Martin Wong
TV Party, 1988 
Acrylic on canvas
34 x 47.5 in. (86.4 x 120.6 cm)
Private Collection
Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P•P•O•W, New York

Glenn O’Brien: Center Stage
Opening Tuesday, September 17 at Off Paradise, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through November 2.

Off Paradise, a loft located on Soho’s Walker Street, is both a new and old space. As a gallery, it’s brand new, and the exhibition opening Tuesday it its first. As a more general space, it’s been around quite a while—the show’s curator, Natacha Polaert, has been there for the past ten years. Off Paradise’s gallery debut celebrates the life and legacy of Glenn O’Brien, a producer, writer, and creative director who worked with Andy Warhol at Interview magazine, among other projects. The show features work by Warhol, as well as contributions by luminaries like Eileen Myles, Rene Ricard, and Richard Prince.

Frank Holliday, Saturn Return, 2019, Oil on Linen, 48 in. x 44 in.

Saturn Return
Opening Wednesday, September 18 at Equity Gallery, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through October 6.

For those not innately familiar with the inner workings of astrology, a “Saturn return” marks the period in one’s life when Saturn ends up in the position it was at when you were born. It happens every 29-ish years, and typically accompanies major life or emotional changes—you’re about to enter your thirties (or sixties, or nineties), after all. Equity Gallery’s newest exhibit Saturn Return showcases the work of painter Frank Holliday, a longtime creator who blossomed as an artist in the East Village during the 1980s, alongside names like Keith Haring and the underground venue Club 57. His swirling, colorful, abstract works seem to contain the kind of feelings that spring from journeying planets.

Rocco Ruglio-Misurell, Repeat fill Repeat, 2018
Spray paint on performance mesh and cornerbeads with broken safety glasses (image via Selenas Mountain)

Aurelia Aurita
Opening Saturday, September 21 at Selenas Mountain, 7 pm to 10 pm. On view through October 26.

The latest offering from art space Selenas Mountain (a hybrid of two former spaces, Selena Gallery and Mountain) is Aurelia Aurita, a group show of works by Antonia Kuo, Rocco Ruglio-Misurell, and John Szlasa. The show takes its name from the formal term for the moon jellyfish, a translucent and purplish creature that has a typical lifespan of less than a year. A similar aura (and hopefully not a similar lifespan) permeates the work in the show, which focuses on “abstract sculpture” involving components like resin, mesh, iridescent colors, and ceramics.