Friday, May 21: Opening day

Louise Bourgeois, Freud’s Daughter | The Jewish Museum

Bourgeois’s complex and ambivalent relationship with Freudian psychoanalysis forms the core of this exhibition of nearly 50 works from throughout her career, including the Personages of the late 1940s; the organic forms in plaster and latex of the 1960s; the pivotal installation The Destruction of the Father (1974); Passage Dangereux (1997), along with a selection of her psychoanalytic writings — many of them presented to the public for the first time. Above: The Destruction of the Father (detail), 1974

Louise Bourgeois, Freud’s Daughter, through September 12 at the Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY Info

Friday, May 22:  Opening Day

Craft Front and Center | Museum of Arts and Design

Featuring more than 70 iconic and influential works from MAD’s permanent collection, Craft Front & Center celebrates the soaring interest in craft as an art form. Explore the key historical touchpoints that have brought us to this moment—from the field’s first important assertions of materiality and process in the 1950s to the bold statements addressing race, identity, and sexuality from contemporary artists who are expanding craft’s reach. Showcasing the diversity and expressive power of the handmade, the exhibition affirms craft as one of the most exciting spaces for experimentation and wonder in art today. Museum of Arts & Design, 2 Columbus Circle, NY, NY Tickets Above: unidentified image from madmuseum.org.
Wednesday, May 19, 7:00 pm
Join MAD curators tonight for a virtual preview of Craft Front & Center. Learn how the team created a compelling new narrative of craft and why they opted out of a traditional chronological telling in favor of an interpretation closer to craft’s noncanonical journey. Info

Thursday, May 20, 4-8:00 pm

L.E.S Third Thursday Gallery Night. Thanks to Frosch&Co. for the alert. Currently on view: Jerry Kearns. | Blam! [above]

Tuesday May 18 | Opening 5-8:00 pm

Truth to Power | Soho Renaissance Factory

The Soho Renaissance Factory (SRF) is a startup artist collective and community outreach organization dedicated to revitalization through socially conscious art, local beautification and community bonding events.

SRF has a mission to help support local artists and community beautification projects while promoting mental health and rebuilding New York City. “SRF makes Public Art for Public Good.” Soho Renaissance Gallery, 122 Grand Street, NY, NY Info Above: Malado Francine, Watching you watching me, 2020

Planning Ahead

The main Typographics conference will feature an international line-up of 30 designers from 20 countries presenting talks about type and its use in graphic design, web design, publication design, book design, packaging, branding, corporate identities, advertising, motion graphics, and more. Below: Designing Type Ornaments with Marina Chaccur

Typographics 2021 events will be hosted online this year and is spread out between June 1 and July 21, with talks taking place every Tuesday and Thursday for 5 weeks across a variety of time zones. Check the schedule overview for preliminary info. More speakers and talk descriptions for the main Typographics conference will be announced over the coming weeks. For updates and announce­ments, join the Typographics mailing list and  @TypographicsNYC on Twitter.

Book Notes

Nature’s Palette: A Color Reference System from the Natural World | from Princeton University Press

During the Enlightenment, scientists made great strides in classifying and understanding the natural world. New scientific methods for identifying animals, plants, and minerals arose, but a scientist’s most immediate and accessible tool was still their eyes. Color, for example, gave them crucial information about age, species, sex, chemical composition, and health. Yet there was no single standardized system to report color across or within sciences during this time.

In 1774, the German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner proposed a color classification system that would resonate well beyond its intended audience. His book, Of the External Characteristics of Fossils  reverberated across the European science community, and was quickly translated and expanded upon by Hungarian, French, Swiss, German, Austrian, English, and American naturalists who were eager to incorporate a more systematic approach to the documentation of color. Info