Three Colorists: curated by Michael Walls — Eozen Agopian, Alan Kleiman, Diane Mayo
Where: Lesley Heller Workspace
When: June 6 – July 6, 2012, Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 6, 6-8pm 

Three Colorists, curated by Michael Walls, highlights the work of three artists who have several things in common: they began their professional life as painters; the oeuvre of each importantly involves the role of color; and the work of each is not only labor intensive, but also revealing of a hard-won mastery of the chosen craft.

LABAPALOOZA! MINI FESTIVAL OF NEW PUPPET THEATER FROM THE LAB
Where: St. Ann’s Warehouse
When: MAY 31-JU­NE 3  

It’s the last show before we move to our new location at 29 Jay Street! What better w­ay to say goodbye to 38 Water Street than with our 14th annual Labapalooza Festival? This year’s line-up of works-in-progress ranges from the traditional to the irreverent, from the ground breaking to the nostalgic, and from delightful to downright punk-rock.

Masterpiece Theater Curated by: Geoffrey Young
Where: Morgan Lehman 
When: May 31  – June 30 

If theatrical is the question, masterpiece is the answer.  Modesty in art is over-rated, as anyone with a Schnabel complex knows, so be prepared for the challenge of ascertaining the significance of what these artists have been cooking up over the past four months.  Yes, each can draw, paint, and employ color to bold effect, but that’s of secondary importance (the least we can expect of an artist).  What drives these artists is Imagination.  Another word for imagination is risk, another word for risk is danger, another word for danger is aesthetics.  And aesthetics, as we know, is for the birds.  But these artists aint tweeting.

Thurston Moore + Bill Nace + Joe McPhee
Where: Roulette
When: May 31, 8pm 

Three pillars of the noise and avant-jazz scene collide : Thurston Moore, singer/songwriter/guitarist for Sonic Youth, teams up with free-noise guitarist Bill Nace and avant-jazz saxophonist Joe McPhee for an evening of mind bending cacophony.

MIKE HEIN : LEAN-TO
Where: Mulherin + Pollard
When: May 31–June 1 , 2012, Opening reception: Thursday, May 31, 2012 6–8 pm

Hein’s sculptures are assemblages that blur the differences between found and hand-made objects and explore the materiality of form in his use of materials like plexiglass and other translucent plastics. His works highlight and emphasize surfaces and the textural detail of his materials and utilize a minimal approach to composition, gesture, and placement.

In Camera (Christoph Heemann & Timo Van Luijk) + Andrew Pekler + VioSac (Graham Stewart)
Where: Issue Project Room
When: May 31, 8pm

In Camera, the surreal and psychedelic electronic music duo project of Christoph Heemann (of seminal experimental band H.N.A.S.) and Timo van Luijk produce an immersive cinematic and narrative sonic environment. Joined by Andrew Peckler and VioSac.

Susan Alcorn (+)1 (-)1
Where: Issue Project Room
When: May 31, 8pm

Susan Alcorn (+)1 (-)1 will feature a solo improvised performance by Alcorn followed by (Minus)One, ensemble curated by Janel Leppin, performing Alcorn’s compositions featuring Janel Leppin with Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney, Doug Wieselman, Anthony Pirog and Skulí Sverrisson.

Christophe AVELLA-BAGUR Floating Souls
Where: Galerie Richard

On an ethereal ground of white light Avella-Bagur shows us archetypal representations of male and female bodies that answer our expectations of mass-produced perfection. Avella-Bagur disrupts this ideal with a second layer of portraits painted in visceral flesh-tones that never quite register with the face’s outline. The two portraits are collapsed together to create disturbingly distorted juxtapositions painted in the grotesque manner of El Greco or Goya.

JASPER DE BEIJER MARABUNTA
Where: Asya Geisburg Gallery
When: May 31 – July 7, Opening Reception: Thursday May 31, 6 – 8 PM

Asya Geisberg Gallery is pleased to present Marabunta, an exhibition of photographs by Dutch artist Jasper de Beijer. In each of his prior series, De Beijer has created elaborate models in his studio out of paper and other sculpture materials, based on images from media and historical sources, and often concerning colonialism and its representation.  In each series, he approaches the very nature of historical depiction, using varying modes of photography and questioning culturally embedded images.  With Marabunta, De Beijer takes the paraphernalia of the Mexican drug war as his inspiration, particularly the mystical and visually obsessive interest in celebrating the flamboyant lives of its leaders and colorful deaths of its victims.  De Beijercarves a world in Marabunta that is alarming, chaotic, and reverential  – an unnerving amalgam of the omnipresent iconographies of death.

