Tarek Atoui, Visiting Tarab, 2011. A Performa Commission. Photo: Paula Court. Courtesy of Performa

The Fluxus Weekend probably would have been enough. (Highlights from this tightly focused, historically themed mini-festival within Performa11 include a brand new film by Jonas Mekas called Fluxus Cabaret, complied from archival footage of Fluxus-related performances, and a day with Alison Knowles, founding member of the movement, who will perform with collaborators amid a sound installation in an empty storefront space.) But Performa has never been about “enough” or “tightly focused” — the biennial in its entirety is a well-marketed orgy of cross-disciplinary performances that have in common certain calendar dates, New York City, and an institutional stamp of approval. That said, the sense of urgency Performa creates around live or time-based work in “visual art, music, dance, poetry, fashion, architecture, graphic design, and the culinary arts” can be exciting —it just takes a bit of planning.

In past years I ventured out to more Performa shows than I could really fully engage with wholeheartedly because I believed that this biennial might possibly present a coherent vision of international contemporary performance as a whole. Actually, the fact that there is no cohesive whole in the art world, let alone across all these disparate disciplines, means that self-segregation persists despite, or perhaps because of, attempts at inclusiveness. Instead of a wide view of performance trends, the real value in a festival of this size is the opportunity to see shows that might not have come into existence were it not for Performa funding, and a marketing machine that benefits smaller works that would have been happening, more quietly, anyway. More precise editing and a more focused curatorial vision could conceivably cross boundaries between the aforementioned disciplines to make select contemporary trends across say food, architecture and visual art visible, but you can’t have it both ways, and director RoseLee Goldberg is truly attempting to create and to write the definitive history of performance. The result is New York time based art and performance on steroids.

Mika Rottenberg and Jon Kessler, SEVEN, 2011. A Performa Commission. Photo: Paula Court. Courtesy of Performa.

As if this weren’t enough, even with all this inclusiveness, each week of the biennial there are important shows to see that don’t fall under the Performa11 heading, such as Maria Hassabi’s SHOW at The Kitchen, Reusuable Parts/Endless Love by Ryan Kelly and Brennan Gerard at Danspace, and John Jasperse’s Canyon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. There are various reasons why these particular pieces didn’t get included in Performa this time around, some of them more political than others, but it’s worth noting that there is really nothing differentiating the actual experience of these works from Performa11. Two years ago, the audience at Tere O’Connor’s non-Performa09 related Wrought Iron Fog at New York Live Arts (then still called Dance Theater Workshop) was the same audience that was out every night at Performa09 events. The borders of this festival are particularly porous.

As I mentioned, Fluxus is an historical reference point for the biennial, but so is Russian Constructivism. The stated overarching curatorial themes, which are supposedly intertwined with the historical themes, are “Language, Translation and Misinformation; The Voice; The Politics of Speech; and the Animation of Modern Sculpture.” These are all fascinating, and extremely large topics and one can only hope that they will play out in clear and interesting ways in many of the pieces on view. The performances range from Commissions, which are the most “Performa” of the works since the institution funds them and the biennial is the impetus for their creation, to Premiers (first showings of experimental works), Projects (everything else performed live), Long Term Exhibitions, and the Film Program. There’s also the Fluxus Weekend, Performa Comedy, Performa Radio, Performa TV, Performa Magazine, and Performa After Hours.

I wish there was also a Performa11 app for my phone. In lieu of that, I’ve handmade a short list of the shows for the second half of the three week biennial that I’ll be seeing or that I would be seeing if I could be in two or three places at once. See the full listing of shows at Performa’s website, where you can sort your choices by interest, day, time, neighborhood, and price.

Maria Petschnig see-saw, seen-sawn

• Thursday, November 10, 7:30 pm — 8:30 pm

Austrian Cultural Forum, Free

Jack Ferver with Michelle Mola Me, Michelle

• Thursday, November 10, 8:00 pm — 9:00 pm, Friday, November 11, 8:00 pm — 9:00 pm, Saturday, November 12, 8:00 pm — 9:00 pm

Museum of Arts and Design
$18 / $15 MAD members and students

Ragnar Kjartansson and Davíd ?ór Jónsson Artist Class: On Music and Forgiveness

• Friday, November 11, 3:00 pm — 4:00 pm

Performa Hub
$10 / 8 Student

Shirin Neshat OverRuled

• Friday, November 11, 8:00 pm — 9:30 pm
• Saturday, November 12, 5:00 pm — 6:30 pm
• Saturday, November 12, 8:00 pm — 9:30 pm

Cedar Lake, $35 General, $35 to $100 Opening Night

Jonas Mekas Fluxus Cabaret

• Saturday, November 12, 6:00 pm — 7:30 pm

Anthology Film Archives, Tickets $9 / $7 students/seniors / $6 AFA Members

Alison Knowles in collaboration with Jessica Higgins and Joshua Selman Beans All Day

• Saturday, November 12, 12:00 pm — 6:00 pm

Forever & Today, Inc. storefront space, Free

Trajal Harrell Antigone Jr.

