Art This Week: Black Portraits, Robotic Architecture, Neon Pleasure

The heart of the matter…
Opening Tuesday, September 10 at Hauser & Wirth, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through October 26.

As a painter, Amy Sherald focuses on portraiture that captures the human spirit, specifically the African-American spirit. She achieves this by taking inspiration from the classic American Realism style, popularized by the likes of George Bellows and Edward Hopper (both, unsurprisingly, white men), and imbues it with a distinctly contemporary energy and eye-catching pops of color. They’re tall, too, with a typical painting spanning over four feet tall and three feet wide. A collection of Sherald’s paintings will be on view at Hauser & Wirth’s 22nd Street gallery space, at an exhibit that takes its name from within the pages of a bell hooks book.

How To Build a House: Architectural Research in the Digital Age
Opening Thursday, September 12 at Cooper Union, 6:30 pm. On view through October 13.

Since technology seems to advance every day, it seems logical that such innovations would extend to architecture. Sure, houses and other buildings still get built largely by human hands, but they certainly have more help (and safety) than they used to. However, something even more futuristic-sounding is afoot within architecture: robots. Indeed, a new exhibit at the Cooper Union spotlights architectural collaborations involving 3D printing and yes, robotics. Even the exhibition is high-tech, featuring a virtual reality component that gives attendees a taste of what a robot-assisted fabrication process looks like. Thursday’s opening reception also includes a panel discussion with architects, computer scientists, and the dean of The Cooper Union’s architecture school.

I Can Feel
Opening Thursday, September 12 at One Brooklyn Bridge Park, 6 pm to 9 pm. On view through October 20.

Neon art is nothing new, whether you’re taking it in at Dia:Beacon or simply within the dark confines of a dive bar. And yet, the bright colors, bendy shapes, and sometimes-campy content are always satisfying to absorb, time after time. Brooklyn Bridge Park will be getting a neon of its own come Thursday, and it certainly doesn’t shy away from the campy side of things. It comes (some might say in more ways than one) from artist and so-called “emotional autobiographer” Suzy Kellems Dominik, and the focal point is none other than a large, brightly-lit 5” vagina, created in a tribute to the female orgasm. Pink and open, it might be vulgar if it wasn’t so quaint (it’s surrounded by bluebirds and fireworks), and the design almost recalls images of religious saints.