(image courtesy of Derek Eller Gallery)
Dawn of the Looney Tune
Opening Thursday, November 16 at Derek Eller Gallery, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through December 23.
Not all sculptures involve components like carrots and bread, but Michelle Segre’s sculptures certainly do. You can see them this Thursday at LES space Derek Eller Gallery, when her latest exhibition opens. As these works often involve organic matter such as the aforementioned carrots and bread, and gallery shows are often on view for quite some time, it is almost guaranteed that Segre’s work will subtly change as time goes by. More specifically, that organic matter is probably going to get mushy. Or grow fur. Or change colors. Either way, it will shift. And you will get a healthy reminder that like it or not, we are all slowly but surely decaying. Happy Monday!
(image via chashama / Facebook)
The Inscrutable Chinese
Opening Thursday, November 16 at 384 Broadway, 6 pm to 9 pm. On view through November 30.
Who are the Chinese immigrants that populate America? Artist Homer Shew seeks to show you in his new solo exhibition, presented by chashama. The show consists of a series of painted portraits of immigrants that blend elements of abstraction, visceral emotion, and realism. In incorporating feelings of displacement to the tone and style of these portraits, Shew is able to convey this unique experience without being heavy-handed. Instead, he strives to highlight each immigrant as an individual rather than the “collective caricature of foreignness” they are so often relegated to.
(image via Rubber Factory / Facebook)
She Fell From Normalcy
Opening Saturday, November 18 at Rubber Factory, 6 pm to 9 pm. On view through December 14.
“Normalcy” means something different for everyone. For those who are marginalized, it often can be an unreachable goal in the eye of society. She Fell From Normalcy is part of artist Christie Neptune’s series Eye of the Storm, which “examines how constructs of race, gender, and class limit the personal experience.” In particular, she focuses on how whiteness as a societal default can have a harrowing effect on on the mental health of people of color, particularly women of color. Her multimedia installation of photography, video, sound, and more depicts a world in which these harmful norms and limitations are able to be removed, and what the aftermath of that might look like.
(image courtesy of Howl Happening)
Dreaming on the Bowery: Post-Apocalyptic Paintings
Opening Saturday, November 18 at Howl! Happening, 7 pm. On view through December 20.
Now more than ever it’s common to hear that we may very well be on the brink of an apocalypse, or are already living in one. In these trying times, why not turn to the work of artists who feel similarly? This Saturday, a retrospective of vibrant work by Brett De Palma, a painter active during the heyday of downtown Manhattan’s alternative art scene, opens at East Village space Howl Happening. Works on view will comment on the current state of the world, as well as feature past artistic ruminations made over the last 30 years. De Palma once said, “My work flies in the face of fashion and demonstrates how the artist and poet must fight the gods of our society: the god of conformism, as well as the gods of apathy, material success, and exploitative power.” It sure doesn’t feel like a quote like that will ever not be relevant.