• Sunday, November 13, 6:00 pm — 7:29 pm
• Sunday, November 13, 7:30 pm — 9:00 pm

Third Streaming, $11

Liz Magic Laser I Feel Your Pain

• Sunday, November 13, 8:00 pm — 9:00 pm
• Monday, November 14, 8:00 pm — 9:00 pm

The SVA Theatre, Free with reservation

Mika Rottenberg and Jon Kessler SEVEN

• Thursday, November 3- November 19^th, various days (see Performa Calendar) , 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm

Nicole Klagsbrun Project Space, Free.

Proposed curriculum on contemporary art and performance: Dennis Oppenheim and the art of survival, Day 17

• Thursday, November 17, 1:00 pm — 6:00 pm

Performa Hub, Free with reservation

Pablo Helguera The Well-Tempered Exposition, Book One, Part II

• Friday, November 18, 7:00 pm — 8:00 pm

Location One

Robert Ashley That Morning Thing

• Saturday, November 19, 8:00 pm — 9:30 pm, Sunday, November 20, 3:00 pm — 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm — 9:30 pm, Monday, November 21, 8:00 pm — 9:30 pm

The Kitchen, $30

click to enlarge

Jack Whitten, Apps for Obama, 2011. Acrylic on Hollow Core Door, 84 x 91 inches. Courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates

Jack Whitten at Alexander Gray Associates
526 West 26th Street #215. 212 399 2636. www.alexandergray.com

Greg Drasler: On the Lam at Betty Cuningham
541 West 25th Street. 212 242 2772. www.bettycuninghamgallery.com
reviewed by David Cohen (capsule reviews)

William Anastasi/N. Dash at Nicole Klagsbrun
526 West 26th Street. 212 243 3335 www.nicoleklagsbrun.com

Ronnie Landfield: New Paintings  at Stephen Haller Gallery
542 West 26th Street. 212 741 7777 www.stephenhallergallery.com
reviewed by David Cohen (exhibitions)

Will Barnet: Small Works on Paper from the 1950s at Alexandre Gallery
41 East 57th Street. 212 755 2828 www.alexandregallery.com

Anthony Goicolea: Pathetic Fallacy at Postmasters
459 West 19th Street. 212 727 3323 www.postmastersart.com
Was discussed at The Review Panel, September 30

Gabriel Orozco at Marian Goodman Gallery
24 West 57th Street. 212 977 7160. www.mariangoodman.com
reviewed by Jonathan Goodman (exhibitions)

Tine Lundsfryd, Pause, 2007-08, 2010-11. Acrylic, chalk, pencil, colored pencil and oil on canvas, 64 x 73 inches. Courtesy of Lore Bookstein Fine Art

Tine Lundsfryd: Recent Paintings at Lori Bookstein Fine Art
138 10th Avenue. 212 750 0949. www.loribooksteinfineart.com

Vincent Desiderio: Recent Paintings at Marlborough
545 West 25th Street. 212 463 8634. www.marlboroughgallery.com

Ad Reinhardt: Works from 1935-1945 at Pace Gallery
32 East 57th Street. 212 421 3292, www.thepacegallery.com

Lyonel Feininger: At the Edge of the World at Whitney Museum
945 Madison Avenue. 212 570 3600 www.whitney.org

Loren Munk: Location  Location  Location at Lesley Heller Workspace
54 Orchard Street. 212 410 6120 www.lesleyheller.com
reviewed by Greg Lindquist (exhibitions)

Loren Munk, SOHO Map, 2005-06. Oil on linen, 60 x 72 inches. Lesley Heller Fine Art

SEPTEMBER 7
Loren Munk: Location  Location  Location and Don’t fence me in… or out at Lesley Heller Workspace
54 Orchard Street.  http://www.lesleyheller.com. (closes 10/16/11)

Anne Neely: Mopang at Lohin Geduld Gallery
531 West 25th Street.  http://www.lohingeduld.com. (closes 10/8/11)

Zipora Fried: Salon Noir at On Stellar Rays
133 Orchard Street.  http://www.onstellarrays.com. (closes 10/23/11)

SEPTEMBER 8
Richard Timperio at Art 101
101 Grand Street.  http://www.art101brooklyn.com. (closes 10/9/11)
“Richard Timperio, best known for his day job running Williamsburg’s Sideshow Gallery, has returned to his first love, painting, following the favorable reception of some experimental abstract works on paper in a group show at Art 101 last year.  He will display 10 to 12 more recent abstract acrylics on paper and canvas, again at Art 101, in a solo presentation.” PIRI HALASZ

