Here are Ashlie Cotton’s highlighted art openings for the weekend:
As the weather warms in New York City, what could be better than catching a couple gallery openings in this titillating neighborhood we live in?
This week’s recommendations begin with the show, “As Black as Your Hat” by Swedish artist Hanna Liden, who was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial (and was deemed one of the most beautiful people in 2007 by Papermag). The show opens at Half Gallery (208 Forsyth) tonight from 6-8PM.
Inspired by David Lynch and science fiction, Liden seems to flirt with Occult themes (and all things ominous). The teasers for the show: a photo of a lighted pentagram, and another of blown out candles, both allude to a deeper, darker part of the human psyche. Liden is also a photographer for Purple Magazine. You can watch video of her photo shoot with the notorious Lady Gaga for the magazine here.
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“Dawn of a New Era” by multimedia artist Gregory de le Haba at NY Studio Gallery (154 Stanton) opens tonight as well, from 7-9PM. This is de la Haba’s response to Damien Hirst’s recent exhibit “The End of An Era.” De la Haba’s desire to make a fool out of the art superstar and the rest of the current, money-making, trend-setters in the art world should surely spark your enthusiasm for this show. He is a gambler both artistically and literally; his grandfather opened some of the first casinos in Puerto Rico, and the artist continues the tradition with regular casino nights at his home. The paintings in the show, however, depict talent that even die-hard Hirst fans will appreciate. The refreshing themes of rejuvenation and rebirth (along with a pointed use of taxidermy) could not be more timely.
Ashlie Cotton is a Lo-Down intern and Arts Contributor. She lives on the LES and will be graduating from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU in May, where she studies Interdisciplinary Creative Arts and Psychology.
