Love No Border: An Artist’s Call for Action
Opening Monday, September 23 at the Lower Eastside Girls Club, 6 pm. On view through November 30.
It’s always been common for art to intersect with buzzy political topics, for better for for worse. Of course, not everyone is just trying to capitalize on the latest news item; some artists have more noble intentions. One show that fits more into this category is Love No Border, a group show at the Lower Eastside Girls Club featuring artists from New York, Guatemala, Mexico, and New Orleans who are “questioning the value of borders in 21st century society.” The show includes a wide variety of artistic disciplines—from a sculpture of stuffed toys referencing ICE to a contribution by performance art activist group Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir—and there will be events throughout the run of the show to raise funds for immigrant aid organizations.
Exposed
Opening Thursday, September 26 at The Untitled Space, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through October 12.
If you haven’t heard of Grace Graupe-Pillard and Robin Tewes, now’s your chance to catch up. The two artists have been creating feminist-centered paintings since the ’70s and ’80s, with a focus on unique portraiture. In a show opening Thursday at Tribeca’s The Untitled Space, the duo’s skills and legacy will be on full display. Graupe-Pillard places more of her focus on traditional portraiture, often nudes, nowadays attempting to illustrate “the sensuality and radiant beauty of youth and ethnic diversity.” Tewes crafts the human form too, but through playful and surprising perspectives that can look voyeuristic or surreal.
Brazzers Backroom VHS
Opening Saturday, September 28 at 310 Canal Street, 11 am to 7 pm. On view through September 29.
VHS covers aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when considering fine art, much less VHS covers for movies that would easily gain an XXX rating in the first few minutes. However, fine art doesn’t have to be formal, academically-analyzed creations in pristine, white galleries. Over the weekend, the Tonya Harding Nancy Kerrigan 1994 Museum (THNK1994) will be teaming up with Brazzers (yes, that Brazzers) for a Canal Street installation meant to take viewers back to an older, seedier New York. The Chinatown storefront is styled to look like an old adult video store (the kind with a back room), which will be filled with campy, steamy original poster art by Miriam Carothers, who has also crafted creations for Broad City, and performers you might have seen on Brazzers will be making in-person appearances.