What’s New in New York’s Art World? Five July Selections

1. Rineke Dijkstra at the Guggenheim Museum , through October 8

The Dutch photographer’s portraits of adolescents and young people uncover the awkwardness of still-growing bodies in her signature beach photos from the ‘90s and by the later ‘00s capture a new generation at home in front of the camera.

2.  Everyday Abstract – Abstract Everyday at James Cohan Gallery, through July 27

With dozens of artworks in various media crowding the gallery, this show is a mini-primer in recent abstract art.  Given that many of the artists included have recently had solo shows in the city, this exhibition is a good chance to play catch up or enjoy some favorites.

3. Yayoi Kusama at the Whitney Museum of American Art , opens July 12, runs through September 30

Yayoi Kusama’s magical ‘Fireflies on the Water,’ a mirrored room hung with tiny lights and fitted with a narrow platform surrounded by a shallow pool of water (which opened mid-June) is a tantalizing teaser for what comes next – a full retrospective of work by one Pop Art’s most influential female practitioners.

4.  ‘The Big Picture,’ Sikkema Jenkins & Co., through July 27

In deciding to eschew large-scale, overtly ambitious painting in its summer group show, Sikkema Jenkins offers a more meditative experience, perfect for enjoying the fine detail of romantic oil on aluminum paintings by Jeronimo Elespe or high energy of Ann Pibal’s hard-edged abstractions.

5.  ‘Stand Still Like the Hummingbird’ at David Zwirner Gallery, through August 3

Driven by apparent contradictions, this show features Mason William’s 1967 life-sized print of a Greyhound bus, designed to be folded into a small box, and a bronze sculpture looking exactly like a block of Styrofoam by Robert Gober amongst other surprises.

Merrily Kerr, who runs New York Art Tours, will be presenting this list as a monthly feature  for the benefit of our New York-area readers interested in the intersection between faith and contemporary art.