Opening tonight at Pocket Utopia is a group show aptly named “Lyrical Color” that presents the work of Rico Gatson, Sam Gilliam, Brece Honeycutt, Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson, Jane Kent, Meg Lipke, Maggie Michael, Dan Steinhilber and David Storey.
Color is most definitely the name of the game here. Gilliam, in particular, is known as one of America’s foremost color field painters who also strives for balance in his work. His painting is constructed from rectangular wooden panels and covered with layers of acrylic, applied in broad strokes. David Storey’s painting plays with invented shapes along with brightly colored oranges and subtle browns. Through Aug. 24.
Okay, it received a shoutout last week, but I can’t help but mention toomer labzda again. The tiny gallery keeps delighting us with innovative shows and ideas that help create new audiences for art. It doesn’t hurt that they’re spurred by the bubbly personality of Helen Toomer, the gallery’s co-founder.
The gallery partners with the Eldridge Street Synagogue for tonight’s opening (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) of Tamara Gayer’s “The Inside”, a unique window installation. Gayer has created a site-specific kaleidoscopic installation that focuses on the Eldridge Street Synagogue, warping, manipulating and expanding the gallery’s appearance as she reinterprets the exterior and interior of the 125-year-old landmark.
Architectural points are repositioned into geometric patterns and candy store colors, creating a vibrant multifaceted façade set in its familiar urban context. The gallery teams up with the Museum at Eldridge Street for a special event Aug. 7. Stay tuned for details. Show runs through Aug. 31.
Head over to frosch&portmann on July 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the opening of CANNONBALL! a group exhibition curated by Vicki Sher. The show takes its name from swimmers’ exclamation “cannonball” when they jump into the pool in the iconic cannonball position.
A mellow compliment, the show adopts the laidback attitude of a summer vacation. Lauren Seiden’s Other Spaces suggests a blank canvas, an invitation to imprint your own idea onto the vast space—a potential stretch of idyll or something else entirely.
Some artists in the show connect to a lazy summer feeling. Joshua Marsh’s quiet, glowing paintings feature a book, a pitcher and a door handle that suggest quiet country summers.
Ky Anderson’s dripping, layered shapes offer the infinite possibilities of geometric abstraction. Here, line, color and shape have a confident formality but conjure ideas as diverse as diving boards, pinball machines, mountain vistas and ice cream cones. To help you while the early evening away, the opening night will feature the live music of Joey Oz on vibraphone and Mathias Kunzli, percussion. Through Aug. 19.
Featured Galleries:
Pocket Utopia/ 191 Henry St./ Wed.-Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., open ‘til 8 p.m. Wed. for the summer/ 212.375.8532.
toomer labzda/ 100a Forsyth St., Summer Hours Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 917.488.3388.
frosch&portmann/ 53 Stanton St./ Wed.-Sun. 12 p.m. to 6 p.m./ 646.820.9068.
TLD contributor Tobi Elkin is a writer, editor and interviewer. A former Lower East Side resident, she delights in the neighborhood’s eclectic and diverse pleasures. Visit her website at tobielkin.com.
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