Women of Power Photographs by Katarzyna Majak
Where: Porter Contemporary
When: May 31 – July 14, 2012, Opening Reception, May 31, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Katarzyna Majak explores the power of women as she searches for female wisdom and plurality of spiritual paths hidden within monoreligious Polish society.  Majak’s Women of Power series turns stereotypical witch imagery on its head and showcases striking images of women ranging from their 30’s to 80’s, wearing colorful unconventional clothes, and holding their unique objects of power. When asked what being a witch meant to one of the subjects in the series, she replied ‘A witch is a woman of knowledge who takes a broom and sweeps to cleanse the world.’

JOHN GORDON GAULD: GIVING UP THE GHOST
Where: Salomon Contemporary
When: May 31 – July 6, Opening Reception: Thursday 31 May, 6-8PM  

Salomon Contemporary presents Giving Up The Ghost, a solo exhibition of paintings by John Gordon Gauld. The artist employs egg tempera and oil to create contemporary still lifes and genre scenes that pair natural objects with those manmade in imitation of nature. Gauld’s signature style, precision, and themes are reminiscent of 14th to 17th century painting, particularly the vanitas.

SINGLE PAYER: new works by Stuart Popejoy w/ Swell/Wollesen/Fefer/Bernstein/Sperrazza
Where: The Firehouse Space
When: May 31, 8pm

SCREW YOU
Where: Susan Inglett Gallery
When: May 31 – July 13

SCREW YOU. , curated by David Platzker of Specific Object, shines a light on the intersection of counterculture publishing, tabloid pornography and the art world which occurred in the creatively fertile years of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The exhibition will be on view at Susan Inglett Gallery 31 May to 13 July. SCREW YOU. draws its title and inspiration from the notorious pornographic tabloid Screw: The Sex Review, which came onto the New York scene November 29, 1968.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Where: Peter Freeman
When: May 31 – July 20 

Peter Freeman, Inc. is pleased to present an exhibition of the photography of Ralph Eugene Meatyard which features 40 works spanning Meatyard’s career from 1958 through the early 1970s. This exhibition will be the first solo presentation in New York of works from the Estate since the International Center of Photography’s 2004-2005 landmark exhibition.

Eat, Drink & Be Literary: Ann Patchett
Where: BAM
When: May 31, 6pm 

Ann Patchett is the author of six novels, including the New York Times Notable Book The Patron Saint of Liars; The Magician’s Assistant; the Pen/Faulkner Award winner Bel Canto;Run; and, most recently, State of Wonder. She is also the author of the memoir Truth & Beauty, and has made numerous contributions to The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, The Atlantic, and others. A Guggenheim fellow, Patchett was the editor of The Best American Short Stories 2006. Patchett’s work has been translated into more than 30 languages.

Centuries of Noon by Andrew Zarou
Where:  RH Contemporary
When: June 1 through July 1, 2012, Opening reception: June 1, 2012, 6-9pm

Robert Henry Contemporary will inaugurate its new home at 56 Bogart St., Bushwick, Brooklyn with an exhibition of drawings, collages and sculptures, titled, Centuries of Noon, by Brooklyn based artist Andrew Zarou.With a predilection for both the homogeneity of pattern and the heterogeneity of change Andrew Zarou builds two and three-dimensional compositions from found papers, such as graph paper, magazines, technical manuals, etc., plastic, metal, spray-painted paper, wire and wood. This exhibition will feature 30 new pieces from three bodies of work: a series of collages calledFlotilla, a series of drawings titled Meditational Flaws and a series of small sculptures known as Mirror Canons.

Hedy and George: Improbable Collaborators, Unconventional Innovators
Where: Le Poisson Rouge
When: June 1, 8pm
More events at WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL.

