MUST-SEE ART EXHIBITIONS | NOV 2016
By Nicole Bray, Contemporary Art Consultant | info@mercercontemporary.com
Kerry James Marshall
Mastry
October 25, 2016 – January 29, 2017
The Met Breuer
945 Madison Avenue, New York
Take a moment to think about art history, the traditional landscape, religious and patron portraiture, the still life, and the Odalisque; these elements all comprise the Western canon of art. But where is the black figure or black culture within this history? Kerry James Marshall’s major monographic retrospective presents a broad range of pictorial traditions to counter stereotypical representations of black people in society and reassert the black figure within the canon of Western painting. Yes, this is critical, and yes, this is long overdue but Marshall, who grew up in Birmingham Ala. 1955 during the Civil Rights Movement and then moved to Los Angeles in 1965 when Watts went up in flames, has absorbed both American history and African American history to become one of the greatest history painters of our time. Run, don’t walk to see this show.
Pipilotti Rist
Pixel Forest
October 26, 2016 – January 15, 2017
The New Museum
235 Bowery, New York
Certain to be the most instagramable show of the Fall, Pipilotti Rist’s retrospective of pioneering video art from the past 30 years mesmerizes and sensually engulfs the viewer in colorfully kaleidoscopic projections, drawing on both technology and nature. Each floor of the New Museum is a playground of innovation and imagination, transformed into a dream-like environment, complete with beds and cushions to lie on. This is the perfect show to see on a Sunday when you’re hung over and don’t want to waste the day on your sofa.
Mark Leckey
Containers and Their Drivers
October 23, 2016 – March 5, 2017
MoMA PS1
22 – 25 Jackson Ave, LongIsland City, New York
Turner Prize winner, Mark Leckey presents his largest exhibition of work to date at the MoMA’s alternative little sister space, PS 1 in Long Island City. An exploration of sound, performance, and sculpture, Leckey’s formally experimental practice examines the profound effect of technology on popular culture, the transition from analog to digital, and the forlorn of memory. From a giant inflatable Felix the Cat to the breakthrough video work that put him on the map, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999), there is a dark humor and at times, a sinister feeling as you meander through this show.
artREAL contributor Nicole Bray is the founder of Mercer Contemporary and guides private and corporate clients through each step of acquiring, selling, managing, and displaying artwork. She received her Masters in Contemporary Art (Hons.) from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York. She was the recipient of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Emerging Curator Fellowship 2015, and has worked at both an Auction House and for a distinguished private family. If you would like to contact Nicole, or if you are interested in starting your own collection, please email her at info@mercercontemporary.com or visit www.mercercontemporary.com.