David Benjamin Sherry, from American Monuments, courtesy of Salon 94

In the current issue of Photograph, Editor Jean Dykstra writes about the exhibition of Isa Leshko’s black-and-white photographs of farm animals, opening this week at ClampArt Gallery,  [her] “portraits bring to mind Peter Hujar’s photographs of animals, which similarly captured the particularity of a dog or horse (or goose or goat), a sense of that creature’s individual consciousness. Leshko’s photographs, too, are rich in respect and empathy while avoiding sentimentality.” The artist writes;

 “For nearly a decade, I have visited farm animal sanctuaries across America to create photographic portraits of geriatric animals. I began this series shortly after caring for my mom who had Alzheimer’s disease. The experience had a profound effect on me and forced me to confront my own mortality. I am terrified of growing old and I started photographing geriatric animals in order to take an unflinching look at this fear. 

“For this series I have also photographed elderly companion animals. I juxtapose these images with my farm animal portraits to exemplify the similarities among these animals and to invite inquiry into why we pamper some animals and butcher others.

"As I met rescued farm animals, and heard their stories, though,” she continues, “my motivation for creating this work changed. I became a passionate advocate for these animals and I wanted to use my images to speak on their behalf. For each image, I strive to reveal the unique personality of the animal I photograph.”

Above:  Paul Anthony Smith, 'A Sense of Familiar', 2018, unique picotage on inkjet print; courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery

Talks / Book Events / Screenings / and Beyond

Wednesday, October 2

Paul Anthony Smith, 6:30 pm. New York Academy of Art, 111 Franklin Street, NY, NY Info 

More Art in the Public Eye | book launch, reading and performance by Ofri Cnaani and Pablo Helguera. Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation / The 8^thFloor, 17 West 17^thStreet, NY, NY Info

Thursday, October 3-Sunday, October 6

Jersey City Art and Studio Tour. More than 140 open studios, gallery shows, dance and musical performances, mural tours, and more. Info and Map here

Thursday, October 3-Friday October 4

Loyalty and Betrayal | Their Role in Political Life, the 39th Social Research conference, is part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of The New School. It recognizes both the origins of The New School, which was founded by a small group of professors who left Columbia University in protest over the imposition of loyalty oaths during World War I, and the continuing relevance and deep complexities underlying the concepts of loyalty and betrayal in our political lives today. It takes place during The New School’s “Festival of New,” its week of centennial celebration. Info and Registration [free] here

Right: Steve Brodner speaks about work and life in NYC; video

Looking Ahead: Thursday, October 10

Reception: "The Masters Series: Steve Brodner" will be on view at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, October 5-November 2; a reception and award ceremony will be held at the gallery on Thursday, October 10, 6:00 – 8:00pm. Additionally, Brodner will give an artist's talk on Wednesday, October 30, 7:00 – 9:00pm, at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street. Info Stay tuned for exclusive DART Interview.

Looking Ahead: Tuesday, October 15

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts on Legal Issues in Graffiti Art.1 East 53^rdStreet, NY, NY Info

Looking Ahead: Thursday, October 24

The 2nd Annual SPD Photography Portfolio Review. Share your portfolio with top Photo Directors & Visual Creatives from an assortment of publications and brands who are looking for new talent. Morning and afternoon sessions, registration closes Friday, October 18. Info

In Galleries / Lens-based Art

Tuesday, October 3

Audubon Mural Project | Photographs by Gail Albert Halaban, 7-8 pm. Aperture Gallery, 548 West 28^thStreet, NY, NY Info

Left: Isa Leshko, Bumper, Mixed Breed Dog, Age 17, II; this week at ClampArt Gallery

Thursday, October 3

Isa Leshko | Allowed to Grow Old, 6-8 pm. ClampArt, 247 West 29^thStreet, NY, NY Info

Continuing

David Benjamin Sherry | American Monuments. Salon 94, 243 Bowery, NY, NY Info

In Galleries 

Wednesday, October 2, 19

Inappropriated | The Toy Ghandi, 6-8 pm, with lecture by Prof. Sumathi Ramaswamy at 6:30 pm. Aicon Galleryfo, 35 Great Jones Street, NY, NY Info

Thursday, October 3

Wally Gilbert | Worlds, 6-8 pm. Viridian Artists, Inc., 548 West 28^thStreet, NY, NY Inc

Status | Mrinalini Aggarwal, Diego Anaya, Kate Bae, Yael Ben-Simon, Vincent Bezuidenhout, Ziyu He, Chemin Hsiao, Nazanin Noroozi, Masahito Ono, Htet San, Luisa Valderrama, 6:30-8:30 pm. The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, 12 West 12th Street, NY, NY Info

In Museums

Opening Friday, October 4

John Singer Sargent | Portraits in Charcoal. From the press release: While he is best known for his powerful paintings, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) largely ceased painting portraits in 1907 and turned instead to charcoal drawings to satisfy portrait commissions. These drawn portraits represent a substantial, yet often overlooked, part of his practice, and they demonstrate the same sense of immediacy, psychological sensitivity, and mastery of chiaroscuro…The first major exhibition to explore the artist’s expressive portraits in charcoal, [this exhibition] will recognize the sheer scale of Sargent’s achievement as a portrait draftsman. Important international loans, from both public and private collections, will showcase Sargent’s sitters, many of them famous for their roles in politics, society, and the arts. The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue, NY, NY Info

Ralston Crawford | Torn Signs. The Vilcek Foundation, 21 East 70^thStreet, NY, NY By appointment. Info Ralston Crawford: Torn Signs marks the opening of the Vilcek Foundation’s new headquarters, a five-story landmark structure renovated by Architecture Research Office. The site will host exhibitions including holdings in American Modernism, Native American pottery, and Pre-Columbian art. The opening coincides with several new initiatives, including additions to the Vilcek Foundation Prize program, awarded to immigrants in the arts and sciences. Info

Above: Simone Leigh video, courtesy of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

JR | Chronicles.  The immersive presentation, coveringnearly 20,000 square feet of the Museum’s Great Hall, centers on The Chronicles of New York City, a new monumental mural incorporating the portraits and stories of over one thousand New Yorkers. The installation also features JR’s most well-known works across photography, installation, film, and video from the past fifteen years, including his first major collaborative project, Portrait of a Generation (2004-6); Face 2 Face (2007), which features giant portrait diptychs of Israelis and Palestinians, face to face, in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities; Women Are Heroes (2008-9), featuring images of the eyes of women gazing back at their communities in numerous countries, including Brazil, India, and Kenya; the global participatory art project Inside Out (2011-ongoing); and The Gun Chronicles: A Story of America (2018), a video mural that gives a face to the full and complex spectrum of views on guns in the United States. The Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY Info

Continuing

The Hugo Boss Prize 2018: Simone Leigh, Loophole of Retreat. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY Info

Garry Winogrand | In Color. Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY Info

The Life and Times of Alvin Baltrop. Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY Info