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What to See at the MoMA This Summer

From Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” to the latest cutting-edge works, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is home to some of the art world’s greatest masterpieces. This summer, visitors to New York will be able to enjoy these masterpiece mainstays and more, with a slate of rotating exhibitions that includes everything from Impressionism to classic film.

Ballet Scene, 1879 degas

Ballet Scene, 1879

Currently on view through July 24 is Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty. The exhibition showcases the great Impressionist painter’s lesser-known monotype prints, which allowed Degas to experiment with form and take risks that would later be reflected in his more traditional works. Consisting of over 120 monotypes and 60 other related works, the exhibition features a vast, ranging from Degas’s famous depictions of ballerinas to rarely seen landscapes and black-and-white prints.

japanese constellation moma

Toyo Ito. Sendai Mediatheque, Miyagi, Japan. 1995–2001. © Naoya Hatakeyama

Architecture fans should head to A Japanese Constellation, which is on view through July 31. The exhibition is dedicated to the architects and designers influenced by leading Japanese architects Toyo Ito and SANAA, demonstrating the innovation and global impact of Japanese contemporary architecture since the 1990s. Bouchra Khalili's The Mapping Journey Project (through October 10), on the other hand, gives a different international perspective. A series of videos projected on individual screens, the exhibition tells the stories of eight individuals who were forced to travel illegally throughout the Mediterranean region due to political and economic circumstances.

moma summer bombhead conner

Bruce Conner. BOMBHEAD. 2002. Digital print with acrylic paint additions, composition: 31 13/16 x 25 1/8″ (80.8 x 63.8 cm), sheet: 38 5/16 x 31 1/8″ (97.3 x 79.1 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. John B. Turner Fund. © 2016 Bruce Conner / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

For those interested in American art history, head to the museum's Painting & Sculpture II Galleries to gain an in-depth look at the 1960s. From the Collection: 1960-1969 showcases a selection of the museum's vast 1960s art holdings, bringing together art and design from all disciplines for a chronological look at this iconic decade. Visitors can get another look at the postwar era at BRUCE CONNER: IT'S ALL TRUE (July 3-October 2), which is the first complete retrospective of the artist's 50-year career. Conner's work focuses on various themes of the postwar era, spanning an array of mediums that include painting, found-object assemblage, and film.

dadaglobe moma

Nic. Aluf (studio photographer, 1884–1954). Portrait of Sophie Taeuber with her Dada Head. 1920. Gelatin silver print, 8 1/4 × 6 9/16″ (20.9 × 16.6 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Sophie Taeuber (Swiss, 1889–1943). Galerie Berinson, Berlin. Artwork © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Beginning June 12, visitors can see work from the Dada movement at Dadaglobe Reconstructed (through September 18). Dadaglobe was an international anthology slated for publishing in 1921, displaying existing Dada works alongside new artwork submissions from over 50 artists in 10 countries. The exhibition will reunite over 100 Dada works from the anthology, which was ultimately never published due to financial and organizational issues. Also opening in June are Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (June 11-February 12), an "opera-like" narrative consisting of 700 snapshot portraits set against a musical score; and Tony Oursler: Imponderable (June 18-January 8), an immersive feature-length film that weaves together the history of the virtual image with the artist's personal history.

ernie gehr moma

Ernie Gehr. Street Scenes Panorama. 2015. Four-channel video (black-and-white, silent), 16 min. Courtesy the artist

MoMA's excellent film programming kicks off this summer with a look at some classic film history. Universal Pictures: Restorations and Rediscoveries (through June 15) spotlights the leading studio's pioneering work from 1928-1937, while the film series Modern Matinees: Fifteen by Otto Preminger (through June 30) will showcase the iconic director's films, from Saint Joan to Skidoo. The spotlight then moves to Asian filmmakers, with retrospective film series focused on Taiwanese cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bing (June 16-30) and contemporary Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase (June 25-July 14). Visitors to the museum's film wing can also check out the exhibition Ernie Gehr: Carnival of Shadows (through July 4), a multiscreen video installation inspired by a shadowgraph toy from the early 20th century.

For more information on visiting the Museum of Modern Art, see moma.org.

About the Author

Alison Durkee is a New York-based arts journalist and critic with a background in theatre and dance. She currently serves as the Features Editor of London theatre website Everything Theatre and also covers news and politics for Mic.com.

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