This summer, New York’s art world has been like a zoo. Okay, not exactly, but animals are the protagonists of some of our favorite exhibitions so far. Walton Ford’s “bird beasts” (from the exhibition title) contrast with Maija Peeples-Bright and Roy De Forest’s playful dogs, cats, and bears, while Julia Isídrez’s animal ceramic vessels create a world of their own. Beyond the animal kingdom, don’t miss surveys of beloved art luminaries like Eva Hesse and middle-aged charmers like Loie Hollowell, who’s a little further afield in Connecticut. By the end of the day, you might be craving a painting… or a pet. —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
Picture-in-Picture
This one-room exhibition is like a glass of iced water on a summer day. The eight artists (Nell Blaine, Joe Brainard, Rudy Burckhardt, Jane Freilicher, Louisa Matthiasdottir, Fairfield Porter, Larry Rivers, and Trevor Winkfield) all knew one another, and three of them even studied together at Hans Hoffmann’s famous art school. Each of the painters has exhibited at Tibor de Nagy before, so the exhibition also gives a glimpse into the gallery’s own artistic lineage. The artistic dialogue is rich and varied, and the concept of paintings within paintings is expressed as landscapes, still lifes, and studio scenes are intertwined, and you can feel that all the painters retain their own voices while freely talking to each other—and sometimes you can see shared emotions. Freilicher’s large-scale studio scene is the focal point of the exhibition; in it, she depicts her former top-floor studio on Fifth Avenue, which looks west toward New Jersey. All the artists have something to say, and even Matthiasdottir’s large, bizarre Icelandic paintings seem right here. It’s really great. —Herag Vartanian
Tibor de Nagy Gallery (tibordenagy.com)
11 Rivington Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan
As of July 26
Eva Hesse: Five sculptures
So much has been written about Eva Hesse that it’s hard to find something new to say about her. This pioneering post-minimalist holds an important place in the annals of Western modern art history; her work undermines the phallocentrism of hard-edge Minimalist sculpture by incorporating soft materials and skin-like textures. However, seeing her work in person is a completely unique experience that is difficult to put into words. Her art can be hard to find, as most of it is scattered across different museums. While this exhibition, organized by Barry Rosen and Briony Fell, is not large, the expansive space of Hauser & Wirth allows Hesse’s impressive works room to breathe. Don’t miss your chance to spend some time with them. —Natalie Haddad
Hauser & Wirth (hauserwirth.com)
542 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
As of July 26
Maija Peeples-Bright & Roy De Forest
It’s hard to imagine a better artist duo than Maija Peeples-Bright and Roy De Forest. The two artists, arranged by curator Adrianne Rubenstein, have deftly combined works to paint rainbow-hued landscapes with bright colors, glitter, and animals, deftly injecting the monotony of the white cube with sparkling life. But don’t let the enthusiasm of the exhibition fool you into thinking the art is just fun; both Peeples-Bright and De Forest are adept at using color and composition to make these adventures as vibrant and engaging as possible—it’s tempting to go out on an adventure with De Forest’s dog sculptures. Just think of the exhibition as a party you won’t want to leave. —NH
Venus over Manhattan (venusovermanhattan.com)
39 Great Jones Street, NoHo, Manhattan
As of July 26
Julia Isídrez: Julia’s World
Paraguayan artist Julia Isídrez, whose work will be on display at this year’s Venice Biennale, draws inspiration from the indigenous Guarani ceramic traditions passed down from her mother. At Kasmin Gallery, her first solo exhibition in the United States, Isídrez’s anthropomorphic vessels of various sizes are presented on a more intimate stage, allowing viewers to experience her undeniably tender and moving visuals up close. As the exhibition’s title suggests, this is Julia’s world—and we just live in it.Valentina di Licia
Kasmin Gallery (kasmingallery.com)
297 10th Avenue, Chelsea, Manhattan
Until August 9
Blue King Susan: Mickey Mouse’s gradual demise is inevitable
King’s personal story often dominates discussions about her work — the New Zealand artist has autism and hasn’t spoken since the age of eight — but that’s not always helpful when faced with her colorful paintings, which incorporate pop culture figures in unexpected and novel ways.
Writing about her work in these pages in 2017, Patrick Price neatly summed up what makes it so fascinating, even if you can’t put your finger on it:
Her treatment of various cartoon ducks reminds us that all communication stems from the body, action, and passion, and that if emotion is to be tamed and integrated, it must be channeled into an object or surrogate. The figures seem to be torn apart by nameless forces, twisted into this way and that, gesticulating wildly, dismembered, or tied in knots. There is an implicit wisdom in King’s choice of classic cartoon characters as vehicles for pre-linguistic emotions, recognizing that something in the structure of these figures reflects early experiences of omnipotence and infantilized or degraded bodies.
This is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in her work.high pressure
March Gallery (marchgallery.org)
62–64 Avenue A, East Village, Manhattan
Until August 9
Loie Hollowell: Between Spaces, a decade in review
Brooklyn artist Loie Hollowell’s debut show includes three groups of works, including her recent bas-relief paintings, drawings from a decade ago, and a series of artworks she made after her second pregnancy that focus on time and abstract drawings of breasts and nipples. She specializes in soothing, symmetrical paintings that mimic Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove, or other early 20th-century modernists, but she also works with a surface that resembles Formica, and she freely references Tantric imagery while her relationship to the movement of light and space is also evident. There’s a sense of hopefulness to these works. The sketch gallery is the most moving—she explains in the audio tour that this stark, vivid style emerged after having an abortion in 2013, which changed her aesthetic—and you can see how she’s pushing her form in a way that’s very different from her more stylized paintings. You also get the sense that she’s just getting started. —high pressure
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art (thealdrich.org)
258 Main Street, Ridgefield, Connecticut
As of August 11
Walton Ford: Studio Beast
Walton Ford’s art is an enigma. It seems at once to examine the animal world with an analytical eye and to summon its mystery. This small but otherworldly exhibition takes viewers through Ford’s creative process, from early pencil sketches to meticulous watercolors and finally to large-scale paintings of the awe-inspiring rulers of the animal kingdom. Beneath the majesty of his works is the pathos the artist brings to them: one group of images pays tribute to a black panther that was brutally killed by farmers after escaping from Zurich Zoo. If there is one takeaway from this exhibition, perhaps it is that nonhuman animals can set an example for humans to respect nature and other species. The exhibition also features a small selection of animal images from Morgan’s collection. —NH
The Morgan Library and Museum (themorgan.org)
225 Madison Avenue, Murray Hill, Manhattan
As of October 20
