Grab your mask and brave the subway (or stay right where you are and journey digitally); here are four incredible group shows in New York currently on view IRL presenting some of the most exciting and sought-after artists in the world.

Lyles & King - 21 Catherine St, New York
I WANT TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN
Sep 2 - Oct 11, 2020

Jessie Makinson, Skin Spy, 2020, Oil and pigment on canvas, 82 5/8 x 78 3/4 in, 210 x 200 cm. Courtesy of Lyles & King — **Jessie Makinson, *Skin Spy*, 2020, Oil and pigment on canvas, 82 5/8 x 78 3/4 in, 210 x 200 cm. Courtesy of Lyles & King**

The philosopher Emmanuel Levinas famously believed that empathy, our sense of responsibility towards one another, derives from face-to-face interactions. I WANT TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN is Lyles & King’s inaugural exhibition at their new space on 21 Catherine Street. The group show is concerned with the body, empathy, and human connection — using skin as the central motif.

A refocus on figuration in art allows a certain level of refuge in a world grown infinitely precarious. Here we witness a variety of subjects and bodies, real and fictitious, engaged in numerous states and moments of lived experiences ranging from alienation, interconnection and tenderness depicted in painting, photography and sculpture.

Exhibited artists include; Farley Aguilar, Elia Alba, Sara Anstis, Jenna Gribbon, Rebecca Horn, Ridley Howard, Jessie Makinson, Gina Pane, Ariana Papademetropoulous, Sara Rahbar, Mira Schor, Phumelele Tshabalala, Aleksandra Waliszewska and Faith Wilding among others.

Full press release and installation shots here.

I WANT TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN, Installation view, Lyles & King, New York, US, Sep 2 - Oct 11, 2020. Courtesy of Lyles & King — *I WANT TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN*, Installation view, Lyles & King, New York, US, Sep 2 - Oct 11, 2020. Courtesy of Lyles & King

The Hole
CUBED
September 10th – October 11th, 2020

The Hole on Bowery presents ‘Cubed’, a group show of 14 artists working in idiosyncratic geometric abstraction. Filling each corner and room of the gallery, the collection of works display a range of artistic practices; from painted silks and fabrics to de-threaded weaving works, stitched canvas and single-line machine drawings.

Two infinite void paintings by Johnny Niesche and the bright electric lines of Clinton King. Deliciously flat, smooth surfaces, intricate dotted patterns and layers of swirls and swaths of oil paint and lacquer on canvas. In one room, six paintings by Kristine Moran in one room feature continuous arched loops of thick black paint that outline a sea of faces wearing little pink goggles.

See the full list of works included in the show here.

Jean Nagai, Wildlife Refuge 3, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 61 x 108 in. Courtesy of The Hole. — **Jean Nagai, *Wildlife Refuge 3*, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 61 x 108 in. Courtesy of The Hole.**

Ross & Kramer Gallery - 515 W 27th St, New York
How 'Bout Them Apples
Sep 17 - Oct 31

Ross & Kramer celebrate their first show in their new Chelsea space with a group show of incredible New York-based artists; Nina Chanel Abney, Trey Abdella, Ana Benaroya, Jonathan Chapline, Julie Curtiss, Timothy Curtis, Todd James, Ludovic Nkoth, Eddie Martinez, Tony Matelli, John Rivas, Koichi Sato, Anna Park, Erik Parker, and David “Mr. Star City” White.

Explaining the show’s title, an excerpt from the press release reads;

“The phrase “How ‘Bout Them Apples?” is a brassy declaration of one-upmanship made familiar by the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. Here it speaks to the resilience and toughness of the artists whose work is featured in this exhibition, New Yorkers who persevered through one of the city’s most trying periods. By opening a new gallery space, albeit carefully, with an ambitious group show during a pandemic, the show hopes to communicate that while things may not be the same as always, the spirit of New York endures, especially through the artists who create within its borders. The gallery will be presenting fourteen new works that embody the vibrancy of the city itself, the Big Apple.”

The gallery will be donating 10% of all sales proceeds from this exhibition to Project Sunshine, an international nonprofit supporting the urgent needs of pediatric patients during COVID-19.

Jeffrey Deitch - 18 Wooster Street & 76 Grand Street, New York
GOOD PICTURES
Curated by Austin Lee
Sep 19–Nov 7, 2020

Curated by the American, New-York based artist, Austin Lee, Good Pictures showcases an eclectic collection of works ranging from figurative paintings to mixed-media pieces and life-sized sculptures.

The show draws inspiration from John Baldessari’s work, What is Painting (1966-68) which asked; “Do you sense how all the parts of a good picture are involved with each other, not just placed side by side? Art is a creation for the eye and can only be hinted at with words”. Bringing together work by artists in his immediate friend circle as well as his wider artist community, Lee presents a variety of contemporary voices that have inspired his own practice through the years and continue to draw and learn from each other. Expanding on Baldessari’s investigation into what it takes to make a good painting, Lee describes; “I think of painting as evidence of a state of mind. Documentation of thoughts. That can take form in an infinite amount of variations.”

The show features work by over 40 artists including; Genesis Belanger, Erik Parker, Julie Curtiss, Koichi Sato, Dominique Fung, Sayre Gomez, Judy Chicago, Holly Coulis, Somaya Critchlow, Lenz Geerk, Hein Koh, among many others.

I WANT TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN

Exhibition Spotlight; Fall, 2020