Contemporary Art and Culture
August in New York is nothing without its heat waves and epic weather. While many escape the city, there are lots of wonderful gems to behold. Here are some cool current exhibitions not to miss downtown that will bring some good energy on those hot days.
All images: Austin Thomas collages, photographed by the author
Austin Thomas’s drawings, Lots of little things, currently on view at LABspace, a small gallery in a tiny town, are diminutive in size but vast in scope. Arranged in three irregular rows on one wall, these forty-odd drawings offer the viewer enough to look at for several hours. I have been to the show three times and was sorry to leave each time. They seem to display almost everything drawing can be.
Elisa Soliven is a sculptor, curator, and co-founder of the artist collective Underdonk. In her recent body of work, exhibited at the last SPRING/BREAK art show, Soliven experienced a turning point in her art. In our interview for ArtSpiel she elaborated on her process and shared some of the thought process behind her work.
Underdonk started in 2013 as a small experimental project space and later evolved into a vibrant artist-run gallery located at 1329 Willoughby. Underdonk’s eleven members operate an ambitious exhibition program such as the notable 2015 exhibition “Paul Klee,” which featured work by twenty contemporary artists who referenced the 20th century modernist master.