Brian Jungen at Casey Kaplan
525 West 21st Street. http://www.caseykaplangallery.com. (closes 10/22/11)
“The Vancouver-based artist manipulates everyday objects, such as sneakers, plastic chairs and oil canisters, transforming them into sculptures that resemble precious artifacts rich in cultural significance.” STEPHANIE BUHMANN

Flesh and Bone: New Work by Ed Smith and Charlie Grosso at Baang & Burne Contemporary
547 W 27th Street.  http://baangandburne.com. (closes 9/14/11)

Maja Lisa Engelhardt: The fourth Day at Elizabeth Harris
529 West 20th Street.  http://www.elizabethharrisgallery.com. (closes 10/8/11)

Nick Cave: Ever-After at Jack Shainman Gallery
513 West 20th Street.  http://www.jackshainman.com. (closes 10/8/11)
related exhibition at Mary Boone opens following week

Ann Pibal: DRMN, and Siah Armajani: 1957-1964 at Meulensteen
511 West 22nd Street. 212 633 6999
“You don’t have to go to Southern California to celebrate light, space and color in art when it is all here in Ann Pibals’ smashing paintings at Meulensteen Gallery (formerly Max Protech).” REUBEN M. BARON

Do Ho Suh:  Home Within Home at Lehmann Maupin
540 West 26th Street.  www.lehmannmaupin.com. (closes 10/22/11)
“In New York City – recently besieged by earthquakes and hurricanes – Do Ho Suh’s ability to carry his concept of home with him like a snail is poignantly appealing.” ELLIE BRONSON

William Anastasi/ N. at Nicole Klagsbrun
526 West 26th Street.  http://www.nicoleklagsbrun.com. (closes1 0/15/11)

Nicole Etienne: A Moveable Feast at Sloan Fine Art
128 Rivington Street.  http://www.sloanfineart.com. (closes 10/8/11)

Susan Rothenberg at Sperone Westwater
257 Bowery.  http://www.speronewestwater.com. (closes 10/29/11)

Ronnie Landfield: New Paintings at Stephen Haller Gallery
542 West 26th Street.  http://www.stephenhallergallery.com. (closes 10/15/11)

Haim Steinbach: Creature at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
521 West 21st Street.  http://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com. (closes 10/8/11)
The show has been selected for discussion at artcritical’s THE REVIEW PANEL on September 30 at the National Academy

John Beerman: Recent Paintings and Donald Evans: Selected Works at Tibor de Nagy
724 Fifth Avenue.  http://www.tibordenagy.com. (closes 10/15/11)
“Earthly in their modeling but unworldly in atmosphere, John Beerman’s landscapes of the Hudson River Valley and North Carolina contain a lyricism at once reticent and generous.” JOHN GOODRICH

SEPTEMBER 9
Robert Morris: Drawings 1961 – 1976 at Craig F. Starr Gallery
5 East 73rd Street.  http://www.starr-art.com. (closes 10/15/11)

Vik Muniz at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
530 West 22nd Street.  http://www.sikkemajenkinsco.com. (closes 10/15/11)

Noémie Lafrance: The White Box Project at Black & White Gallery
483 Driggs Avenue. http://www.blackandwhiteprojectspace.org. (closes 10/16/11)
“The choreographer of notable, site-specific works for the stairs of the Clocktower Gallery and for McCarren Park Pool aims with “The White Box Project” to transform the act of viewing into the art itself. Screenings of dance films follow each live performance in the gallery’s courtyard.  “ PATRICIA MILDER

SEPTEMBER 10
Will Barnet: Small Works on Paper from the 1950s at Alexandre Gallery
41 East 57th Street.  http://www.alexandregallery.com. (closes 10/15/11)

Alex Katz at Gavin Brown’s enterprise
620 Greenwich Street.  http://www.gavinbrown.biz. (closes 10/8/11)
“Expect at least one sublimity among the latest of any number of beautifully executed pictures from New York’s best painter.” BILL BERKSON
The show has been selected for discussion at artcritical’s THE REVIEW PANEL on September 30 at the National Academy

Nick Cave: For now at Mary Boone Gallery
745 5th Avenue.  http://www.maryboonegallery.com. (closes 10/22/11)
related show opens previous week at Jack Shainman Gallery

Anthony Goicolea: Pathetic Fallacy at Postmasters
459 West 19th Street.  http://www.postmastersart.com. (closes 10/15/11)
The show has been selected for discussion at artcritical’s THE REVIEW PANEL on September 30 at the National Academy

WORD UP! Recent Text-Based Work at Benrimon Contemporary
514 West 24th Street. http://www.bcontemporary.com. (closes 10/22/11)
” The role of language in visual art, first espoused by 1960s conceptualists as a democratizing device, is reexamined this fall at Benrimon Contemporary, where works by Robert Indiana and Barbara Kruger interrogate the formal function of text as well as its semantic properties.” MADDIE PHINNEY

