Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – SATURDAY, DEC. 21, 2013
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “Notable NYC Events-Dec.”, (because the holiday season kicks into high gear in December)
and also “on Broadway”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
Holiday Light! “Singing Angels, Silver Bells”
Early English Carols; Renaissance music by Praetorius, Guererro, Victoria, Hassler.
German and Latin American Baroque works.
Early American Music, Spirituals, 20th century works by Hugo Distler.
Contemporary music by Matthew Harris, Elliot Levine, Gayla Morgan.
“A kaleidoscopic tapestry of vocal hues …” — New York Times
Church of St Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street
AT 8:00 pm / $25-$35
212-873-2848
Circus Der Sinne (through Jan. 5)
Fans of contemporary circus may be used to the surreal worlds of Cirque du Soleil, but “Mother Africa” by Circus Der Sinne (“Circus of the Senses”) offers a warmer and more spirited journey through a specific cultural landscape. Riding a wave of propulsive rhythms, the show mixes the spectacle of contortionists, jugglers and other tricksters with live African music and dance.” (Schaefer-NYT)
New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd St. (btw 7th/8th ave)
at 2 and 7 p.m. / $17 to $60
223-3010, newvictory.org
Bring Home The Sun
Paul Winter’s 34th Annual Winter Solstice Celebration
featuring the Paul Winter Consort, vocalist Theresa Thomason,
Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, legendary Brazilian singer Ivan Lins,
Brazilian guitarist and vocalist Renato Braz, and more.
The NYT says: “an immersive, multi media extravaganza”.
The Cathedral is a grand space for what I remember as a grand spectacle.
The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, 111th St and Amsterdam Ave
AT 2PM, 7:30PM / $35 and $55
solsticeconcert.com
GERI ALLEN
“Forming what amounts to a post-bop supergroup, the lauded pianist and composer stocks her quartet with the increasingly influential saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, as well as the drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts and the bassist James Genus, as rock solid a rhythm section as could be wished for.” (NewYorker mag)
Look for her solo piano version of Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown”
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave South, at 11th St.
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m./ $25 and $30, with a one-drink minimum.
255-4037, villagevanguard.com
Mark Dresser Quintet*
A master of abstract texture and extended techniques, the bassist Mark Dresser has an expressive new album, “Nourishments,” that puts a hard spin on the postbop quintet language. For this one-nighter, he reconvenes the album’s uncompromising personnel: Rudresh Mahanthappa on saxophone, Michael Dessen on trombone, Denman Maroney on prepared piano and Michael Sarin on drums.” (Chinen-NYT)
Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village
At 9 and 10:30 p.m./$15 cover, with a $10 minimum.
(212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com
Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change. ===============================================================================
Chelsea is the heart of the NYCity contemporary art scene. Home to more than 300 art galleries, the Rubin Museum, the Joyce Theater, and The Kitchen performance spaces, there is no place like it anywhere in the world.
Come here to browse free exhibitions by world-renowned artists and those unknowns waiting to be discovered in an art district that is concentrated between West 18th and West 27th Streets, and 10th and 11th Avenues.
Afterwards stop in the Chelsea Market, stroll on the High Line, or rest up at one of the many cafes and bars and discuss the fine art – my fave is Ovest on W 27th St., where the aperitivo is like Happy Hour on steroids.
WHAT’S ON VIEW: Here are 3 Special Exhibitions in Chelsea Galleries that you may want to see:
Raqib Shaw, “Paradise Lost” (last day)
East meets West in the work of this London artist, who originally hails from India, and whose sumptuous, jewel-and-enamel inlaid paintings and intricately detailed sculptures combine numerous traditions and canons—including Indian miniatures and textiles, Old Master painting, Orientalism and Surrealism. His works might be best described as visions of paradise being invaded by the forces of hell. It’s a strange mix that plays upon our notions of exoticism while sending them up. For his debut at Pace, the artist fills all three of the gallery’s Chelsea locations.
Pace Gallery 508 W 25th St. btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm
212-255-4044 / thepacegallery.com
Bing Wright (through Jan 18)
Over the years, Wright’s photography has been marked by a focus on surface as metaphor for the photograph itself, with his work achieving a poetical stillness as a result. The photos here, for example, include his color series “Broken Mirror/Evening Sky,” in which the setting sun is seen reflected within the cracks of a shattered mirror, scattering the oranges and violets of dusk to an almost stained-glass effect.
Paula Cooper Gallery 521 W 21st St, (between Tenth and Eleventh Aves)
Tue-Sat 10am-6pm
212-255-1105 / paulacoopergallery.com
Richard Serra, “New Sculpture” (until Sat. Jan. 25, 2014)
Gagosian’s double dose of Richard Serra presents dueling sides of the sculptor: the popular artist name checked in a Vampire Weekend song, and the confrontational figure familiar from his earlier career.
The gallery’s West 21st Street location presents the former in fine form, with a single massive work. Curling ribbons of steel, set on edge and towering to ceiling height, nestle together to create Serra’s signature bowing and curving of space. They swallow viewers up in a phenomenological ecstasy one usually associates with, say, walking along a narrow canyon. The metal’s russet color only adds to the sensation of experiencing something more natural than man-made.
The tone, if not the scale, of the work shifts on West 24th Street, with a group of sculptures and nary a bend in sight. Hard-edged steel plates, patinated a carceral gray, get in your way like barricades around a government building. A set of enormous blocks serves as a memorial to the recently deceased sculptor Walter De Maria, a friend of Serra’s. Experiential warmth gives way to cold truths as Serra employs his legendary toughness to challenge not only gravity, but death itself.—(Howard Halle/TONY mag)
Gagosian Gallery, 522 W 21st St, btw 10th/11th Aves
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm
212-741-1717 / gagosian.com
For a listing of 25 essential galleries in the Chelsea Art Gallery District, organized by street, which enables you to create your own Chelsea Art Gallery crawl, see the Chelsea Gallery Guide (nycgo.com)
Or check out TONY magazine’s list of the “Best Chelsea Galleries” and click through to see what’s on view.
==========================================================
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 