{"id":378615,"date":"2026-10-21T04:18:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T04:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/378615\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T04:18:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T04:18:27","slug":"live-from-the-lavender-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/378615\/","title":{"rendered":"Live From the Lavender Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

I generally spend a decent amount of time in Gowanus, but weaving through the neighborhood\u2019s streets and buildings for Open Studios on Saturday really demonstrated how the stretch of water has shed its sardonic designation of \u201cLavender Lake<\/a>\u201d and turned into a bizarro landscape of glimmering apartment buildings. The canalside Whole Foods is one thing, but the \u201cluxury\u201d high-rises boasting an \u201ciconic\u201d view of the waterfront in its funky fluorescence are still a head-scratcher for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m neither a chemist, an architect, nor a physician, but I\u2019m willing to bet that everyone probably would have benefitted from waiting for water remediation and sewage overflow prevention efforts to be completed instead of developers speedrunning the area\u2019s sublimation from a Superfund site with a petering industrial profile to a bunch of towers offering studio apartments starting at $3,200\/month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unless there\u2019s a large band of civilians seeking front-row seats to Gowanus\u2019s next poonami<\/a> \u2026 Because they\u2019re literally installing permanent picnic tables and reclining deck chairs along the banks of the canal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At landscape painter Elizabeth O\u2019Reilly\u2019s studio on Union Street, I commented that she and a few other artists I\u2019d dropped in on were kind for drawing inspiration from the neighborhood as it is. I find it endearing that they\u2019re able to extrapolate beauty at both ends of the spectrum of devastating human impact \u2014 from a life-threateningly toxic pollution hub to a shiny new playground for gentrification to mall-ify eventually \u2014 and help others appreciate the importance of archiving it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Elizabeth O\u2019Reilly, \u201cWind and Water, 3rd Street Gowanus\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping things coastal, contributor Aaron Short dropped in on the open studios programming in Red Hook and Sunset Park respectively. Short reports that Red Hook\u2019s creative community barrels forward unabated 13 months after a five-alarm fire<\/a> tore through a historic warehouse filled with converted artist studios, and that spaces in Sunset Park are somehow still affordable. On the other end of the borough, local artist Jazmine Hayes details the historical, spiritual, and environmental symbolism throughout her Percent for Art commission at the new Brownsville Multi-Service Center.<\/p>\n

Since we\u2019re talking about the environment, let\u2019s add some animals to the mix, too. Those who foolishly missed the annual Tompkins Square Dog Halloween Parade can peruse some highlights courtesy of staff writer Anna Lee, who dropped to ankle level for Pup Leo and Santa Paws, among other costumed canines. There are also only a few days left to catch Cannupa Hanska Luger\u2019s American Traditional, which is closing on the 24th at Garth Greenan Gallery\u2019s new location on Greene Street. The show was highlighted in our round-up of New York exhibitions<\/a> embodying Indigenous survivance, and Editor-at-Large and Co-Founder Hrag Vartanian attests that it\u2019s Luger\u2019s \u201cstrongest work yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lastly, take a glance at our \u201cWhat Else is Happening?\u201d section \u2014 I\u2019ve got some neat stuff lined up for you.<\/p>\n

While I can’t promise it’ll hold a candle to the Dog Parade,\u00a0Hyperallergic’s own Halloween Party next Wednesday is just the place for your niche, art-world costume to shine during an open bar. Calling all Kusama pumpkins and Magritte apple-faced individuals to the fore! (Discounted tickets available for members. RSVP\u00a0here<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t13 Art Films to See at DOC NYC<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tI\u2019ve never put much thought into how I want to be portrayed after I die. Perhaps I\u2019d opt to be plastered on Etsy mugs, tea sets, and journal covers, \u00e0 la Frida Kahlo (though I doubt I\u2019d have many buyers, or that Kahlo would\u2019ve enjoyed how her self-image is often nowadays detached from the politics and life behind it), or I would begin things early by enlisting an artist to paint their best guess at my posthumous body. Maybe I\u2019d like to be dipped in ink and stamped onto rice paper, as Molly Tenzer does with the roadkill she finds on New York City streets.\n <\/p>\n

\nThe lineup at this year\u2019s DOC NYC, which returns to venues throughout the city from November 11 through November 29, offers many reflections on this question. | Anna Lee\n\t<\/p>\n

