Tiny Art in a Laundromat, Unlimited Algorithmic Paintings, and More Exhibition Openings

Coin-Op: a tiny art show
Opening Monday, April 17 at Sunshine Laundromat and Pinball, 9:30 pm. One night only.

The Sunshine Laundromat in Greenpoint has a lot to offer. You can wash your clothes. You can play plenty of pinball. You can sip beer or wine while doing all of this. And tonight, you can experience something a little bit artsier. The vending machine at Sunshine has been host to many trinkets and miscellany, even catching media attention last year when they restocked it with Plan B and pregnancy tests alongside bite-sized candies. While you could argue that is a much more practical move, tonight this little machine sandwiched between a photobooth and Jurassic Park pinball machine will be filled with art of all shapes and sizes.

Well, not quite all shapes and sizes, seeing as there is only so much space in that thing. The exhibition’s Facebook event has even outlined parameters for interested artists: any submissions “can range in size from a personal bag of Cheetos to a Snickers bar or a can of Axe body spray.” If you’re on your last pair of underwear and have been putting off laundry for an undisclosed amount of time, this little art show could be the motivation you needed to get ‘er done. And you could leave with a souvenir—since the art will be in a literal vending machine, the pieces will indeed be available for purchase.

Death
Opening Tuesday, April 18 at Gasser Grunert Gallery, 7 pm to 9 pm. On view through April 22.

In December, multimedia art and performance festival Chasm was announced. Curated by “The Oracle” Julia Maria Sinelnikova, the festival had a stacked lineup that included the performance art / dance duo Margaret Velvet and Laura Duvall. Now, the two performers create multidisciplinary collaborations under the name THE CORP, and will be presenting performance and photographic work at Chelsea’s Gasser Grunert Gallery in an exhibition opening this week.

At the center of this exhibition is security footage of one night in the duo’s studio, showing frame after eerie frame of blurred limbs entangled together in poses that seem both violent and sexual, amidst thick streaks of dirt or ink. They created a series of 89 prints from the stills that will be on view, and have developed a live performance from this source material to be shown at the opening reception on Tuesday night. Whatever medium they may be working in, the bodies of these two gender non-conforming artists remain a focal point.

Reflection Eternal
Opening Thursday, April 20 at bitforms gallery, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through May 28.

Sure, everyone sort of creates art according to some sort of formula, but traditional art mediums like painting are in part considered special because they contain a uniquely human touch in each brushstroke. Not quite so in Siebren Versteeg’s debut solo exhibition at bitforms gallery in the Lower East Side. The exhibition is defined by three separate computer programs that the artist developed, each possessing the ability to produce an unlimited amount of “digital paintings” with the aid of algorithms.

One program assembles images from the internet and attempts to “amend” them, another creates an endlessly layered work, and yet another creates a wallpaper pattern of sorts. Creations from this last program also cover the wall of the gallery, demonstrating that these works do indeed have real life applications and can exist outside of the screens that created them. Many of them look so much like typical paintings you might not have any idea of their origins until you were informed of such. Aside from the programs themselves, there will be an array of sculptural works by Versteeg on view that also play with the endless possibilities of technology and algorithms.

The Portable Art Project
Opening Thursday, April 20 at Hauser & Wirth, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through June 17.

Carrying on this trend of small creations, Hauser & Wirth’s 68th Street location will be showing a selection of wearable art created by 15 commissioned artists. The roster boasts a lineup of impressive and familiar faces, such as Pipilotti Rist, Paul McCarthy, and Louise Bourgeois. Most of these pieces take the form of jewelry or other accessories rather than clothing pieces, ranging from more practical designs like pendants or earrings to out-there creations like John Baldessari’s massive gleaming spikes meant to be placed on the elbows. As a way of demonstrating each wearable piece in action, the exhibition also contains a series of photographs shot by Gorka Postigo of Spanish actress Rossy De Palma, best known for her appearances in Almodóvar films.