“Andy Warhol, Self Portrait, 1986” Image credit: Courtesy Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts/ Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Andy Warhol: By Hand, Drawings 1950s-1980s
Opening Tuesday, January 22 at New York Academy of Art, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through March 10.

Most people know Andy Warhol by his colorful printed pop art creations, films, and tendency to bring together some of the city’s most intriguing artists, writers, socialites, and drag performers. Or perhaps his associations with The Velvet Underground or Interview magazine come to mind. But Warhol also made drawings—he started out as a commercial illustrator—and you can see a selection of them created over the course of 30 years in a new exhibition at the New York Academy of Art. Rather than the bold shades of Warhol works like the iconic painting Campbell’s Soup Cans, these drawings are more minimal, often featuring nothing more than a pencil and paper. If you’ve already seen the sprawling Whitney retrospective, here’s a chance to see the artist in a new light.

© Clarissa Bonet, “On the Edge,” 2015, Archival pigment print. Courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery. (image via ClampArt / Facebook)

The City (And A Few Lonely People)
Opening Thursday, January 24 at ClampArt, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through March 9.

Some exhibition titles are symbolic, but ClampArt’s latest offering The City (And A Few Lonely People) is fairly straightforward in what it offers. Indeed, this group show does in fact feature images of cities as well as images of people, who we presume to be lonely, just as well all tend to be from time to time. The list of participating artists is fairly starry: Nan Goldin, David Wojnarowicz, Diane Arbus, and Larry Clark are just a handful of many. Inspired by Olivia Laing’s 2016 book The Lonely City, which details the solitude that springs from a move to New York City from London, the exhibition is a collection of photography that delves into “isolation within urban spaces,” a feeling sure to be familiar to many.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Ajitto, 1981
Gelatin silver print, 45.6 x 35.6 cm
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Gift, The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation 95.4322
© Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.

Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now
Opening Friday. January 25 at Guggenheim Museum. On view through July 10.

Though the Guggenheim is a bit of a trek for those not already living uptown, the spiral-shaped museum has been home to some gems lately, including the buzzed-about show of mystical, large-scale paintings by Hilma af Klint. The museum’s next move also involves an artist from the past, but one with a bit more of a reputation: Robert Mapplethorpe. The controversial, sexually groundbreaking, and influential artist will be the subject of a two-part retrospective, one on view starting this week through early July and the second spanning from late July to January of 2020. This first portion features Mapplethorpe’s earlier works, including Polaroids, self-portraits, collages, portraits both nude and clothed, and snapshots of the city’s BDSM community.

(image via WAH Center)

20th Annual WAH Salon Show
Opening Saturday, January 26 at The Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, 4 pm to 6 pm. On view through February 17.

Tucked away near the Williamsburg Bridge is the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, a nonprofit cultural center founded in 1996, back before people were clamoring to live in the neighborhood. For the past two decades, they’ve been exhibiting an annual salon show, which showcases artists of all levels and mediums. Their 20th annual salon show opens this Saturday, featuring over 50 artists. And it’s fitting the WAH Center is located near a bridge, as its philosophy hinges on what founder Yuko Nii calls the “Bridge Concept,” which seeks to unite artists no matter their location, discipline, skill level, or nationality.