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\"CTA<\/a><\/p>\n

A Hyperallergic Halloween<\/p>\n

\u200bJoin us on October 28 in Brooklyn, NY for an evening of spooky cocktails, devilish delights, an art-themed costume contest, and more.<\/p>\n


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From Our Critics\"\"<\/a>Hrag Vartanian<\/p>\n

Cannupa Hanska Luger: American Traditional at Garth Greenan Gallery<\/p>\n

“The artist sets aside the participatory, ceramics-heavy projects he\u2019s best known for and arrives at something more declarative \u2014 a synthesis of wood, ink, and archive that is his strongest work yet.”<\/p>\n

Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n

Channelle Chevelle Russell<\/p>\n

Deana Lawson: Edge Control at Gagosian<\/p>\n

“Lawson\u2019s newest series provokes a fraught ethical question: Who truly has the power to authorize or deny access?”<\/p>\n

Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n

Gregory Volk<\/p>\n

Tanya Merrill: Land animal, house animal at 303 Gallery<\/p>\n

“Merrill decisively challenges a pervasive anthropocentric worldview that deems humans superior and animals lesser. She foregrounds local animals as sentient beings with their own motivations and desires.”<\/p>\n

Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n

John Yau<\/p>\n

David Reed: Terrible Idea at Rodder<\/p>\n

“For more than five decades, he has continued to explore the brushstroke in all its possibilities \u2026\u00a0In these explorations, one can track his pursuit of color interactions as well as his dialogues with other artists from different epochs.”<\/p>\n

Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CTA<\/a><\/p>\n

New Poster Exhibition Showcases the Importance and Impact of Indigenous Designers<\/p>\n

\u201cDesigned to Be Red: Native American & Indigenous Poster Works\u201d is now on view at Poster House in New York City through February 21, 2027.<\/p>\n


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Features\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\tWhy Pageant Is Suddenly All the Rage<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tIn a world skewed toward artifice, the East Williamsburg performance space\u2019s commitment to confronting, rather than escaping, one\u2019s conditions in art feels like a renaissance. | Phillip Pyle\n\t<\/p>\n

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Open Studios\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\tGowanus Open Studios Turns 30<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tThis year\u2019s iteration of the artistic assembly was a love letter to the neighborhood and its craftsmanship amid an era of remediation, development, and gentrification. | Rhea Nayyar\n\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tA Bushwick Kid at Bushwick Open Studios<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tDuring my first visit to the annual event, I found towering paintings that explore our inner child, diasporic tributes to Filipina culture, and light-filled portraits of an artist\u2019s trans community. | Danielle De Jesus\n\t<\/p>\n

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News\"\"<\/a>What Else is Happening? Pablo Helguera needs your help in building Fonoteca, a new public vinyl library for Latinx music! This Wednesday at CUE Art, Helguera is trading limited-edition works and original drawings for donated or loaned vinyls across salsa, bolero, cumbia, merengue, tango, Latin jazz, and more. (Wed Oct 21) [cueartfoundation.org<\/a>]This Thursday at Smack Mellon, performance artist Asia Stewart becomes a table in \u201cany experience with men and alcohol,\u201d an experiential endurance work dissecting service and power through audience participation. (Thu Oct 22) [smackmellon.org<\/a>]Of Life, Liberty, and a Pursuit of Happiness is a one-day symposium at Brooklyn Museum, in which participants including Sky Hopinka, Viva Ruiz, Qween Jean, Dean Majd, Yomaira Figueroa-V\u00e1squez, Mariame Kaba, and Chelsea Manning reckon with the most urgent issues in our sociopolitical landscape. (Fri Oct 23) [creativetime.org<\/a>]The Center for Art, Research, and Alliances is hosting a launch party for the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop’s inaugural publication, Common Ground<\/a>, celebrating master printer Mohammad Omer Khalil’s earlier namesake exhibition. (Sun Oct 25) [rbpmw-efanyc.org<\/a>] At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, queer theorist Jack Halberstram, who authored Anarchitecture After Everything<\/a> (2026), and Avgi Saketopoulou will discuss the radical reenvisioning of the body and the structures and systems it operates in through the lens of transness. (Tue Oct 27) [bam.org<\/a>]It’s still early days for On Self-Respect, a group exhibition at Land to Sea cafe showcasing a variety of work on identity, self-perception, and memory, rooted in the namesake 1961 essay by Joan Didion. On view through December 18! [instagram.com<\/a>]ICYMI\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n