Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Today's The Last Day To See Mike Kelley At MoMA PS1
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 2, 2014
Modified Feb 2, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 2, 2014
Modified Feb 2, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
If you're looking for something to do before watching the Super Bowl, why not head to Long Island City and check out the final day of the Mike Kelley show at MoMA PS1?
It's the largest exhibition of Kelley's work-to-date, and the museum says: "Regarded as one of the most influential artists of our time, Mike Kelley (1954-2012) produced a body of deeply innovative work mining American popular culture and both modernist and alternative traditions—which he set in relation to relentless self- and social examinations, both dark and delirious. Bringing together over 200 works, from early pieces made during the 1970s through 2012, the exhibition occupies the entire museum."
Kelley, an LA-based artist, killed himself last year, and has been called a "genius" for his wide range of work, from drawing to sculpture to performance art. A curator friend Emi Fontana told the LA Times, "He had a deep discomfort in seeing what the art world is now. He didn't like the fact that everything has become so corporate. He said to me: 'If I were to start now, I would never become a visual artist.' He really wanted to be an important artist, and he worked all of his life for that. He found himself at the top of his game and then found that the world he was at the top of was a world that he didn't like. That's intense existentially."
NY Times art critic Holland Cotter said of the exhibit, "Plainly put, the Mike Kelley retrospective...knocks everything else in New York this fall right out of the ring. It’s immense, filling 40,000 square feet of gallery space, including a sub-basement boiler room. And it’s that extremely rare thing, a huge show that should be huge. Kelley earned this blowout; his work sustains it."
MoMA PS1 is at 22-25 Jackson Ave. at the intersection of 46th Ave. in Long Island City (there's good service on the 7!). It's open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. today.
Tagged
art
mike kelley
moma ps1
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 13, 2026
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Arts & Entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .