Last night, art lovers and fashionistas joined forces for Lower East Side Opening Night: Art + Fashion. The event, under the auspices of the LES Business Improvement District, drew nearly 30 participating galleries and more than a dozen boutiques which held opening receptions, staying open until 9 p.m. While the receptions weren’t quite as wine-soaked as last year’s, the atmosphere was buzzy nonetheless and the streets were full of artists, gallery goers and their friends who came to enjoy a night out in galleries and boutiques.
Here are a few of the highlights from last night’s openings: Lesley Heller Workspace on 54 Orchard St. featured a solo exhibition of works by Drew Shiflett which are informed by architecture, ritual and geometry. The work is intricate, tactile and methodical.
Shiflett’s Untitled #60 conjures ancient textiles and geometry, yielding a tactile, earthly and meditative abstraction. The works look like fragile, woven fabrics that could easily fall apart to the touch. A group show in Lesley Heller’s second gallery called “Shift” takes the viewer on a journey into each artist’s own peculiar world. Through October 14.
Next door at McKenzie Fine Art at 55 Orchard St., the show “Line and Plane” marked the debut of the gallery’s new LES location. In plane geometry, two intersecting planes generate a line, while two intersecting lines uniquely define a plane; each can be considered the creator of, or the product of, the other. The artists explore these ideas to create abstract imagery.
We don’t know where the line and plane are in this piece but the enigmatic words “New Men” caught our attention. Through October 28.
Bosi Contemporary at 48 Orchard St. put up a group show entitled “Aggro Crag.” Derived from the Nickelodeon game show “Guts,” the title refers to the 1990s which are referenced nostalgically in works by Katherine Bradford and Joyce Pensato. Through Sept. 23.
Over at Foley on 97 Allen St., Thomas Allen’s “Beautiful Evidence” is a light-hearted, whimsical show that positions mid-20th century books on scientific research as seen through the eyes of an 8-year-old girl. The juxtaposition is unique and uncanny. Allen cuts and repurposes book illustrations while creating the illusion of 3D photography. Foley relocated to the LES after eight years in Chelsea. Through October 14.
At Feature, 131 Allen St., works by Gina Magid and Josh Podoll are as colorful as they are enchanting. Through October 7.
At Mayson Gallery, 254 Broome St., Spanish artist Luis Burgos presents distinctly figurative paintings. His work is haunting and lifelike, and quite possibly from a different time and era. Artist reception Sept. 19.
