May 3, 2023

In this issue:

• Why galleries are leaving Chelsea and the Lower East Side for Tribeca
• John Yau on how Matt Bollinger reveals the simmering discontent of a wide swath of the US population
• Bill Rice, who never played the game, paints mysterious scenes celebrating the smoky hellholes of the East Village
• Plus, a visit to New York’s Antiquarian Book Fair, the Frick is returning to its Fifth Avenue mansion, artist-made mini racecars at Smack Mellon, and more

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What’s Really Luring New York City’s Galleries to Tribeca?

Dozens of galleries have sprouted between Canal and Chambers Streets and west of Lafayette, one of NYC’s priciest neighborhoods. What gives? | Aaron Short

ON OUR RADAR

Matt Bollinger, Painter of the Forgotten  

By dealing with class in his art, Bollinger touches on the strain infecting the current “us and them” situation in the United States. | John Yau

Matt Bollinger: Station
Apr. 22–May. 27
François Ghebaly Gallery, 391 Grand Street, Chinatown (ghebaly.com)

Memories of a Long-Gone, Gritty New York

Bill Rice’s paintings are glimpses of Manhattan’s old East Village of crime, abandonment, cruising, and hanging out. | Joe Fyfe

Bill Rice: Around the Corner
Apr. 6–May 13
Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, 208 Forsyth Street, Lower East Side (shfap.com)

Maia Ruth Lee Transforms the Materials of Migration 

The artist draws inspiration from her own migration to consider both the confinement and freedom associated with a life in motion. | Annabel Keenan

Maia Ruth Lee: The skin of the earth is seamless
Apr. 6–May 6
Tina Kim Gallery, 525 West 21st Street, Chelsea (tinakimgallery.com)

An Ode to South Central LA, Inspired by Ancient Egypt

Lauren Halsey’s monumental installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art casts a new light on a classic New York City view. | Elaine Velie

The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey
Apr. 18–Oct. 22
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side (metmuseum.org)

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

Why Is the Met Gala Honoring an Islamophobe With Nazi Roots?

The Costume Institute is willfully ignoring Karl Lagerfeld’s bigoted views and his family’s concealed Nazi past. | Gürsoy Doğtaş

Nerding Out at New York’s Antiquarian Book Fair

The fair showcases thousands upon thousands of books, ephemera, and historic works on paper. | Elaine Velie

Ready, Set, Bet on Mini Artist-Made Racecars in Brooklyn

Arts nonprofit Smack Mellon’s Gravity Racers benefit party continues a 20-year local New York tradition. | Rhea Nayyar

New York’s Frick Mansion to Reopen in 2024

The Frick collection’s temporary location in the Met Breuer’s former building will close next March. | Elaine Velie

ON VIEW IN MUSEUMS

Of Mythic Worlds: Works from the Distant Past through the Present
March 8–May 14
The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street, Soho (drawingcenter.org)

Bispo do Rosario: All Existing Materials on Earth
Jan. 25–May 20
Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan (as-coa.org)

What That Quilt Knows About Me
March 17–May 28
American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square, New York, Upper West Side (folkartmuseum.org)

Claude Gillot: Satire in the Age of Reason
Feb. 24–May 28
The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue Murray Hill (themorgan.org)

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw
Jan. 27–May 28
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, Upper West Side, Manhattan (nyhistory.org)

Deconstructing Power: W. E. B. Du Bois at the 1900 World’s Fair
Dec. 9–May 29
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2 East 91st Street, Upper East Side (cooperhewitt.org)