The pressure of the holidays always brings tremendous stress. Just ask any New Yorker, we go above and beyond this time of year with all the festivities.
The hype is real from pop-up bars, ugly sweaters, light-up houses, vintage rides and window displays -- we think it’s safe to say...we all may need a break from the holiday train.
Want to unwind and warm up this season by checking out terrific art shows instead? We bet you do!
Plus, there’s no better place to enjoy art this time of year than in NYC where you can find all the best art museums showcasing the world’s finest art, from classics to contemporary works there’s a ton of art and culture for you to explore.
Lucky for you, we've complied a list of some of our favorite exhibits and artsy outings. You can check them out below!
1. “Vice Versa” - Tanda Francis (December 10th)
Hosted by the Brooklyn Arts Fellowship and The Culture LP, artist Tanda Francis has unveiled her solo exhibition “Vice Versa,” a collection of drawings and sculptures which reflects the turbulent times in which we live in.
As technology and population continues to rise, Francis explores the racial, cultural, economic, and physical boundaries that we are constantly being tested with. Communication is vital to understanding where we stand in all of it, yet the noise encompassing us can make the connection more difficult than ever.
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Bringing to light this vice-like dispute, Francis implements dynamic movement and visual dialogue where words cannot be expressed.
You can check out "Vice Versa" this Saturday, Dec 10th for its closing reception at the BAF Gallery in Brooklyn.
2. “The Cave” - Mark Di Suvero (through December 10th)
Do you ever feel the urge to wake some sense into folks, or simply release some stress? Then artist Mark Di Suvero’s newest installation at the Paula Cooper Gallery may spark some interest!
Suvero executes and installs his sculptures himself, plus creatively fuses geometric and organic forms through spontaneous experimentation. Suvero pulled inspiration for this exhibit from the cut-outs of the French artist, Henri Matisse.
Suvero's mid-sized steel sculptures display split personalities, some range from approximately five to thirteen feet in height with different cuts and angles. Many of the pieces also include a hammer to hit the hanging “bell” form.
3. #DraperfontBold - Ronald Draper
In collaboration with The Culture LP, Harlem-based artist Ronald Draper is displaying #Draper Font Bold,” a celebration of life, progressive artwork and years of partnership.
Draper’s work is as varied as the materials he uses. Many of his works will help you to see something in a different perspective while others convey a sense of nostalgia.
With powerfully-driven messages, Draper’s ultimate goal is to help you discover your greatest self. His willingness to create one-of-a-kind pieces and empower our society is one of the many reasons that makes his work so remarkable.
Interested in attending? You can reach out to @TheCultureLP or @RonaldDarper_art for the viewing hours at the Draper Space Gallery.
Also, don't forget to check our conversation on Draper's innovative work here.
4. #SubwayTherapy - Matthew "Levee" Chavez
Channel your energy into something positive this season!
Did you know that the idea of #SubwayTherapy first stem from one sticky note? Leeve decided to sit with a book and have people come write their secrets. He had a little sign that said: “Secret Keeper.”
“More often than not, people would just talk to me instead of writing something down. It got pretty common to hear, "I feel so much better! This is great...like therapy,” Leeve says, in regards to the experiment.
Six months later, #SubwayTherapy was born. With all the madness currently going in our world, Leeve reminds us that it is essential more than ever to come together as a community.
Many people are walking around with extra emotional weight and it is incredible to see the outpouring love and support that #SubwayTherapy continues to bring. Ultimately, #SubwayTherapy is a symbol of hope and progress in a time of darkness.
If you would like to be a part of the conversation you can spread love with a sticky note at Union Square.
5. “Kandors” - Mike Kelley (through December 17th)
Will all the real Superman fans please stand up!
Mike Kelley’s “Kandors” series at the Venus gallery takes its name from the capital city of the fictional planet Krypton, where Superman was born. According to the Superman legend, the super villain Brainiac shrunk and bottled the city of Kandor in a bell-jar-like container, stealing it just before Krypton’s explosive demise.
The whole “Kandors” showing is a delight of neon colors, dark lighting, and whirling noises. Overall, it’s a sensory treat you won’t want to miss!
6. “Roots and Branches” - Ai Weiwei (through December 23rd)
International artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei shares recent works in a variety of mediums at the Mary Boone Gallery. The show includes ancient wood and porcelain, to modern LEGO bricks, and wallpaper design.
“Roots and Branches” is a 25-foot-high monumental tree. The installation was constructed from weathered sections of dead trees that have been brought down from the mountains of Southern China.
The tree embodies the strength of modern China built from many ancient ethnic groups and it is also an attempt to create something new and essential from what is irrevocably lost.
7. “VUELA VUELA” - Katja Loher (through December 23rd)
“VUELA VUELA” is the second solo exhibition by Swiss artist Katja Loher. The exhibit is an all-immersive installation experience that explores the four elements of nature.
Loher focuses on the silent and gradual extinction of many species by combining nature and technology. The exhibition space draws visitors into an alternative world where the viewer encounters each element through sound and vision.
Using images, sound and performances, the artist gives life to an enchanted world of intriguing creatures from the past and the present, generating both individual visions and personal readings.
Overall, the mutual relation between technology, art and magic becomes natural in this virtual jungle where the ancestral healer still lives.
8. “River and Sky - Bridges Over Flint” - Matthew Brandt (through January 21st)
Artist Matthew Brandt is showcasing his third exhibition “River and Sky,” at the Yossi Milo Gallery. The exhibit features new large-scale light boxes and a suite of gelatin silver prints taken in Flint, Michigan.
“Bridges over Flint” is a collection of 24 water and wine stained silver prints of numerous bridges which span the Flint River. Brandt looks to the Brutalist architecture and tainted rivers of Flint, to capture the area’s ongoing water contamination crisis.
Brandt successfully achieves to create fluid patterns of erosion to depict all the lead and contaminants that premate the city’s water supply. The obscure effects in the prints symbolizes the uncertainty that the water represents to the residents.
9. “Maintenance Art” - Mierle Laderman Ukeles (through February 19th)
Get down and dirty with the “Maintenance Art" exhibit!
Since the late ‘60s, Ukeles has made great contributions with her sculptural installations and writings. Her work explores issues such as the role of women in society, cultures of work and labor, and urban and community resilience.
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Ukeles is undoubtedly best-known for her 36+ year role as the official, unsalaried artist-in-residence at New York’s Department of Sanitation. Ukeles first exhibition at the Queens Museum showcases six posts made from city worker radios, bus equipment, sanitation truck equipment, beams or pipes and lots of gloves from multiple city departments.
10. “Containers and Their Drivers” - Mark Leckey (through March 5th)
Pioneering British artist Mark Leckey presents his largest exhibition of his work to date. Leckey came to prominence in the late ’90s and much of his prominent work reflects the effects of technology on pop culture and the transition from analog to digital culture.
Occupying two floors of MoMA PS1, the exhibition displays his array of visual works and sculptural installations. The exhibit also includes footage from his film Fiorucci Made me Hardcore which traces dance subcultures in British nightclubs from the ‘70s to the ’90s.
Among the highlights, the exhibit also features a newly expanded presentation of Dream English Kid, an autobiography of memories that compiles television clips and YouTube videos.
Combining deeply personal and popular subjects, Leckey explores the pivotal moments in technology and culture that have occurred in his lifetime.
[Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]