PERFORMANCES BY EMERGING NYC ARTISTS, THE SHED, NYC

A fantastic opportunity to see the city’s burgeoning artists, where 27 early-career talents were plucked by a group of interdisciplinary reviewers and panellists from 1,500 proposals. The second iteration of The Shed’s Open Call has given each selected artist a commissioning fee of up to $15,000 to realise their projects. Performances have already started, so head to theshed.org and grab your free (!) tickets. 

Some must-sees include JJJJJerome Ellis’s BENEDICTION, “a concert imagining what Black ancestors witnessed in the landscapes of Virginia,” and disability arts ensemble Kinetic Light’s “immersive contemporary aerial dance experience”.

Until August 27, 2022

FROM NET ART TO POST-INTERNET, THOMAS ERBEN GALLERY, NYC

For those thinking the digital art boom started with Beeple’s record-breaking auction, here’s your chance to learn about the true history of the medium. Co-curated by Caesura’s David Faes and Patrick Zapien, the pair trace “its origins in the algorithmic experiments of conceptual art in the ‘60s and ‘70s to the emergence of a generation of artists whose aesthetic sensibility and cultural outlook have been distinctly shaped by the Internet”.

Until July 30, 2022

THE CONDITION OF BEING ADDRESSABLE, THE ICA LA

An incredibly thought-provoking exhibition with a stellar line-up. Featuring intergenerational artists such as Anaïs Duplan, Sondra Perry, Ana Mendieta, Tschalabala Self, Diamond Stingily, Zadie Xa, Lorna Simpson, Judy Chicago, Lubaina Himid CBE, and Toyin Ojih Odutola, amongst many more – I can’t stress more how phenomenal this line-up is. The exhibition examines art as an exploration of “bodies in exposure and the ever-evolving performance of language.” The show’s title, The Condition of Being Addressable, is borrowed from author and poet Claudia Rankine’s 2014 book Citizen: An American Lyric, where she “outlines the ways in which written or spoken language can frame and impact perception and lived experience, particularly for marginalised subjects.” Those not in LA can experience a digital walkthrough of the show.

Until September 4, 2022

KATJA SEIB: OLD WORLD NEW THOUGHTS, SADIE COLES HQ, LONDON

The German-born, LA-based artist is back for a second solo show with Sadie Coles HQ (the first which we highlighted in 2018). New show, new paintings and works on paper, and Seib turns inwards to focus on her life, depicting her partner and their child (celebrating the intimacy of their bond) alongside others in her life. However, she puts many of these moments and relationships through an abstraction, surrealist lens, peppered with symbolism and historical imagery – notably Eve’s apple which nods to transgression.

Until August 13, 2022

BRICK LANE 1978, FOUR CORNERS, LONDON

Many people know London’s famous Brick Lane for what it is today, but its history is perhaps less understood. In May 1978, a young Bengali worker name Altab Ali was murdered in a racist attack that was the catalyst for an uprising and eventual change. East end photographer Paul Trevor was there to witness it all, and 75 of his images are on display for the first time alongside oral history recordings by activists who were present, fighting to make Brick Lane a more safe and inclusive place for those who laid its foundations.

Until September 10, 2022

WHITNEY BIENNIAL 2022, THE WHITNEY, NYC

The longest-running survey of American art is currently in full swing after delays in 2021 due to COVID. Speaking on the last few years whereby we were collectively thrown into a pandemic and witnessed, or partook, in the uprisings for racial justice, lest we forget the 2020 US Election, the curators describe this edition as a reflection of these “precarious and improvised times”. There is no central theme: instead, there are several “hunches” explored through the work of Rodney McMillian, Alfredo Jaar, Pao Houa Her, and more. The subtitle of the exhibition, Quiet as It’s Kept, nods to Toni Morrison, Max Roach, and David Hammons and how they’ve invoked colloquialism in their own works. 

Until September 5, 2022

HAUNTED REALISM, GAGOSIAN, LONDON

In 1993, Jacques Derrida coined the term ‘hauntology’ in his book Specters of Marx to describe Marxism haunting “Western society beyond the grave”. Now the book has inspired Haunted Realism, a group exhibition that borrows its title from Derrida’s writing. Featuring more than 30 artists such as Ed Ruscha, Meleko Mokgosi, Ed Ruscha, and Tatiana Trouvé. As described in the show’s press release, hauntology has been explored – notably by Mark Fisher – to describe “a state of historical overlap and disjunction that resonates through fields ranging from anthropology and philosophy to film, electronic music, and visual art.” The show centres the idea that “aspirations of modernity are now ‘lost futures’, and shows “how our strange present was anticipated by earlier projects”.

Until August 26, 2022

VIRGIL ABLOH: “FIGURES OF SPEECH”, BROOKLYN MUSEUM, NYC

The late and great Virgil Abloh’s touring exhibition “Figures of Speech” has finally opened at the Brooklyn Museum (co-curated by Antwaun Sargent) after runs in Qatar and Chicago. It pulls together the depth and breadth of the late designer, DJ, educator, and icon’s work, from his early Pyrex days to the explosion of Off-White and everything in between. It is a must-see show for fans or those just fascinated by someone who has indeed paved the way for a new generation to come. We will see the fruits of Abloh’s labour for decades, so why not witness how he opened the door for new generations and people previously overlooked.

