MONDAY, APRIL 23
Screening: Bjarne Melgaard Interviews Leo Bersani, at the Kitchen
The indefatigable Norwegian painter Bjarne Melgaard recorded this interview about homosexuality and politics with cultural critic Leo Bersani for his appearance at the 2011 Venice Biennale. What starts out as a “Charlie Rose–like encounter”—to borrow John Kelsey’s description of the piece in Artforum—involves “Melgaard… making digital cocks sprout out of his and Bersani’s on-screen bodies, splattering the video with lewd, orgasmic cybergraffiti, and interrupting the conversation with lowbrow bursts of dated MTV…” And that’s just the start of it. This is the film’s U.S. debut. —Andrew Russeth
The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, New York, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
Gala: White Box
With all the galas we’ve got going around these days, you’ve really got to distinguish yourself somehow. The gala at White Box offers not only DJ Spooky and an auction fronted by Phillips de Pury & Company Celebrity Auctioneer CK Swett, but as if that weren’t enough they’re also Skype-ing in Ai Weiwei. Sounds like a party to us. —Dan Duray
White Box, 329 Broome Street, New York, 6–10 p.m., from $50
Opening: Robert Irwin, “Dotting the i’s & Crossing the t’s: Part 1,” at Pace
The title of Robert Irwin’s latest exhibition suggests that the great California artist is in a retrospective mood, revisiting work and ideas from throughout his career—which is wonderful since, over the past 60 years, he’s charted one of the most remarkable, action-packed journeys of any contemporary artist. This show includes a new installation involving the gallery’s windows and a light work. Part two arrives in September. —A.R.
The Pace Gallery, 32 East 57th Street, New York, 6–8 p.m.
Lecture: Lorraine O’Grady “Portrait of the Artist” presented by the Performa
The Performa Institute presents the first installment of a new lecture series, called Portrait of the Artist, featuring Lorraine O’Grady. Art historian Kellie Jones will present a look at Ms. O’Grady’s work, followed by a conversation with the artist. —Michael H. Miller
NYU Einstein Auditorium, 34 Stuyvesant Street, New York, 6:30 p.m., free with reservation: rsvp@performa-arts.org.
Screening: “Found” at Eyebeam
Short films made by Fred Wilson, Christian Marclay, Rashaad Newsome and Jacob Ciocci comprise the first installment in a screening series curated from the Eyebeam archives by James O’Shea. This screening involves artists who work with found and appropriated images, a practice that is connected to Eyebeam’s philosophy of free and open culture. After the opening, the films will screen daily, beginning April 26, from 12-6 p.m. —Rozalia Jovanovic
Eyebeam, 540 West 21 Street, New York, 8:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 26
Opening: David Benjamin Sherry, “Astral Desert” at Salon 94
David Benjamin Sherry went off the grid for a while to travel the National Parks of Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and California. For his first solo show in New York, he presents a series of photographs, sand prints and photograms that he made while in the desert, using traditional medium and large format film cameras. This series of vivid portraits of desert sandscapes questions the dominance of digital imagery and honors the American West in wild colors.
Salon 94, 243 Bowery, New York, 6–8 p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28
Opening: Sherrie Levine, “A Dazzle of Zebra” at Paula Cooper Gallery
Paula Cooper presents an exhibition of new work by Sherrie Levine. We’re not sure what exactly to expect, but Ms. Levine is always enthralling. There’s this little bit of info from the gallery as well: “Much like the exhibition’s title, Levine’s installation sets in motion an alliterative principle: the works rhyme with each other and with their counterparts in the ‘real world.’” –M.H.M.
Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 West 21st Street, New York, 6–8 p.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 29
Event: Columbia Visual Arts MFA Thesis Show
The second year Columbia MFA students show off their stuff before they go out into the world to get famous. Should be a blast. —D.D.
38-27 30th Street, Queens, 2-5 p.m.
