james ensor

Belgian artist James Ensor had a major influence on many of the expressionist and surrealist painters of the 20th century. His allegories and bizarre religious themes can now be seen at the MoMA's exhibition of his work.


James Ensor
MoMA
53rd St. btwn 5th and 6th

June 28 - September 21

francis bacon

I've never been a huge Francis Bacon fan. His paint has always been a bit dry to me. Nevertheless his retrospective at the Met should be seen.


Francis Bacon
A Centenary Retrospective
The Met

May 20 - August 16

6 works, 6 rooms

David Zwirner turns over six of his rooms to six very established artists. Welcome to the anemic summer season of 2009.


6 Works, 6 Rooms
David Zwirner
519 W. 19th Street

June 27 - August 14

the female gaze

Cheim & Read presents a group show of the female figure by women artists with the aim of introducing new interpretations of the male gaze. From the press release: "This exhibition attempts to debunk the notion of the male gaze by providing a group of works in which the artist and subject do not relate as "voyeur" and "object," but as woman and woman."


The Female Gaze: Women Look At Women
Cheim & Read
547 W. 25th Street

June 25 - September 19

michelangelo's first painting

Or, rather, Michelangelo's first painting? It is a copy of an engraving by Martin Schongauer called “St. Anthony Tormented by Demons." Experts now say it was painted by Michelangelo in 1487, before his apprenticeship with Domenico Ghirlandaio, when he was 12 or 13. If it is indeed real it is only one of four known easel paintings by the master.


Michelangelo
"St. Anthony Tormented by Demons"
The Met

June 16 - September 7

charles ray

Matthew Marks at West 24th is showing three early sculptures by Charles Ray. Of note is Ink Line, a "continuous stream of black ink traveling from a dime-size opening in the ceiling into a similar hole in the floor." This is the first time this piece has been publicly exhibited.


Charles Ray
Matthew Marks Gallery
523 W. 24th Street

May 8 - June 27

marilyn minter

Marilyn Minter's show at Salon 94 closes on Saturday. Green Pink Caviar "continues her examination of glamour and its underbelly" by juxtaposing "photorealistic paintings and painterly photographs which hone in on the moment where clarity becomes abstraction and beauty commingles with the grotesque."


Marilyn Minter
Green Pink Caviar
Salon 94
12 E. 94th Street

April 28 - June 13

jacob hashimoto

Jacob Hashimoto's show at Mary Boone in Chelsea "continues his longtime fascination with the intersections of painting and sculpture, abstraction and landscape. Each work in the exhibition is comprised of hundreds of small bamboo and paper kitelike
elements. These kite elements are strung together in chains, and layers of these chains are stretched taught between short dowels that project from wall-mounted brackets, creating a densely layered and fragmented tapestry of image or pattern." The result is quite stunning and beautiful.

Jacob Hashimoto
Mary Boone Gallery
541 West 24th Street

May 23 - June 27

marina abramovic

Marina Abramovic will have her retrospective next year at the MoMA. Titled "The Artist is Present", Abramovic "will, quite literally, be present, positioned on a series of small platforms from March through May 2010, spending seven hours a day five days a week and 10 hours one day a week (Friday, when the museum stays open late) on one of the platforms. She’ll take off Tuesdays, when the museum is closed."

More to come as the show arrives.

viking mountain funeral

Celestial Suitcase Presents latest gala will be "Viking Mountain Funeral," a showcase of art from home and around the world. Over forty artists will be featured in this exhibit / party extravaganza.

Celestial Suitcase Presents
476 Jefferson Street #203
Brooklyn
Jefferson stop off the L train, Bushwick

Saturday June 6th
6PM – 12AM
DJ’s, Spirits and Good Company

mosqueteros

Gagosian in Chelsea is featuring one of America's first shows of Picasso's late work. Mosqueteros continues Gagosian's run of museum-like exhibitions in the famed gallery space. It is worth the hype.


Pablo Picasso
MOSQUETEROS
Gagosian Gallery
522 W. 21st Street

March 26 - June 6