New Exhibits in Lincoln Square This Spring

This month brings new exhibits across Lincoln Square. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza) is now displaying a new collection of images for visitors. Then, on April 12, the American Folk Art Museum (2 Lincoln Square between W 65th and W 65th Street) will open two new exhibits.

The Library’s exhibit, Reanimating Theater: The Photography of Friedman-Abeles, is located in the hallways of the ground and second floors and features photographs from some of Broadway’s biggest hits between 1954 and 1970. The photos were taken by the Friedman-Abeles studio and transformed into lenticular prints (combining two or more images creates an animation effect as the angle of observation changes). In a sense, the library has brought these classic images—from shows like West Side Story and Bye Bye Birdie—to life! The images will be on display through September 25. While at the library, visitors who are interested in the history of comedy can also explore displays full of comedy memorabilia located on the third floor.

On April 12, visit the American Folk Art Museum to see two new exhibitions—Francesc Tosquelles: Avant-Garde Psychiatry and the Birth of Art Brut and Somewhere to Roost. The former is the first U.S. exhibit centered on the legacy of Catalan psychiatrist Francesc Tosquelles. Born in 1912, Tosquelles grew up in Spain, but fled during the Spanish Civil War, arriving in 1940 at the Saint-Alban psychiatric hospital in Southern France. He created a series of revolutionary psychiatric practices, and the exhibit will include artworks by the European artists associated with him and artist Jean Dubuffet’s shared vision to “cure” mental health and art institutions. The exhibition will also examine mental health history in the United States using works by American artists. For deeper insights into the exhibition, attend the museum’s free programs, which include a curatorial tour of the exhibit and a two-day symposium on institutional psychotherapy.

In contrast to Francesc fleeing his home country and the emphasis on the institution, the second exhibit, Somewhere to Roost, explores the idea of “home.” According to the museum, over 60 works, including paintings, textiles, photographs, and sculptures, “will highlight experiences of immigration, incarceration, and housing insecurity, as well as visions of home that are playful, inventive, and unexpected.” The exhibit will be displayed through May 25, while the exhibit on Francesc Tosquelles will remain until August 18.

Be sure to explore these cultural offerings this spring, and don’t forget that all three institutions also have gift shops with a range of interesting items! Looking for even more activities? Visit our events calendar.

Image (courtsey of the American Folk Art Museum): Section of Marguerite Sirvins (1890–1957, France), Untitled, 1941. Embroidered silk threads on fabric, 8 5/8 x 10 in. Collection Family Ou-Rabah Tosquelles. Photographic reproduction: © Roberto Ruiz.