Leandro Erlich: Two Different Tomorrows at Sean Kelly
528 West 29th Street.  http://www.skny.com. (closes 10/22/11)
The show has been selected for discussion at artcritical’s THE REVIEW PANEL on September 30 at the National Academy

SEPTEMBER 13
Lars Tunbjörk at Amador Gallery
41 East 57th Street.  http://www.amadorgallery.com.  (closes 11/19/11)
“Effortlessly funny and sweetly surreal, the work of this Swedish photographer reveals the awkward human infrastructure behind conformity’s smooth façade.” STEPHEN MAINE

SEPTEMBER 15
Serban Savu: Close to Nature at David Nolan Gallery
527 West 29th Street.  http://www.davidnolangallery.com. (closes 10/22/11)

Graham Nickson: Paintings 1972-2011 Paths of the Sun at Knoedler & Company
19 East 70th Street.  http://www.knoedlergallery.com. (closes 10/29/11)
“Since his days as a Rome Prize winner, Graham Nickson has frequently set himself marathon tasks of periodic painting from life of the setting or rising sun, undertakings that speak to his legendary tenacity, aesthetic obstinacy (the romantic subject dismissed as cheesy) and indefatigable delving into the mysteries of color.” DAVID COHEN

Melissa Meyer: New Paintings and Watercolors at Lennon Weinberg, Inc.
514 West 25th Street. http://lennonweinberg.com. (closes 10/29/11)
“While Melissa Meyer’s paintings and watercolors appear seemingly effortless, few artists have worked as hard or successfully to take the AbEx vocabulary and infuse it with transcendental light as this artist.” DEVEN GOLDEN

Black Mountain College at Loretta Howard Gallery
525-531 West 26th Street.  www.jacobsonhoward.com. (closes 10/29/11)

Paul Winstanley at Mitchell-Innes & Nash
534 West 26th Street.  http://www.miandn.com. (closes 10/22/11)

Ad Reinhardt: Works from 1935-1945 at Pace Gallery
http://www.thepacegallery.com. (closes 10/15/11)

Per Kirkeby: Paintings at Michael Werner Gallery
4 East 77th Street. http://www.michaelwerner.com. (closes 10/29/11)
“If, as Per Kirkeby proposes, “American painting began with Turner,” then we New Yorkers should be receptive to these newest works, which in exploring relationships between nature and abstraction, returning to landscape motifs as a source for painterly invention, propose a European ‘take’ on our modernist traditions.” DAVID CARRIER

SEPTEMBER 16
Ceal Floyer September 16 – October 29 2011 at 303 Gallery
547 West 21st Street.  http://www.303gallery.com. (closes 10/29/11)

Bernard Cohen: Work of Six Decades at Flowers
529 West 20th Street.  http://www.flowersgalleries.com. (closes 10/22/11)

Will Barnet at 100 at National Academy Museum
1083 5th Avenue.  http://www.nationalacademy.org. (closes 12/31/11)

Agnes Martin: 1980s Grey Paintings at Pace Gallery
534 West 25th Street.  www.thepacegallery.com. (closes 10/29/11)
“Martin’s grey paintings of the 1980s are emotionally evocative linear works on the cusp of change; they are the transition between her earlier introspective grids and her later hotter horizontal bands of pink, blue and yellow horizons that are abstract transformations of the New Mexico landscape. ” JOAN BOYKOFF BARON

Alex Katz: Figure/Ground at Senior & Shopmaker Gallery
210 Eleventh Avenue.  http://www.seniorandshopmaker.com. (closes 11/5/11)

Norm Paris: The Wall Still Stands at The Proposition
2 Extra Place at East 1st Street. http://www.theproposition.com/. (closes 10/23/11)
“Norm Paris’s obsession with sports, classical sculpture and modern building materials is evident here in his debut New York solo show.  In these human-sized sculptures, networks of minute, scaled-down cinderblocks, bricks and pipes transfigure snapshots of football and basketball players in mid-game.” GREG LINDQUIST

SEPTEMBER 18
de Kooning: A Retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street.  http://www.moma.org. (closes 1/9/12)

click thumbnails to enlarge and see slideshow

DO HO SUH

NICK CAVE

NORM PARIS

GRAHAM NICKSON

ALEX KATZ

Apologies to Evelyn Twitchell whose 2010 exhibition at the Bowery Gallery had tricked our system into thinking it opens next week.  In a since-corrected posting of this page we had offered the following “preview” of a show that had closed eleven months ago:

“In her crystalline, border-line cubist tree portraits, Twitchell delivers a vintage modernist distillation of the geometric and the organic with both urgency and poise.” DAVID COHEN