Highlights this weekend include Kandy G. Lopez‘s bold and vibrant “Textile Truths,” Grammy winner Ms. Lisa Fischer‘s return to Birdland and Matthew Broderick as “Tartuffe.”
Also, free events include a Lunar New Year celebration and The Bronx Museum’s “Forms of Connection!” kickoff.
Art
“Textile Truths: Faces of Resilience”
ACA Galleries—173 10th Ave., Manhattan (Chelsea)
Through Jan. 24. Various times.
Kandy G. Lopez’s vibrant and visually stunning work literally bursts at the seams. Her larger-than-life fiber art portraits, some scaling 14 feet, feature hand embroidery with media including yarn, thread, hook mesh, assorted paints and other materials.
Her latest gallery show went viral on social media in December for its bold depiction of Black and Brown people in everyday life. The buzz generated heavy foot traffic and interest from buyers, leading to a last minute extension.
“Yeah, it’s been a little wild to be honest,” she told The Daily News. “Like the work is about community, so I’m glad that it’s being received so positively. And I think that they’re positioned in a perfect location … so I think that that helps pull in people. I just want it to feel comfortable for people to go and walk around and look at the work and feel like they’re part of that space. I don’t feel like I really got that growing up, going to museums and stuff where it felt like I’m invited.”
The artist’s second major gallery show celebrates the intimate connection between textiles and people of color, while exploring themes of strength, vulnerability, courage and perseverance.
Lopez cites Faith Ringgold, Mickalene Thomas, Dawoud Bey, Barkley Hendricks, and Wangechi Mutu as her inspirations.
A self-described “portrait painter,” she started using textiles through experimentation: “It was like, ‘how do I make this look like that? I’ve never done this before, but let’s see if it works, and if it doesn’t work, then I’ll just cut it up or I’ll try it again.”
Among the 40 works on view is the jaw-dropping centerpiece titled “City Girls.” Measuring 8 x 14 feet, the statement piece came together after a woman at a party caught her eye.
“A lot of people ask, ‘Oh, can you do one of so and so?’ And it doesn’t work like that for me, I need to connect with the person that I am creating,” Lopez said. And it doesn’t mean they’re less important, it might not be now, but it might be later. There just needs to be, like a genuine I have to feel the energy.”
Free.
Theater
“Tartuffe”
New York Theater Workshop—79 East 4th St., Manhattan (East Village)
Through Jan. 25. Various times.
Off-Broadway theatergoers were served a true gift this season with two adaptations of Molière’s 17th century scandalous satire. Earlier, Tony-winning veteran André De Shields performed the titular role at House of the Redeemer on the Upper East Side. Weeks later and about 90 blocks south, fellow Tony winner Matthew Broderick began playing the pious con man that causes holy hell in Lucas Hnath and Sarah Benson’s gender-bending revival.
Broderick is joined by a cast that includes comedian David Cross and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Bianca del Rio, as well as Emily Davis, Amber Gray, Ryan J. Haddad, Francis Jue, Lisa Kron, and Ikechukwu Ufomadu.
Tickets start at $99.
Music
Ms. Lisa Fischer
Birdland Jazz Club—315 West 44th St., Manhattan (Hell’s Kitchen)
Through Jan. 24. Various times.
Ms. Lisa Fischer has grown to become one of the premier song stylists of her generation. The Brooklyn-born Grammy Award winner — who sang backup for Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Tina Turner and was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom” — has been wowing audiences with solo performances since 2015.
This week, Fischer is supported by Orrin Evans Trio at the legendary jazz club and puts her stamp on songs by Leon Bridges, Donna Summer and Buffalo Springfield. She also pays homage to late songwriter Linda Creed with a medley of Philadelphia soul classics.
Tickets start at $45.76.
Comedy
“Awkward Sex… and the City “
Friends and Lovers—641 Classon Ave., Brooklyn (Prospect Heights)
Fri. Jan. 23.
Comedian and podcaster Natalie Wall hilariously relives intimate tales about sex and dating with fellow comics including Maggie Crane and Bailey Swilley.
Wall, who has produced the show for the past decade, said the show is indeed inspired by “Sex and The City.”
“I wanted to highlight how much the show missed when it came to the awkwardness of sex and dating,” she told The Daily News. “It’s crazy that after so many years I still haven’t heard the same awkward scenario twice.”
Tickets are $10.
Dance
“Sons of Echo”
Joyce Theater—175 8th Ave., Manhattan (Chelsea)
Through Sun. Jan. 25. Various showtimes.
Former American Ballet Theatre superstar Daniil Simkin has conceived his latest masterpiece where he and four other male principals — Jeffrey Cirio, Osiel Gouneo, Alban Lendorf and Siphesihle November — reimagine works by acclaimed female choreographers Lucinda Childs, Drew Jacoby, Tiler Peck, and Anne Plamondon.
The title of the show is in reference to the mythical nymph whose voice could only repeat others, which Simkin explores as a parallel for the dancers to repeat choreographic instruction. The production confronts expectations of male dancers while also illuminating their vulnerability, strength and identity through classical and contemporary movement.
Tickets start at $17.
Celebrate
Opening Reception: Lunar New Year Exhibition
Flushing Town Hall—137-35 Northern Blvd., Queens ( Flushing)
Fri. Jan. 23. 6-8 p.m.
The opening reception for “Red Horizon: Art. Heritage. New Energy” will include an immersive Korean tea ceremony performed by artist Sei Ryun Chun.
Curated by Korean-American visual artist, educator and children’s book author Stephanie S. Lee, the new show is described as “a vibrant group exhibition honoring the courageous spirit of the Year of the Red Horse.” Artists of Asian descent featured include Jae Hi Ahn, Eugenie Chao, Sophia Chizuco, Natsuki Takauji, and others. “Red Horizon: Art. Heritage. New Energy” will run through March 1.
Free.
Free
Opening Party: “The Seventh AIM Biennial: Forms of Connection!”
The Bronx Museum—1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx (South Bronx)
Fri. Jan. 23. 6– 8 p.m.
The museum’s showcase of artists from its AIM Fellowship program will open with a celebration of the “Forms of Connection!” exhibit.
Co-curated by Patrick Rowe and Nell Klugman, the show features works from the two most recent cohorts of the nine-month, seminar-based program. This year’s theme is rooted in conversations around communal experience.
Among the 28 rising New York artists is Hunter College alum Piero Penizzotto, whose “Kings of Comedy” sculpture is a life-sized papier-mâché structure.
Free with RSVP.
