Birds Bright

Image: Bruce Monroe via Flickr

Looking for something to do tomorrow night in New York? The artist and attempted hijacker, Duke Riley, has an opening at Magnan Matz Gallery. Last year Riley essentially created living constellations by attaching L.E.D. lights to thousands of pigeons for “Fly By Night,” a public art exhibition commissioned by Creative Time. “It appeals to people who don’t give two shits about art, whatsoever,” his assistant, Madeline Joyce, said last Spring. “Like, for instance, the pigeon community. The people I’ve met from this project I don’t think have ever stepped into an art gallery in their lives. And they don’t care to, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t appreciate beautiful things. Duke has a way of making art accessible to people who generally do not seek it out at all.”

“Now Those Days Are Gone,” functions as an extension of “Fly By Night”—a thousand handpainted and embroidered portraits of the pigeons and a series of large scale photographs tracking their flight patterns—as well as showcasing new work in response to the election.

Duke Riley “Now Those Days Are Gone”

September 27-October 21

524 West 26th Street

Opening Reception: September 28 6-8 p.m.