Until January 29, 2023

HOUSE BALL, HARLEM 1984, CLAMPART, NYC

When I say run, don’t walk… Mariette Pathy Allen’s photographs of Harlem’s ballroom scene are only on show at ClampArt for a few more days. A “pioneering force in gender consciousness”, Allen began photographing the ballroom scene after being invited to her first event in Harlem in 1984, with competitions starting after midnight and ending at 8 am. Her intimate portraits of the competitors backstage shine a light on a scene that was a world away from the city’s daylight hours and celebrates this trangressiveness and progressiveness.

Until July 16, 2022

QUEER EARTH AND LIQUID MATTERS, STONE NEST, LONDON

This weekend (16-17 July), London’s Serpentine will partner its Back to Earth LIVE programme with artists, writers, filmmakers, sound and architecture practitioners “to explore decolonial and queer ecologies”, for Queer Earth and Liquid Matters, in collaboration with Stone Nest (where it will take place) and Queercircle. The event aims to spotlight the various voices affected by the climate crisis and intends to “complicate the binaries of Western knowledge often encountered in the environmental discourse”. Curated by Macarena Gómez-Barris, Jack Halberstam and Kostas Stasinopoulos, expect artists such as Adham Faramawy and Seba Calfuqueo, as well as writer Bhanu Kapil, and many more.

From July 16 to 17 at Stone Nest on Shaftsbury Avenue, Soho

BLACK_BOX, TRINITY SQUARE VIDEO, TORONTO

Described as a “hybrid physical/virtual reality exhibition”, BLACK_BOX is curated by Roya DelSol and “is a speculative project that considers archives, art spaces, and art-making as a means of knowledge transfer and preservation”. It features eight artists, including Isabel Okoro (whose debut photo book we recently wrote on), Anique Jordan, Ashley Jane Lewis, KanikaXx, Kim Ninkuru, Meech Boakye, Oreka James, and Zoe Osborne. At its heart, BLACK_BOX is about the Black archive and how this could exist and be maintained. Its title is a reference to what DelSol describes as “almost anything”: “a transistor, an algorithm, the human brain – or an artspace built upon principles of Black sovereignty, whose function is to obfuscate Black communities and knowledge from the white gaze.”

Until August 13, 2022

RACHIDI BISSIROU: GLOIRE IMMORTELLE, DAVID HILL GALLERY, LONDON

In the years following Benin’s independence from France in 1960, West African photographer Rachidi Bissirou opened his photography studio and began to document the swelling freedom felt by its people Their poses, dress, and the relaxed nature of Bissirou’s portraits reveal a sense of ease and intimacy. Alongside a book published by Stanley Barker is this exhibition in London of what AnOther described as “One of West Africa’s most important image-makers”, on until the end of the month.

Until July 30, 2022

STUFF: ORGANISED BY ARLENE SHECHET, PACE GALLERY, NYC

Over 50 artists, including Arthur Jafa, Donald Judd, Mickalene Thomas, Isamu Noguchi, Peter Hujar, Lynda Benglis, and more, curator Arlene Shechet presents STUFF, “a deeply personal expression of Shechet’s love of art”. It aims to place these artists in dialogue with each other in ways that can form new connections and conversations around the art, or as the show’s release describes it: “a dynamic patchwork of exchanges and meanings”.

Until August 19, 2022

DAVID-JEREMIAH: ‘FOGA (FELON YOGA): REAL N*GGA EDITION, CULTURALDC, WASHINGTON DC

Dallas-based artist David-Jeremiah launches a “cross-disciplinary universe” called FOGA, or Felon Yoga – a wellness franchise and immersive art installation that takes place in prison, in which David-Jeremiah plays the conceptual artwork’s protagonist, FOGA founder, Bleep-Bleep. The year-long virtual exhibition and temporary physical installation will also feature a series of sculptural art objects from the videos. It taps into David-Jeremiah’s own experiences while incarcerated while exploring issues such as racial nonviolence, empathy, redemption, Black male mental health, and more by channelling emotions through “imaginary acts of violence by way of yoga-inspired movements”.

The virtual project runs from July 16, 2022 – July 7, 2023. Click here for the virtual exhibition

SLIPPAGE, 601ARTSPACE, NYC

The ‘liminal space’ has always been apt for artists to explore – personally, geographically, materially, and temporally – and group show Slippage examines artists whose practices have articulated this. Curated by Jess Van Nostrand, the show’s press release leads with a John Baldessari quote: “When you’re looking at two things, don’t look at them, look between them,” and sets the tone for an exploration of artists such as Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Shin il Kim, Vanessa Renwick, and more. Placing the audience is “slippage”, which the show describes as “the revealing of a juncture where disparate elements meet; it invites them to “experience the uncomfortable junctures of human experience, veering from the personal and intimate to the existential and global.”

Until 31 August, 2022