If one theme stands out in this week’s list, it’s the presence of strong, talented women. With Patty Chang, Myrlande Contant, and Amy Sherald all featured in solo exhibitions, it’s a great moment to consider the massive skills of these mid-career artists. And while Rembrandt may be the artist driving the Jewish Museum’s current exhibition, the Book of Esther is the inspiration. That said, all the artists in a show on BIPOC design history at the Ford Foundation are definitely worth checking out. The Chang and Constant shows end this weekend so get there soon! —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
Myrlande Constant: The Spiritual World of Haiti
Fort Gansevoort, 5 Ninth Avenue, Meatpacking District, Manhattan
Through April 26
“Standing before Constant’s art is awe-inspiring, and joyfully disorienting.” —NH
Read the full review here.
Patty Chang: Touch Archive
BANK, 127 Elizabeth Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan
Through April 26
“Chang makes palpable the largely abstract connections in cycles of violence and empathy between people, and between humans and the natural world.” —Lisa Yin Zhang
Read the full review here.
Reverberations: Lineages in Design History
Ford Foundation Gallery, 320 East 43rd Street, Murray Hill, Manhattan
Through May 3
“I left Reverberations not with the sense of discovery, but of recognition — of seeing with force and clarity what had long been obscured by the bright glare of European modernism.” —Petala Ironcloud
Read the full review here.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime
Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort Street, Meatpacking District, Manhattan
Through August 10
“I stood face to face with these life size figures and their assured, deliberative gazes, suggesting complex interiorities in spite of their enigmatic facial expressions.” —Jasmine Weber
Read the full review here.
The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt
Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Avenue and East 92nd Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan
Through August 10
“The show argues that the biblical narrative of Purim … was interpreted as a symbol of resilience and liberation in Dutch society, striking a deep chord at the height of their struggle for independence from Spanish rule.” —Rebecca Schiffman
Read the full review here.