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From MoMA to Dia, Must-See Museum Exhibitions During Armory Arts Week 2015

Kate Haveles
Feb 26, 2015 6:03AM

As The Armory Show opens for its 17th edition on March 5th, Armory Arts Week—six days of seemingly nonstop arts-related events around the city—will already be in full swing. All five boroughs will reverberate with the Armory’s buzz as a wide range of non-profit programming drawing upon the city’s many cultural centers is made available to the public. Artsy has compiled a list of the museum exhibitions and events to check out before the week is up on March 8th.


Tomi Ungerer: All in One” at The Drawing Center

Installation view of "Tomi Ungerer: All in One," courtesy of the Drawing Center, photo by Jose Andres Ramirez

The career of French illustrator Tomi Ungerer—whose work feels particularly relevant these days given the current events in France (and elsewhere in Europe)—is showcased at The Drawing Center in an exhibition that presents his diverse body of work. Ungerer is best known as the illustrator of several children’s books, but he also created (and continues to create) a multitude of sharply satirical drawings over the decades, responding to social and political issues. 

The Drawing Center is located at 35 Wooster Street in SoHo, open 12-6 p.m. Wed. and Fri.–Sun., and 12-8 p.m. Thurs. “Tomi Ungerer: All in One” runs through Mar. 22, 2015. Adults $5, students and seniors $3, under 12 and Thurs. 6-8 p.m. free admission.


“Anicka Yi: You Can Call Me F” at The Kitchen

Anicka Yi delves into a scientific investigation of the female body’s status within a society increasingly concerned with hygiene and disease prevention and at times equally fearful of feminism. Gathering biological data from 100 women, Yi’s works will frame the female body as a sort of “pathogen” to be subdued and controlled by external forces. The exhibition opens in the middle of the Week, on March 5th, with a reception that evening from  6 to 8 p.m.

The Kitchen is located at 512 West 19th Street in Chelsea, open 12-6 p.m. Tues.–Fri. and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. “Anicka Yi: You Can Call Me F” runs Mar. 5–Apr. 11, 2015. Free admission.


Noguchi as Photographer: The Jantar Mantars of Northern India” and “Highlights from the Collection: Iconic Display” at the Noguchi Museum

Installation view of "Highlights from the Collection: Iconic Display," courtesy of the Noguchi Museum

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Two exhibitions at the Noguchi Museum offer two different perspectives on the prolific sculptor and designer’s history. In “Noguchi as Photographer,” images captured by Noguchi between 1949 and 1960 show the intriguing architecture of 18th-century astronomical observatories in Jaipur and Delhi (otherwise known as Jantar Mantars); several of Noguchi’s own works related to the cosmos are also included in the exhibit. “Highlights from the Collection: Iconic Display” examines a cross-section of past exhibitions of Noguchi’s works and the ways in which physical environments impact or alter an object’s effect. 

The Noguchi Museum is located at 9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard) in Long Island City, open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.–Fri. and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.–Sun. “Noguchi as Photographer: The Jantar Mantars of Northern India” runs through May 31, 2015 and “Highlights from the Collection: Iconic Display” runs through Sept. 13, 2015. General admission $10, students and seniors $5, NYC public high school students and under 12 free admission.


Brunch Viewing: “The Chinese Photobook” at Aperture Foundation

The Living China: A Pictorial Record (prepublication cover and interior), 1930
"The Chinese Photobook" at Aperture Foundation, New York (2015)

Stop by the Aperture Foundation mid-Armory Week for a special brunch viewing of their current show “The Chinese Playbook,” hosted March 5th from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., free with online RSVP. The exhibit, curated by Martin Parr and WassinkLundgren, features an array of Chinese photobooks, some published as early as 1900 alongside more contemporary volumes, which together propose a new image of China’s complicated history. 

Aperture Foundation is located at 547 West 27th Street in Chelsea, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.–Sat., with extended hours to 8 p.m. on Thurs.“The Chinese Photobook” runs through Apr. 2, 2015. Free admission. 


“Sol LeWitt: Wall Drawing #370” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of Sol LeWitt’s legendary wall drawings, which were expressly designed to be impermanent manifestations of an idea, has made its way to New York City’s largest museum, where it thankfully will be on view through early 2016. The Met houses Wall Drawing #370 (1982), a dizzying stretch of geometric black-and-white, in one of its first-floor galleries, which can be accessed with general admission to the museum.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street) on the Upper East Side, open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sun.–Thurs. and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri.–Sat. “Sol LeWitt: Wall Drawing #370” runs through Jan.3, 2016. Recommended admission of adults $25, seniors $17, students $12, and under 12 free.


