Just like flowers, art is popping up all over Queens these days.
The opening reception for Cui Fei: Vermicular Calligraphy is at The Garage Art Center (26-01 Corporal Kennedy St., Bayside) on Saturday, May 4, at 4 pm.
On view until May 26, Fei showcases her unique genre, which represents an exploration of perceived writing found in nature. One day while collecting plant materials, the China-born artist became intrigued by beetle markings on tree trunks and how closely some patterns resembled Chinese calligraphy.
Another day, another opening…or two. Studio 41 (27-15 41st Ave., LIC) launches its nine-artist Spring-Summer show on May 4 at 3 pm and unveils Nature’s Muse, Paintings of Water Plant Ecosystems on May 5 at 2 pm. Guest artist Helaine Soller shares her expressionist landscape paintings that balance realism with abstraction. She combines observation, sketches, and photographs, infusing her paintings with a sense of freedom and discovery.
Warm up for the second Studio 41 opening at The Noguchi Museum (9-1 33rd Rd., LIC) on the same day, May 5, at 11:30 am. Kate Wiener leads a Curator’s Tour of the Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within exhibition, which is on view until July 28.
Born to Japanese parents in Hawaii, Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011) was a painter, sculptor, and weaver whose unique style melded two countries, two continents, and two cultures. Worlds Within features about 200 works from private and public collections.
Then, there are two great reasons to head to SculptureCenter (44-19 Purves St., LIC) on May 7 at 6 pm: a Double Opening.
Tolia Astakhishvili, who works across sculpture, drawing, painting, sound, and video, unveils between father and mother, his first exhibition in the United States. On the same night, Covey Gong shares his recent sculpture consisting of abstract metal armatures, disused fabrics, and extra lengths of thread.
Short break, and then on May 16, MoMA PS1 (22-25 Jackson Ave., LIC) opens Hard Ground, a group show with seven New York-based artists who employ compression, distillation, and subtraction. It includes more than 40 works whose materials range from limestone and bronze to a smelted Citi Bike.
Image: Rob MacKay