From May 3rd to June 28th, the Jeffrey Deitch Art Gallery on 18 Wooster Street transforms into a surreal fever dream with Carnival, a boundary-blurring group exhibition curated by cult artist Joe Coleman. Known for his obsession with the grotesque, the mystical, and the marginal, Coleman brings together over 60 artists to conjure a world where the bizarre feels sacred and the sacred turns bizarre.
The Jeffrey Deitch space pulses with theatrical energy. At its heart is the idea of the carnival—not as mere entertainment, but as a raw, unruly universe where fantasy collides with rebellion. Expect everything from maximalist paintings and uncanny sculptures to immersive performances and sideshow relics.
Standout moments include Raúl de Nieves’s glowing carousel of mythical beasts, and John Dunivant’s Fool’s Journey, a tarot-laced trip through folk surrealism. Artist-naturalist Walton Ford unveils Clara al Carnevale, a visual ode to chaos. But it’s Nadia Lee Cohen who steals a darkly glamorous spotlight: her new work, forged from silicone, glass, and metal, stuns with its brutal beauty. In our interview, Nadia Lee Cohen dives deep into her obsession with found objects, domestic absurdity, and cinematic excess.
As ever, Jeffrey Deitch proves to be more than a gallerist—he’s a showman. His gallery becomes a stage, hosting not just static art but live sideshow and burlesque curated by Joe Coleman himself. The result? A subversive spectacle that feels like stepping into a parallel world.
For those craving art that cuts through polite conventions, Carnival at the Jeffrey Deitch Art Gallery is the place to be.
