The American Manifest is Charles Gaines’s first public art project, unfolding in three parts over the course of two years across three sites — Times Square, Governors Island, and the banks of the Ohio river in Cincinnati. Presented by Creative Time, Governors Island, and Times Square Arts and staged in three chapters, The American Manifest begins with a performance-based installation and sculptural series of seven Sweetgum trees in Times Square, painted and presented with the root systems intact and upside down to a surreal and dystopic effect. 

Sweetgum trees, indigenous to the eastern United States and much more populous throughout the region that eventually became Times Square, are known for their impressive root systems that require vast open spaces to grow. The trees stand in stark contrast to the neon billboards above them, bearing more similarity to the cinderblock exteriors of the tourist hub’s office buildings than to its flashy, ever-changing pixelated displays. Photo courtesy Times Square Arts 

“The subject is really a critique of America’s version of capitalism, and particularly, America’s version of capitalism that was fueled by slavery and colonial occupations,” Gaines said in a recent interview with Hyperallergic. Read the feature here

Duffy Square is located in Times Square, along Broadway between 45-47^th Streets. Info

Wednesday, July 20, 6-8pm: ADAA Chelsea Art Walk

This just in: Yossi Milo Gallery is pleased to participate in this year's Chelsea Gallery Walk hosted by the Art Dealers Association of America. The gallery looks forward to welcoming guests after hours from 6 – 8 PM. 

Daniel Gordon will be present for the walkthrough to offer insight into his practice and share background on the special body of work he presents in RGB. This group exhibition features Gordon's work alongside that of John Gill, Emily Mullin, and Ettore Sottsass. The walkthrough will begin at 7 PM and will be followed by a Q&A session with Daniel Gordon. For more information, please visit the ADAA website.

Yossi Milo Galery, 245 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY Info

Thursday, July 21, 6-8 pm: Lower East Side Art Walk

In from Frosch & Co: Please join us for LES Gallery Nights! On the third Thursday of each month, participating galleries stay open after hours to allow visitors to engage with the vibrant art community of Downtown Manhattan. Above: Robert Yoder, Untitled, 2021, From A Line in the Sand

The event is always free; no tickets required. We encourage participants to engage in a self-guided walk through our neighborhood to explore current shows and discover new artists. Map
Frosch & Co., 34 E Broadway, New York, NY Info

Sunday, July 24, 3-4pm: Meet the Artist | Heidi Norton at Wave Hill

Join Heidi Norton and Curator of Visual Arts Eileen Jeng Lynch for a conversation about Norton’s installation in the Sun Porch that examines the interconnections between humans and the natural world. They discuss topics that include Norton’s sculptural process, use of organic materials, the paradox of preservation and liminality of time. Register. online or by calling 718.549.3200 x251.

Wave Hill, 4900 Independence Avenue, Bronx, NY Info 

Through August 7: The Bone That Sings Was Mine at ChaShaMa, East 64^th Street

This exhibition of works by nine artists, curated by Defne Tutus, presents nine artists whose work is deeply rooted in the body, transmogrifying bones and flesh as a way of giving physical form to treasure, myth and mortality.

among the bones you find on the beach 

the one that sings was mine.1

The Bone That Sings Was Mine takes its name from a dissident poem by Lisel Mueller which broaches the question – who was I and what will I leave behind? The idiosyncratic, discordant and confusing experience of having a body and attempting to navigate the world is all preamble to this striving. We learn to tell stories, sing songs, make pictures and objects, and hope they capture the tone, the mood and the indescribable mixture of feelings we feel because we hope it will connect us to our fellows in this life. Likewise, we want to be known to each other, even after death. Above: Christopher Baker, Anhooke (Reverse), 2020

The artists in The Bone That Sings Was Mine sew bones, repair and mend bits of trash, paint with hair and exuvia, make gold rust, fill a cemetery with mellifluous song. They make amulets, shields, masks, regalia, songs and storytelling that enchants. The nine artists in this exhibit leave behind objects, marks and sounds in the world that seek to express how strange it all was.

ChaShaMa, 340 East 64^th Street, New York, NY Info

Continuing through August 19: Pulp Memory, Workspace Residency Program at Dieu Donné

Pulp Memory presents new works in handmade paper by Fanny Allié, Juan Hinojosa, Melissa Joseph, Shervone Neckles, Armita Raafat, Robert Raphael, and Jason Urban & Leslie Mutchler. Using a wide variety of hand papermaking techniques, the artists explore and experiment with paper as a process-driven medium, constructing contemporary altars, monuments, and mementos, bringing power, meaning, or an otherworldliness into their work.  

Fanny Allié (left) incorporates found and discarded materials, including textiles and objects, into her work, juxtaposing elements to produce contemporary records of the everyday. Acting as a modern-day scavenger of her own refuse and that of others, Allié repurposes overlooked objects in an effort to expose the human traces woven into these materials and to redirect the waste of capitalist consumer culture. 

Dieu Donné, 63 Flushing Ave, Bldg 3 Suite 602, Brooklyn, NY