September NYC Art Exhibitions To Keep On Your Radar
September signals the start of a new art season. While most of the New York City art world has been dormant over the summer, galleries have been working hard to prepare their most important exhibitions of 2014. We’ve put together a list of September NYC art exhibitions offering an alternative to the formulaic approach to curating art observed in many traditional venues. Many of the featured artists come from a street art and graffiti background while others operate on the outer fringe of contemporary art.
Jonathan Levine Gallery opens “The Laten Photon,” a solo exhibition of new work by Chinese born artist DALeast. Currently based in Cape Town, South Africa, DALeast is known for his imagery of humans and animals that he conjures in swirling vortexes of black lines with white highlights. His bodies pulsate with energy and force and at the same time, seem to be dissipating into air. An opening reception will be held Thursday, September 4 from 6-8 pm. The exhibition coincides with new mural projects the artist will be producing in New York City and New Jersey.
Opening September 6th at Woodward Gallery is an exhibition of recent paintings by street artist JMR titled “Sheer Power.” Originally from Dallas, JMR now calls New York City his home. Known for his huge multi-colored abstracts that give way to a face every now and then, JMR painted a building size mural on the Pod Motel in Manhattan and has been commissioned for major projects in Brooklyn, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. For this presentation, the artist exchanges his colorful palette for stark swatches of black, white, blue, and red.
Artist Wayne White unveils new work in the exhibition “Invisible Ruler” at Joshua Liner Gallery opening September 11 with a reception from 6 to 8 pm. On view will be work in the forms of 15-foot kinetic sculptures, the artist’s signature word paintings, and drawings that White made during his residency at the Rauschenberg Foundation. White’s career is anything but linear – he was the head set and puppet designer for Pee-wee’s Playhouse during the 80s and directed the groundbreaking music videos “Big Time” for Peter Gabriel and award-winning “Tonight, Tonignt” for the Smashing Pumpkins. He is the subject of the inspiring documentary film “Beauty is Embarrassing.” The gallery will host a special screening of the film, followed by a Q&A with the director Neil Berkeley and Wayne White on Wednesday September 10. For more information on Rauschenberg check out the ARTSY page.
Also, be sure to check out the fall program at artist Tara McPherson‘s art boutique and gallery Cotton Candy Machine in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The events always have a good vibe thanks in part to a vintage cotton candy machine that serves up fluffy pastel confections for guests. Cotton Candy Machine is also a great place for fanatic collectors in search of affordable art, rock posters, books, and toys. Finally, September is the last month to see “City as Canvas” at the Museum of the City of New York. Closing September 21, the exhibition serves as a dynamic time capsule celebrating NYC’s graffiti renaissance of the 80s. Derived from collector of graffiti art Martin Wong, it brings together over 150 works on canvas and other media by trailblazers Crash, Lady Pink, Keith Haring, Futura 2000, DAZE and more.