Starting today, with a kick-off by an artist talk from Catherine Howe at Lesley Heller Workspace (54 Orchard), more shows will continue to open through the weekend on the Lower East Side. Howe’s show, “Prosperina”, has been up at the workspace and will be closing on February 28th. There was also an article written about Howe in Art in America in January of 2008, which hopefully foreshadows an interesting talk tonight from 6:30-8PM.
“Eldridge Optician” opens tonight at Horton Gallery (237 Eldridge), formerly known as Sunday L.E.S, from 6-8PM. This fascinating show has an especially long story attached to it that is full of romance, multigenerational lineage, and themes of sexual identity. Essentially, the show will be a “reopening” of the Eldridge Optician, which had been in the same location since 1870. Orlando Marina Young, the woman reestablishing the “store,” is also blood-related to the historical site. Sunglass/spectacles of Oscar Magnusan will be on view.
“New Ceramic Figures” opens tonight at Envoy Enterprises (131 Chrystie) from 6-8PM. Belgian artist Johan Tahon, creates ceramic figure sculptures that represent a very old technique in ceramics, called Ottoman quartz ceramics, that the artist observed while living in Turkey. Tahon’s exploration of the human figure leaves some parts of the bodies anatomically unrecognizable, and others parts extremely emphasized and embellished.
The last show opening tonight is at Kumukumu Gallery (42 Rivington), and will feature the show “Victory Over The Sun!” by photographer Hannah Whitaker from 6-8PM. Whitaker’s past work, including a photograph of a white rabbit with a rainbow patch, as well a variety of very large spiders, have been highlighted by many creative arts blogs, such as Booooooom! and i heart photograph!
On Friday, February 19th, The New Museum (235 Bowery) will host the event “Triple Canopy: The Medium Was Tedium.” Triple Canopy, an online magazine, will have a discussion with and about artists that transcend exhibition platforms and create works that are made for new-media distributions. The event will be held in The New Museum Theater at 7PM, and is a part of the museum’s New Silent Series, which is organized by Lauren Cornell, the director of Rhizome.
An untitled photography show will also open on Friday at DCKT Contemporary Gallery (195 Bowery), showing work by artist Josh Azzarella. His photos will explore the creation of historical narratives through their manipulation of cinematic and journalistic photos taken from other sources.
Two more shows cap off this weeks openings in the Lower East Side on Sunday, February 21st. The first show will be at Lisa Cooley Fine Art Gallery (30 Orchard) form 6-8PM. The mixed-medium show is by Texas-born artist J. Parker Valentine, and marks her second-solo show at the gallery. The pieces in the show will feel particularly handmade, as the artist deals with the process of re-assemblage and the usage of different bonding materials that are hung with singular, bent nails.
The second show on Sunday, and the last of this post(!), will be at Small A Projects Gallery (261 Broome Street). Jessica Jackson Hutchins‘ sculpture and collage show, “Over Come Over“, is from 6-8PM. Hutchins will be included in the 55-artist Whitney Biennial this year. There was an article in NY Magazine in December, by art critic Jerry Saltz on “Art’s Truimph: Women Win Slim Majority in Next Whitney Biennial.” Over half of the artists represented this year are women and, therefore, he notes, “Depending on where you stand, hell has frozen over, or there’s a fissure in the force.”
