New York
January 25, 2023

Abstract Art Did Not Begin With Paul Cézanne

Odili Donald Odita challenges the long-held belief that abstract art is a purely Western tradition. | John Yau

Odili Donald Odita: Burning Cross
Jan. 10–Feb. 18, 2023
Jack Shainman Gallery, 513 West 20th Street, Chelsea (jackshainman.com)

FROM OUR CRITICS

What Just Above Midtown Meant for Black Artists 

The long-gone art gallery afforded Black artists a space to create without having to consider the pressures of the commercial art market or the fickle nature of nonprofit art institutions. | Taylor Michael

Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces
Oct. 9-Feb. 18, 2023
The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, Midtown (moma.org)

Shining a Light on a Dark Chapter of American Pottery 

Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina brings awareness of both Edgefield’s awesome artistry and poet-potter David Drake’s odds-defying life to a sizable audience. | Ekin Erkan 

Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina
Sept. 9–Feb. 5, 2023
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side (metmuseum.org)

ART & COMMUNITY

Empty Chinatown Storefront Becomes a Community Tribute

Archive as Memorial gathers oral histories, artifacts, art installations, and other documents of AAPI experiences during the pandemic. | Taylor Michael

Inside an Artist’s 1960s Time Capsule in Greenwich Village

Covered in wood paneling and filled with wacky Surrealist art, the former home of Sonja Alaimo captures the late painter’s sensitivities. | Elaine Velie

Support Hyperallergic's independent journalism

Become a member today to help keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all.

SHOWS ON OUR RADAR

Fortune and Folly in 1720
Sept. 23-Feb. 19, 2023
New York Public Library, 476 Fifth Avenue, Midtown (nypl.org)

The dangers of market volatility have long inspired artists to spoof the capitalist class in myriad ways. For that reason, the New York Public Library takes us back to December 1720, when the first investing bubble burst. Colorful paintings, drawings, graphic designs, and printed ephemera signal the sheer panic on public display — and the glee artists took in satirizing it all.

Macho: Representing Masculinity
Nov. 17–Apr. 1, 2023
Another Space, Chelsea, Manhattan (anotherspace.org)

With mainstream media laser-focused on criticizing gender nonconformity, Another Space’s group exhibition on masculinity is a welcome intervention. A companion to its 2018 Second Sex show, Macho questions what it really means to be a man today.

CLOSING SOON

Leiko Ikemura: Anima Alma – Works 1981–2022
Nov. 4–Jan. 28, 2023
Fergus McCaffrey, 514 West 26th Street, Chelsea (fergusmccaffrey.com)

"The evocation of an inaccessible interior life, mixed with a feeling of irreparable damage, abandonment, vulnerability, and protectiveness, make Ikemura’s work so mysterious. I cannot think of many contemporary artists who are able to stir these feelings without coming across as contrived or theatrical."

Read John Yau's full review.

Morris Hirshfield Rediscovered
Sept. 23–Jan. 29, 2023
American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square, Upper West Side (folkartmuseum.org)

"Morris Hirshfield Rediscovered elucidates the legitimacy of Hirshfield’s aesthetic, showing the need for more research on twentieth-century self-taught American artists, who, like Hirshfield, were marginalized by restrictive art historical narratives."

Read Bryan Martin's full review.

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

Six Autobiographical Films That “Say It Like It Is”

The Brooklyn Academy of Music will screen Camille Billops and James Hatch’s unique films centering Black American life, sexuality, and social issues. | Taylor Michael