| It’ll officially be spring this week, finally. Nick Cave’s clearly in the spirit already — in a review of his show at Jack Shainman Gallery, Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian traces the artist’s arc from his extravagant soundsuits to an even fuller maximalism, from sheathing himself within his work to offering himself up to the audience, full-bloom. But this time of year can also be a little chaotic. The clocks are turning forward, the weather’s all confused, plus New York never quits it with its constant cacophony: overheard conversation, podcasts and lyrics, subway ads, street signage, not to mention the endless scroll of our screens. At the Hill Art Foundation, a show on language curated by Hilton Als attempts to modulate a melody out of that discord, and even offer a little silence. It made me think of the other ways we might parse through the deluge. Here’s one: At Pioneer Works, American Artist pens a love letter to Octavia E. Butler, drawing upon books like Parable of the Sower to create architectural, archival, and screen-based installations that manifest her “blueprint to surviving catastrophe.” I see a similar impulse in a show at the Asia Society reviewed by Associate Editor Lakshmi Rivera, in which contemporary artists Rina Banerjee, Howardena Pindell, and Byron Kim plunge into the maelstrom of art history, crystallizing new narratives. But as Amin writes of the attempt to weave those many threads together into a coherent thesis, “unfinished edges are the point, and fraying is an invitation to continue braiding, weaving, and creating.” Flux can be generative — they don’t call it “creative chaos” for nothing. — Lisa Yin Zhang, Associate Editor | | |
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 | | Nick Cave leaves behind his Soundsuits, Ericka Beckman reimagines a fairy tale, American Artist explores the sci-fi world of Octavia E. Butler, and more. | Natalie Haddad, Hrag Vartanian, Lisa Yin Zhang, Alexandra M. Thomas, and Jasmine Weber |
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SPONSORED |  | | | | The largest art fair for prints and editions will bring together an international group of galleries and publishers to New York City, March 27–30. Learn more |
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FROM OUR CRITICS |  | | | | Nick Cave: Amalgams and Graphts at Jack Shainman Gallery | | “Cave has transformed his love of maximalism into verdant objects that freeze time with their undecaying organic forms while infusing each piece with an air of anxiety represented by layers upon layers of dense patterning that are dizzying to parse.” |
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SPONSORED |  | | | | Affordable Art Fair offers something for everyone and a place to find confidence in your taste. Learn more |
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WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING? |  | -
A book of polaroids documenting a 1970s Houston throuple is just one of the treasures at the upcoming Antiquarian Book Fair. -
A new proposal for renovating Penn Station follows Trump’s push for classical federal architecture. -
Almost 50 NYC high school students are showing their work at a midtown gallery! -
Around 3,000 people, including artists, cultural workers, and historians, marched from Manhattan’s federal courthouse to Union Square to protest the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil. -
Editor-in-chief Hrag Vartanian will be joining Eunsong Kim, Jessica Lynne, and Kameelah Janan Rasheed in a conversation celebrating Kim’s latest book at The Skylight Room at CUNY Graduate Center. (Mon Mar 24) [centerforthehumanities.org] -
Victoria Lomasko, author of The Last Soviet Artist, will be in conversation with n+1’s publisher. (Tue Mar 18) [nplusonemag.com] -
Voices of Resistance and Kurdish Heritage: An Evening of Film and Music is happening tonight. (Tue Mar 18) [eventbrite.com] -
Woodbine in Ridgewood is holding a screening of the documentary Fell In Love With Fire, about an uprising in Chile from 2019–20. (Wed Mar 19) [instagram.com] -
Artists Pablo Helguera and Noah Fischer will be reading/activating their new political newspaper. (Thurs Mar 20) [veralistcenter.org] -
CCNY writers will be reading poetry and prose at P&T Knitwear. (Fri Mar 21) [eventbrite.com] -
Carrie May Weems will host a convening about monuments and public memory at MoMA. (Fri Mar 21) [moma.org] -
Macklemore, organizers from the People’s Forum and Palestinian Youth Movement, and Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team are just some of the participants of an event this weekend. (Sat Mar 22) [eventbrite.com] -
There’ll be a mayoral forum at BRIC this weekend, featuring candidates. (Sat Mar 22) [thenation.com] -
Don’t miss the print fair extravaganza next weekend! Hyperallergic Members get free tickets to the IFPDA Print Fair and the very first Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair. (Mar 27–30)
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| You’re currently a free subscriber to Hyperallergic. To support our independent arts journalism, please consider joining us as a paid member. | | Become a Member |
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