Join us for an evening of intimate conversation and musical performance as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes and some of the most forward-thinking composers of our age explore the extraordinary lives and legacies of two unconventional innovators: the legendary screen siren Hedy Lamarr and renowned avant-garde composer George Antheil. In a remarkable and unlikely union, Lamarr, known as ‘the most beautiful woman in the world,’ and Antheil, the self-described ‘bad boy of music,’ joined forces during World War II to invent a secret communication system that presaged today’s GPS and cell phone technologies. The conversation on innovation, science and music will be amplified by a series of performances of Antheil’s seminal scores and explorations of today’s most avant-garde electronica.

ANT Fest 2012
Where: ARS NOVA
When: June 1-28

This year’s festival of All New Talent runs from June 1 – 28 and features four weeks of brand new one-night-only shows spanning theater, music, comedy, variety and a fusion of all four not seen anywhere else.  From 80s pop sax bands to toy theater social commentary, Ars Nova heats up this summer with fresh new work from some of New York’s most exciting emerging artists.  ANT Fest also provides the opportunity to catch three late night editions of Showgasm, Ars Nova’s rowdy variety show/party hybrid.  Complete festival schedule and lineup follows.

WHITE LIKE ME
Where: Dixon Place
When: June 1-8  

Zaloom employs the intimate medium of toy theater to tell the story of the archetypal White-Man: he leaves his planet Caucazoid, travels through space to “civilize” Earth, becomes a philanthropist, a savior, and finally freaks out about his approaching minority status. The puppet cast is drawn from a gigantic collection of bric-a-brac collected over the years: action figures, toy cars, dolls, found objects, weird junk and more. Plus, Zaloom’s creepy dummy sidekick, Butch Manly, drops in to spoil the fun.

Freewheeling: Deborah Brown
Where: The Active Space
When: June 1st – July 1st 2012, Opening reception June 2nd 7-10pm

In “Freewheeling,” Deborah Brown exhibits paintings of car salvage lots, cement factories, and detritus at the end of the industrial age. The subject matter is familiar territory for Brown, who has depicted the landscape of Brooklyn’s Bushwick for several years. The new work enters the domain of fantasy, leaving literal interpretation in favor of a Bushwick of the imagination. Carcases of flattened and stacked cars resemble ziggurats from the ancient world. Cement trucks buried in heaps of sand masquarade as amphora; cement tanks become abandoned rocket ships. The palette is high key and odd; the light source, eerie. Through their lush paint handling and loopy lexicon of images, the paintings celebrate the power of a place to inspire the imagination.

THE STOOGES BRASS BAND
Where: Brooklyn Bowl
When: June 1, 11:30pm

The Stooges Brass Band has been a premier New Orleans Brass Band since 1996. While appealing to the emotions of traditional jazz, the brass band uses their hip-hop influence to create a new sound. Their innovative incorporation of hip-hop sound to the traditional styling of New Orleans brass band music has set them apart from other New Orleans bands and allowed The Stooges to develop an extraordinary performance history, including performances with Jessica Simpson and Jadakiss.

Sycamore’s 3rd Annual Crawfish Boil
Where: Sycamore
When: June 2, 2pm and 4:30pm

Join us on Saturday, June 2nd for Sycamore’s 3rd Annual Crawfish Boil with Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Company! Enjoy some live music, plenty of crawfish, and seasonal and specialty beers from Abita. $25 gets you a large bucket of crawfish and a pint of beer.  After that, $5 beers all day long!

Darmstadt 2012: Mivos plays Wet Ink
Where: Issue Project Room
When: June 2, 8pm

Mivos Quartet and Wet Ink Ensemble present their first joint concert, featuring works by Wet Ink composers Sam Pluta, Alex Mincek, and Kate Soper. Mivos will perform Sam Pluta’s Lyra for amplified string quartet, a meditation on the flickering of stars in the New England night sky, Alex Mincek’s arrestingString Quartet No. 3, lift-tilt-filter-split, and Carl Christian Bettendorf’s Il y a l’océan. In addition to the music for quartet, Kate Soper and Joshua Modney will perform Soper’s duo for voice and violin, Cipher.

newARTtheatre: Panel #3, with moderator Paul David Young
Where: The New Museum
When: June 2, 3pm

In a startling turn in the visual arts, which once used the word “theater” to describe what art was not, artists and arts institutions and programmers are embracing theater as the vanguard. The 2012 Whitney Biennial is devoting an entire floor to performance and is even putting on a play. The 2011 Performa Biennial featured numerous works of theater. Also in 2011, the Guggenheim Museum presented a play for the first time. Some artists defied the conventional art world animosity toward things labeled “theater” all along. But now performance and the visual arts in general have dropped their animosity toward theater and turned to it as a source of ideas, practices, adaptable texts, points of reference, and philosophy.

