This October lineup is for duos and BFFs. There are three seamless two-person shows up in Philadelphia, Toronto, and New York. Friends and collaborators run amok in this grouping with exhibitions both humorous and serious. Across the pond, Keith Varadi and Mark Leckey have taken over Brussels at Sébastien Ricou and Wiels Contemporary Art Centre. Our picks are as follows:
Keith J. Varadi, “Reader’s Digest” at Sébastien Ricou, Brussels
Through October 25, 2014
Varadi’s tightly curated solo show includes several paintings, some of which lie on book shelves like a personal library. Altogether, it creates a great sense of familiarity in the otherwise nondescript space of gallery settings.
Mark Leckey, Lending Enchantment to Vulgar Materials (video still). Courtesy of Wiels.
Joshua Abelow and Gene Beery, “Keeping a Close Eye on the Wind” at Bodega, New York
October 12 – November 16, 2014
Abelow and Beery have been in conversation for some time. This show features their most recent collaboration in the form of a wordplay-meets-art 120 page book.
Graham Collins and Jeremy Jansen at Cooper Cole, Toronto
October 16 – November 08, 2014
With an eclectic range of materials that include spray enamel, reclaimed wood, glass and even window tint, Graham Collins has created several stunning minimal paintings. Jansen’s metal sculptural works of everyday partitions round out this show.
Graham Collins, Untitled (Tracy Chapman Cover), 2013, Courtesy of Cooper Cole.
Alex Da Corte and Jayson Musson, “Easternsports” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
Through December 28, 2014
Friends and first-time collaborators Alex Da Corte and Jayson Musson have tread ground in unfamiliar territory: video and language. For their new commission at ICA, the two go deep with a four-channel, multilingual soap opera starring the artists.
Mark Leckey, “Lending Enchantment to Vulgar Materials” at WIELS, Brussels
Through November 1, 2014
Recent recipient of the Turner Prize, Mark Leckey channels Apollinaire with videos and sculptures that span over 15 years. Rare works such as his 1999 video of dance hall youth culture, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore, will be show alongside other key pieces to offer viewers a visitors a cohesive survey of Leckey’s oeuvre.
Alex Da Corte and Jayson Musson, Easternsports (video still) courtesy of the artists and Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Joe Sheften Gallery, and Salon 94.
Henri Matisse, “The Cut-Outs” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York
October 12, 2014–February 8, 2015
The most anticipated show of 2014 has finally arrived. In the 1940s, Matisse began the Cut-Outs and arrived at works that rival painting with a decorative sense of ornamentation and ingenious formal inquiry.
Polly Apfelbaum, “Nevermind: Work from the 90s” at Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts
October 8, 2014 – March 1, 2015
Worcester Art Museum will display Apfelbaum’s rarely seen early synthetic velvet and fabric dye works. Exploring gender, class and craft, these same works culminated into her now-iconic floor installations (or “fallen paintings”).
