is the first joint exhibition with these two artists, that we also pretty close friends.
“Themes explored in the show will include their use of vibrant color, painterly texture, sense of light, and aerial perspective.”
Diebenkorn was born in Portland, Oregon back in 1922, while Thiebaud was born in Meza, Arizona in 1920. Diebenkorn is well-known for his work of abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement.
Thiebaud, on the other hand, is associated primarily with Pop Art, but also New Realism and, as Diebenkorn, the Bay Area Figurative Movement.
This exhibition is a beautiful collaboration, offering a hardcover catalogue with a critical essay by John Ya, a distinguished curator and art historian.
In addition, it also includes an interview between Museum Director Philippe de Montebello and artist Wayne Thiebaud.
Live through: March 16th, 2018
Location: 18 East 79th Street
So, if you enjoyed Gisela Gueiros’ 7 best art exhibitions in New York, she will be presenting her own curated show with opening night on March 8th!
It will happen at Bird Williamsburg, with art work from great names like: Alice Quaresma, Lisa Schilling, Polly Shindler, Talita Zaragoza, Bia Monteiro, Julia Brandão, Sandra Jávera, Cela Luz, Maíra Senise & Ana Bial.
More details to follow, so stay tuned!
For the art lover that loves exploring the endless NY art scene, you’ll certainly enjoy our exclusive art tour. Guests uncover the best off-the-beaten-path contemporary art galleries in the city.
Or even, book private art tours to explore a few open air museums upstate, during a priceless day trip. For Corporate Experience with your team, or to “wow” your clients, let our experts cater it all for you!
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Collection MALBA, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires. © Tarsila do Amaral Licenciamentos; Installation View, Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect, 2017. © 2017 Stefan Hagen; Dan Flavin; Ellsworth Kelly, Broad Street Studio, New York, 1956.© Onni Saari, courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio; Zoe Leonard – CC BY-SA 4.0; Matthew Marks Gallery – Thomas Demand; Wayne Thiebaud, Green River Lands, 1998, Collection of Matthew Bult Art, © Wayne Thiebaud, Licenced by VAGA, New York, NY and Gisela Gueiros.
*Last Update on Feb/2020.*