DJARARA + WETCHENN P’CHENN +MONVELYNO ALEXIS + DJ DEEP ROOTS
Where: Zebulon
When: June 2

Nomad Mixer
Where: Proteus Gowanus
When: June 2, 7-10 pm 

The runaway-train sounds of the Union Street Preservation Society Band, Intimate encounters with the literary Gypsies of The Poetry Brothel, Uncanny Tarot card readings, A nomadic performance by Paul Benney, Katya Redpath sings Russian and English gypsy folk songs, Holus Bolus transformation of our alleyway into a Nomad Spectacle, The incredible steam-punk Seed Machine, A transformative Map Your Life workshop, Writing challenges courtesy of the Writhing Society, Shift Beds for transients and would-be horizontals and a Live Auction of Extra-Ordinary Experiences!

OMAR LORDS/BLUSHING/BODY PARTS
Where: Zebulon
When: June 3

BOOKEXPO AMERICA
Where: Javits Center
When: June 4-6 

Everyone who’s ever seen a book, written a book, published a book or burned a book gathers in one NY location to summon the gods of publishing. Many, probably all, of your favorites will be there from international to smaller run presses. See full map here.

LP
Where: Joe’s Pub
When: June 6, 9:30pm

LP is an incredible artist and songwriter from New York City now living in L.A. Recently signed to Warner Brother Records, she has created a strong buzz in the LA music scene playing sold-out residencies at the Soho House and Sayers Club. With a unique and powerful voice, she has been described as a mix of Jeff Buckley, Florence and the Machine and Janis Joplin, yet has a style and sound all her own. She is currently in the studio crafting her new album with a host of producers including Isa Summers (Florence and the Machine) and PJ Bianco (Cee-Lo) among others. In today’s crowded musical landscape, LP stands out as a real artist with meaningful music. She can only truly be described through the sound of her music.

The Permanent Way organized by Brian Sholis
Where: Apex Art
When:  June 6 – July 28, 2012, Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 6, 6-8 pm

On the 150th anniversary of the Pacific Railway Act, The Permanent Way considers the impact of railroads on the American landscape. It blends recent photographs by living artists with archival material charting the 19th-century expansion of railroads. On Saturday, July 7, exhibition organizer Brian Sholis will lead a walking tour exploring how visionary engineering projects—such as underwater tunnels, the original Penn Station, and Grand Central—reshaped New York City.

edgar oliver & theodore schroetter
Where: The Gershwin Hotel
When: June 7, 8pm

edgar oliver & theodore schroetter present an evening’s verse & conversation 

SPOTLIGHT ON NEW TALENT: SURFACE TO AIR – CD RELEASE 
Where: Cornelia Street Cafe
When:  June 7, 8:30pm

Surface to Air combine their varied and extensive musical experiences and influences to create an album of lush textures and musical interplay that takes listeners through a rich cinematic soundscape.

The Bark and Scream Series: Sarah Bernstein Chamber Project
Where: The Firehouse Space
When: June 14, 8pm 

Curated by Satoshi Takeishi

Sarah Craft:Mezzo-Soprano, Christa Robinson:Oboe, Scott Tixier:Violin, Mat Maneri:Viola, Rubin Kodheli:Cello, Sara Schoenbeck:Bassoon, Stephanie Richards:Trumpet, Michael Rose:Piano

Jared Gilbert: Liberation Theologies for Secular Society
Where: The New Museum
When: July 12th, 7:30pm 

Queer theology, feminist theology, and a host of new theological movements have transformed American religions but they have done little to disrupt the political economies of otherness. In a culture that is at once deeply spiritual and ideologically secular, the divides between exclusive claims on religion, culture, and politics has prevented meaningful coalitions across these divides to create social change. This talk will examine queer and feminist theologies for ideas for systemic change across political divides. Jared Gilbert is a Master of Divinity candidate (2012) at Yale Divinity School, where he is the current student body president and the former co-chair of the LGBTQ Coalition.