Art This Week: Grotesque Femininity and Basquiat’s Travels

Family Album
Opening Wednesday, June 26 at Anton Kern Gallery, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through August 16.

Margot Bergman’s paintings draw you in, both with their rich colors and their appeal that’s grotesque, realistic, and dreamlike all at once. It makes sense, then, that she paints “imagined people,” abiding by only the rules of her brain when bringing brush to canvas. A selection of her curious, feminine creations will be on view at Anton Kern Gallery starting this Wednesday; Bergman usually only exhibits paintings, but Family Album will also include an array of “theatrical photographs” taken by the artist, featuring subjects posing with portions of Bergman’s collection of dolls and figurines.

Jean-Michel Basquiat
Opening Thursday, June 27 at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, 6 pm to 9 pm. On view through July 28.

There have been many exhibitions showcasing the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat as of late, including a current show at the Guggenheim and one at the Brant Foundation that closed last month, but this show at Great Jones Street’s Galerie Eva Presenhuber is a bit different. Rather than the work of Basquiat himself, it features the photographs of artist Lee Jaffe. A musician and former manager (and occasional harmonica player) for Bob Marley and the Wailers, Jaffe met Basquiat in 1983 and went on a multi-country trip with the artist, documenting their travels via camera along the way. The images will be on view in a space on the same block as Basquiat’s former studio, and include peeks at his artistic process, his everyday life, and the scenery around where he traveled.

Offal
Opening Thursday, June 27 at Abxy LES, 7 pm to 9 pm. On view through August 30.

Looking at Arden Surdam’s artwork can be disorienting; the pieces resemble old still lives, yet they’re contemporary photographs, seeking to parse the relationship between food and conventions relating to gender and race. Surdam is attempting to channel both classic still lives and artists like Bacon (well, and maybe the meat, too) in her work, but their multifaceted and disorienting nature not only comes from stylistic choices, but what Surdam photographs. Cleverly, she includes pages from vintage cookbooks alongside actual organic matter (from more standard produce to a large, bloody stingray), prompting viewers to stay a while, and try to figure out what’s real and what’s a relic of the past.