Art Guide
Our favorite art exhibits right nowInstagram artist Cj Hendry is proving her chops with an IRL outing at 202 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn. In addition to her colorful Rorschach splotches, a playful spin on those psych inkblot tests of yore, the exhibit includes a giant 3,000-square foot bouncy castle winding around the space. Head to the show before it closes this weekend and get your jump on.
Step into Sol LeWitt's kaleidoscopic world in this exhibit featuring a number of his large-scale wall drawings that examine color and form in a wholly immersive way. LeWitt, who emphasized concept over execution ("the idea becomes a machine that makes art"), often had students and other artists paint his works—hence the lengthy list of names in the credits below.
jitto, 1981, by Robert Mapplethorpe. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation 96.4362 © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.
Phillip Prioleau, 1982, by Robert Mapplethorpe. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation 96.4362 © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.
Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now at the Guggenheim — New York, New York
The Guggenheim's latest show takes a deep dive into the oeuvre of lensman Robert Mapplethorpe. It's a two-parter: the first section highlights his photography (nudes, floral still lifes) while the second zeroes in on his legacy in the context of a larger contemporary art conversation, juxtaposing his images against those by artists such as Glenn Ligon and Catherine Opie.
Julian Opie at Lisson — New York, New York
Here's another one not to miss before it ends this weekend: Julian Opie’s first solo show in New York, inspired by the city itself. In his charming Pop style, he captures the hustle of daily metropolitan life in a mix of mediums, from auto-paint portraits on aluminum to life-size bronze sculptures. It’s the every day, abstracted.
Above: Ajitto, 1981, and Phillip Prioleau, 1982, by Robert Mapplethorpe. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation 96.4362 © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Here: Pony tail, 2019, by Julian Opie © Julian Opie, courtesy Lisson Gallery.
William Eggleston: 2 1⁄4 at David Zwirner — London, England
2 1⁄4 showcases a series of square-format images taken by William Eggleston, a pioneer of color photography, in the Seventies. The subjects are mundane, characteristically so for the artist, but they come alive in his lush dye-transfer treatment—his reds feel redder and flaxen yellows, even more sun-kissed.
Irving Penn at Pace — Palo Alto, California
The photographer's a legend, as famous for his portraits as his incredible and artful still-lifes in the pages of Vogue. This new show at Pace sheds light on his time in San Francisco, contrasting a stint there in the late Forties with his return two decades later, in 1967, as he captured the rising counterculture of Haight-Ashbury hippies.
Paul Anthony Smith: Junction at Jack Shainman — New York, New York
This is one exhibit where you'll want to get up close—real close. An exploration on the history and identity of the post-colonial Caribbean, old world and new, his works tackle that dual sensibility quite literally—by mixing painting and photography. His signature: Paul Anthony Smith dabs tiny drops of paint over the images, distorting and abstracting our view.
Here: Untitled, c. 1977, by William Eggleston, courtesy Eggleston Artistic Trust and David Zwirner © Eggleston Artistic Trust. Below: Rock Groups, 1967, by Irving Penn © The Irving Penn Foundation. Bottom: Lands Apart, 2018, by Paul Anthony Smith © Paul Anthony Smith. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