Rachel Mason: The Lives of Hamilton Fish” presented by Art in General

Over the weekend, Art in General will debut Rachel Mason’s cinematic rock opera “The Lives of Hamilton Fish” at ROOT Studios. Inspired by the coinciding deaths of two Great Depression-era men—one a statesman, the other a serial killer, both named Hamilton Fish—Mason has crafted a wild, at times supernatural tale, entirely narrated in song and filmed at historic New York locations, including Sing Sing prison and the Morris-Jumel Mansion (which was used as a military headquarters during the American Revolution). 

ROOT Studios is located at 443 West 18th Street in Chelsea. “Rachel Mason: The Lives of Hamilton Fish” will be performed Friday, Mar. 6 and Saturday, Mar. 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12. 


Björk” at The Museum of Modern Art

"Björk" at Museum of Modern Art, New York (2015)

Eagerly awaited since it was announced last summer, MoMA’s retrospective exhibition of Björk’s career opens at the end of Armory Arts Week. Tracing over more than 20 years, the exhibit unites the artist’s music, film clips, and other visuals, instruments, costumes, and props, on three floors; the second floor will house a new sound and video installation created for  “Black Lake,” a song from Björk’s latest album, while the third floor takes visitors on an interactive journey through the artist’s history, featuring the robots in the video for “All is Full of Love” (1999) and the infamous swan dress (from 2001).

The Museum of Modern Art is located at 11 West 53rd Street in Midtown West, open 10:30 a.m,-5:30 p.m. Sun.–Thurs. and Sat., and 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. “Björk” runs Mar. 8 through Jun. 7, 2015. Adults $25, seniors $18, students $14, 16 and under free admission. Timed tickets are required for the third-floor Songlines portion of “Björk” and will be available for on-site, same-day purchase for no extra charge.


Carl Andre: Sculpture as Place, 1958–2010” at Dia Art Foundation

Installation view of "Carl Andre: Sculpture as Place, 1958–2010," courtesy of Dia Art Foundation, photo by Bill Jacobson Studio, New York, © Carl Andre/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Fifty years of pioneering sculptor Carl Andre’s work are reviewed at Dia:Beacon in “Sculpture as Place, 1958-2010,” a retrospective defined in three categories: sculpture, poetry, and unclassifiable objects. Andre worked with the materiality of both sculpting and writing, defining art as experience, saying, “Art is not only the investment of creative energy, but the sharpening of the critical faculties…Things have qualities. Perceive the qualities.” Plan a day trip outside the city to this comprehensive study before it closes for good at the end of Armory Week.

Dia:Beacon is located at 3 Beekman Street in Beacon, NY, open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri.–Mon. “Carl Andre: Sculpture as Place, 1958–2010” runs through Mar. 9, 2015. General admission $12, seniors $10, students $8, under 12 free admission. 



On Kawara — Silence” at the Guggenheim Museum

David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

The late Japanese conceptual artist On Kawara is celebrated in this first-ever retrospective of his career, now at the Guggenheim (the show was arranged in cooperation with the artist before his passing in June 2014). Fascinated by time, Kawara created “meditative, diaristic work,” precisely tracking linear time and recording the simple events and encounters of his daily life. Also to be found in the Guggenheim’s spiraling rotunda: a continual live performance of Kawara’s text One Million Years (2009) read—or rather, recited, as it is a millenium-long list of dates—on the ground floor.


The Guggenheim Museum is located at 1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street) on the Upper East Side, open 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Sun.–Wed. and Fri., and 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m. Sat. “On Kawara – Silence” runs through May 3, 2015. Adults $25, students and seniors $18, under 12 free admission, “pay-what-you-wish” Saturday evenings 5:45-7:45p.m.

Armory Arts Week runs Mar. 3–8, 2015 in New York. 

Explore The Armory Show 2015 on Artsy.

Installation view of “Tomi Ungerer: All in One,” courtesy of the Drawing Center, photo by Jose Andres Ramirez; installation view of “Highlights from the Collection: Iconic Display,” courtesy of the Noguchi Museum; installation view of “Carl Andre: Sculpture as Place, 1958–2010,” courtesy of Dia Art Foundation, photo by Bill Jacobson Studio, New York, © Carl Andre/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

Kate Haveles