Saturday, October 5, 3pm: Works in Public, Riverside Park North

The Art Students League of New York and The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation present Works in Public 2024, a year-round outdoor public art exhibition at Riverside Park in Manhattan. The exhibition features four new site-specific sculptures by League artists: Patricia Espinosa and Malin Abrahamsson [above] in Riverside Park North at 145th Street and Riverside Drive and two more opening on Monday in Riverside Park South. Above: Photos courtesy Patricia Espinosa

Works in Public, formerly known as Model to Monument, is a professional development program founded in 2010 in partnership with NYC Parks to guide League students through the process of creating large-scale sculpture for outdoor public spaces within the context of this program at the Art Students League of New York. Under the guidance of Works in Public alumni Haksul Lee and Natsuki Takauji, alongside instructors at the League, the program supports artist-participants in every phase of the conception, creation, and installation of site-specific public sculpture, culminating in public exhibitions.

Moon Finder —the work of Malin Abrahamsson, is a public sculpture and orientation device. Aligned with the ecliptic—the broad, dynamic celestial belt where the Sun, Moon, and planets orbit through space—it reflects Earth’s emerging position and astronomical relationships within the solar system. Combining elements of science and engineering with the moon’s symbolism as an object of longing and desire, "Moon Finder" acts as both a literal and metaphorical navigation tool, pointing to this location in Riverside Park and your presence in the cosmos.

Riverside Park North, 145^th Street at Riverside Drive, New York, NY

Tuesday, October 8, 6:30pm: Nick Lamia | Get Out There! Talk at NYSS

Nick Lamia invites you to his talk at the New York Studio School and bring your questions. He wrote: "My lecture will focus on the relationship between my love for the outdoors and my artistic practice. If you are in New York, I would love you to join me in person at the Studio School that evening. If you can't be there physically, PLEASE join the lecture virtually and participate in the question and answer session afterward as well. If you'd like to join remotely, click here to register.

“I cannot wait for the question and answer period. If you've ever wondered how my abstract artworks could possibly relate to real life experience, join in and ask me! If you are interested in technical details about my painting habits, ask me! If you want to know more about my trajectory from environmental science and living out of a sleeping bag in the Sierra Nevada to visual art in NYC, I want to share...ask away! In dialogue after lectures I've given in the past, I have been educated by people more observant than I am, surprised by things people notice in my work that I haven't seen and humbled and encouraged by   people's enthusiasm for what I do. I hope this time will be the same. Please share your thoughts with me and I will do the same with you.”

NYSSA, 8 West 8^th Street, New York,NY Register

Thursday, October 10, 6-8pm: The High Line Open Studios Preview

October 12-13, noon to 6pm: The High Line Open Studios Presents its 15th annual artists open studios

The artists of West Chelsea cordially invite you into their studios for “behind the scenes” visits. Come meet the artists and see where they create their work. This is a prime opportunity to purchase a wide range of affordable artwork — paintings, drawings, prints, textiles, mixed-media, photography, sculpture and more — directly from the artist, and without the gallery mark-up.

This year more than 60 artists in 9 locations near the High Line Park and West Chelsea Gallery District, including Westbeth Artists Housing, ArtStart, and more will participate.

The self guided tour begins at the West Chelsea Arts Building on West 26th Street. Pick up the MAP and event information in the lobbies at 508 and 526 West 26th St. and begin your artists' studio tour.

Preview location: 12th Floor Penthouse, 508 West 26th Street, 12th floor

Starting Location for Open Studios: West Chelsea Arts Building, 526 West 26th Street, Lobby - Tour Maps & Info

Thursday, October 10, 6-8pm: Ellen Wallenstein | Blue Journey at Carter Burden

Join Ellen Wallenstein and her quilter collaborator Kathe Williams for a celebration of the artist’s remarkable journey. In late 2021, artist and photography professor  received a life-altering diagnosis: stage three endometrial cancer. Despite the daunting prognosis, Wallenstein found solace and strength in her art, continuing to create cyanotypes—ethereal blue shadow-grams on cloth—each sunny day. These daily practices became a profound medium for Wallenstein to channel her emotions, fears, and unwavering determination to thrive. Above: photo courtesy of Karin Bruckner

The installation features nine sets of prayer flags, titled "In Treatment," meticulously crafted during the early stages of her diagnosis in 2021 and 2022. Each flag, imbued with Wallenstein's spirit, reflects the raw and unfiltered experiences of undergoing treatment. Complementing the prayer flags are five quilts, collectively known as "The Healing Process." Created between 2020 and 2024, these quilts narrate the phases of prognosis, treatment, healing, and eventual remission.

They are the result of a collaborative effort between Wallenstein and Kathe Williams, a master quilter and Wallenstein's longtime friend from Texas. Together, they transformed Wallenstein's journey into tactile expressions of hope and recovery, blending artistic visions with intimate personal experiences. Above: photo courtesy of Karin Brucknerwhose work appears in Play, in the adjacent Carter Burden Gallery

Continuing through November 6 at Carter Burden Gallery, 548 West 28^th Street, New York, NY Info 

Continuing through October 12: Stefan Sagmeister | The Masters Series at SVA Chelsea

An award and exhibition honoring design giant Stefan Sagmeister, the show will be a career retrospective that includes elements of Sagmeister’s past exhibitions, published books, design and film work, incorporating multiple “eras” of the artist’s long and storied career. More than three decades of sketchbooks, many posters including ones commissioned by SVA as part of the College’s Subway Poster series, and design work dating back to the late 1980s will be on view. 

“It is a true pleasure to receive this award and to see decades of my work exhibited at my very favorite art school in New York City,” Sagmeister says. “Bringing together all of the different facets of my career for people to enjoy and interact with at SVA, where I had the privilege of teaching for many years, is especially meaningful. It'll be a whole lot of fun.”

The show also includes a miniature theatre where Sagmeister’s film will screen on a loop, interactive installations, and even special take-home posters for visitors to the gallery. SVA will also host an artist talk with Sagmeister on SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26^th Street, New York, NY Info

Friday-Sunday, October 18-20: Open House New York by Urban Omnibus

From the press release: This year, Urban Omnibus, The Architectural League’s publication dedicated to observing, understanding, and shaping New York City, celebrates fifteen years of raising new questions, illuminating diverse perspectives, and documenting creative projects to advance the collective work of citymaking. Since its founding in 2009, Urban Omnibus has explored more than 1,000 sites across New York City through articles, interviews, and visual essays. For this OHNY Weekend, UO highlights places and projects it has featured, from microsites to megaprojects across all five boroughs. 

Tours will explore enduring social and spatial questions: How to create inclusive public spaces? Ensure environmental justice? Build affordable housing? Address the climate crisis? Navigate gentrification? Each listing also includes a reading list with links to relevant articles from UO’s archives to go deeper. We’ll visit public bathrooms, a food forest, an interstate highway, a “Super Sidewalk,” and more with guides who are deeply engaged in the collective work of citymaking. Activists, architects, planners, advocates, writers, stewards, and spiritual leaders will help us look closely at the city we live in and think deeply about the city we want to see. 
For more information about Urban Ominibus, visit urbanomnibus.net