The title borrows the old idea that a jester can say what nobody else can, and the show puts sixteen painters who work that way into one modest Suffolk Street room — Peter Saul and Nicole Eisenman on the same walls as painters half their age doing the same job. It is a rare summer group show where the names would carry a museum floor and the setting stays free and walk-in. With Lower East Side galleries thinning out for the season, this is the strongest room left downtown before it closes.
What to expect
A compact street-level gallery hung with figurative painting at mixed scales, from small panels to full-wall canvases. The tone swings between funny and genuinely unpleasant, often within the same picture. Ask the desk for a checklist — the artist list is the point and the labels are minimal.
Good to know
- Take the F, J, M or Z to Delancey Street–Essex Street and walk a few blocks east
- Free walk-in; no booking needed
- There is a second exhibition upstairs, so budget a few extra minutes
- Lower East Side galleries cluster tightly — Orchard, Eldridge and Henry Streets are all within ten minutes
- Street-level entry to the main gallery
- Some imagery is grotesque or sexual; use judgment with young kids
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Common questions
Which artists are included?
Sixteen painters including Nicole Eisenman, Dana Schutz, Peter Saul, Genieve Figgis, Curtis Talwst Santiago, Sarah Ball, Rafa Macarrón, Amanda Ba and Shafei Xia.
Is there more than one show at the gallery?
Yes — an upstairs room holds a separate exhibition of recent RISD painting MFA graduates running on the same schedule.
Does it cost anything?
No. Uffner & Liu is a commercial gallery and entry is free.
More this weekend
