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A Hidden Gem in Brooklyn: Amant 💎
Issue #16: January 25 - 31
🫶 Highlights 🫶
🚨 Henry Taylor: B Side is ending at The Whitney, and more below.
🎉 Opening exhibits include Cycladic Art at The Met, Takesada Matsutani / Kate Van Houten at Hauser & Wirth, and more.
💖 Read our Ongoing Favorites below.
📢 Read about the Brooklyn museum Amant, and its ongoing exhibit from Shilpa Gupta!
🚨 Last Chance
In the Museums
Henry Taylor: B Side
📍 Whitney Museum of American Art
⏰ closing Jan 28th
🗓️ contemporary portraiture
📏 large
❓ memory-based portraiture that captures humanity & social context, including challenges faced by Black Americans in the United States
➕ Rose B. Simpson: Counterculture and Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith are both closing the same day

Henry Taylor, “i’m yours”. 2015, Acrylic on Canvas | Self-Captured
Best in Show: Pets in Contemporary Photography
📍 Fotografiska
⏰ closing Jan 27th
🗓️ contemporary photography
📏 large
❓ celebrating pets, their presence in Western art, and our relationship with them, with works from 25 global artists
In the Galleries
Ad Reinhardt
📍 David Zwirner | 34 E 69th
⏰ closing Jan 27th
❓ non-objective painting, developed by Reinhardt during the 1940s and far ahead of his peers

Robert Ryman. “One Down”. 1962, oil, gesso, graphite, charcoal on linen | Source
RETROaction
📍 Hauser & Wirth | 69th St
⏰ closing Jan 27th
❓ commemorating the 30th anniversary of two influential art exhibits of the 1990s, the 1993 Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney and 'Theater of Refusal: Black Art and Mainstream Criticism’
In addition:
Carol Bove: Hardware Romance at Gagosian’s Park & 75 location, closing Jan 27th
🎉 Just In
In the Museums
Heads Up: A conversation with Natalie Ball Tonight!
📍 The Whitney (in person and online)
⏰ Thurs, Jan 25th, 6:30pm
❓ Natalie Ball: bilwi naats Ga’niipci is currently on view — the artist will speak on her practice and her relationships with the people of her communities
🔗 see event details and register. (free)
Cycladic Art
📍 Metropolitan Museum of Art
⏰ opening Jan 25th
🗓️ hellenic
📏 large (>160 works)
❓ showcasing a wide range of marble figures and vessels from Leonard Stern’s comprehensive private collection
In the Galleries
Takesada Matsutani / Kate Van Houten: Paris Prints 1967 - 1978
📍 Hauser & Wirth | 18th St
⏰ opening Jan 25th
❓ the first of a two-part exhibition, exploring Matsutani’s and Van Houten’s decades-long joint journey in printmaking
➕ opening reception tonight, Jan 25, 6-8pm

Takesada Matsutani, “La propagation-10”. 1967, Etching on BFK paper | Source
Tadanori Yokoo: All or Nothing
📍 albertz benda | 515 W 26th
⏰ opening Jan 25th
❓ showcasing three decades worth of Yokoo’s works with paintings that blend historical, cinematic, and philosophical themes with personal and imaginative elements

Tadanori Yokoo, “Only 3.5 cm Away”. 2015, Acrylic on canvas | Source
In addition:
Animal Watch at 125 Newbury (located at 395 Broadway), opening Jan 26th
A Conference of the Birds: Art Brut and More from Iran at Cavin-Morris (529 W 20th, Fl. 3), opening Jan 25th
Steffani Jemison: Bound at Greene Neftali (508 W 26th, Fl. 8), opening Jan 26th
💖 Ongoing Favorites
For intimate African American portraiture: Henry Taylor: B Side at the Whitney, closing in late January
For bold graphic style and absurdist humor: John Wesley: Wesley World: Work on Paper and Objects 1961 - 2004 at Pace Gallery, closing in late February
To see the works of an iconic feminist: Judy Chicago: Herstory at the New Museum, closing in March
To see a revived age-old art-form: New Ground: Jacob Samuel and Contemporary Etching at the MoMA, closing in March
To journey back in time and explore the historical confluence of two monumental cultures: Africa & Byzantium at The Met, closing in March
For a profound exploration of identity, language, and resilience: Shilpa Gupta: I did not tell you what I saw, only what I dreamt at Amant, closing in April
Image Sources: Samuel, Africa & Byzantium; otherwise, self-captured
📢 Editor’s Updates
Amant is a gem, a museum hidden away in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The non-profit arts organization is undoubtedly worth a visit — for its beautifully curated art exhibits, remarkable architecture that takes you completely out of New York, and ambient bookstore/cafe.
The current exhibit, ‘Shilpa Gupta: I did not tell you what I saw, but only what I dreamt’, exceeds all expectations (exhibit details). The Mumbai-based artist delves into language and its form of control, across mediums such as prints, installations, and sculptures.

Shilpa Gupta, “Altered Inheritances - 100 (Last Name) Stories”. 2012-2014 | Self-Captured
One notable piece, “Altered Inheritances - 100 (Last Name) Stories” consists of split frames, inviting viewers to connect the images together, with added text that explores the changing of family names. In the frames, she includes impactful quotes that explain the impetuses, often persecution, that lead to name changes. For example:
“After the Holocaust and after his first son was born my father wanted to change his family name (for the generations to come) so that it will sound French with no Jewishness in it.”
Besides the quote, Gupta poignantly includes the original, crossed-out last name, alongside the changed counterpart. Names are so personal, integral to our identities. Yet, for self-preservation, many are compelled, or forced, to change that what is core to their identities. This piece was particularly moving.

Shilpa Gupta, “Altered Inheritances - 100 (Last Name) Stories” close-up | Self-Captured
Gupta further investigates themes of control and silencing in the visually striking installation, “For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit”. The exhibit features casts of 100 books, representing the works of poets from the 8th to the 21st century, who were imprisoned for their writing.

Shilpa Gupta, “For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit”. 2017/ 2023 | Self-Captured
“Here you are standing in the space — the bodies of the poets were restrained and put away, but still their voices are there.”
This piece is imbued with hope, with the books cast in an unbreakable metal alloy and bathed in warm light. Really, hope and resilience are a frequent theme of her works, underscoring human perseverance.
The exhibit will be on view until the end of April and is a must-see, as is the entirety of the Amant space. Read more on the exhibit.
📚 Further Reading
Cauleen Smith’s immersive film — The NYTimes
Interview with Painter Joan Semmel — Cultured
A low-key gallery on the LES — The NYTimes
Interview with Sculptor Lynda Benglis — Cultured
A survey of artists who courageously created in the Eastern bloc — The NYTimes
German Sculptor Thomas Schütte will have a MoMA Retrospective — ArtNews
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