ART

BIG-TIME PAINTINGS An exhibit of recent works by Charles Garabedian includes the artist’s two largest paintings to date. “The Spring for Which I Longed,” which measures 12 by 24 feet, features two nude women lounging in front of an ocean swell. “September Song,” 13 by 25 feet, focuses on a solitary nude figure lying on its back, eyes closed, in a small wooden boat. The exhibit, which originated in September at the Venice, Calif., gallery L.A. Louver, also includes a series of smaller works on paper. Through Saturday, January 22, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Betty Cuningham Gallery, 541 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-242-2772, free.

SUMMER SKIES For 10 years, painter Stuart Shils has spent his summers on the rugged northern coast of County Mayo, Ireland, refining his landscapes of sea, clouds, and sky. Small paintings of the region are on view until Saturday. “With each successive show, Mr. Shils shows himself a poet of atmosphere,” wrote Maureen Mullarkey in the arts pages of The New York Sun. Through Saturday, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 724 Fifth Ave., between 56th and 57th Streets, 12th floor, 212-262-5050, free.

PATTERNED PAINTINGS Paintings by Roger Brown (1941-97) are on display in the first solo exhibit of his work in New York in 10 years. He often used silhouetted figures and patterned forms to create a graphic vision of the American landscape. Through Saturday, January 15, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Adam Baumgold Gallery, 74 E. 79th St., between Park and Madison avenues, 212-861-7338, free.

BOOKS

PROGRESSIVE POLITICS Contributors to the “instant book” “What We Do Now” (Melville House), including its editor, Dennis Loy Johnson, talk about how progressives can respond to the presidential election results. Tonight, 7 p.m., Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen St., between Rivington and Stanton streets, 212-777-6028, free.

RUN, DON’T WALK Ron McLarty reads from his novel, “Memory of Running” (Viking), which he disseminated as a book on tape before he had a publishing deal. Stephen King championed the recording as “the best book you can’t read,” and a bidding war for the print version soon followed. “Memory of Running,” which has now also been optioned as a screenplay to be written by Mr. McLarty, tells the story of a self-described middle-aged loser who takes an impulsive cross-country bicycle ride. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, 212-362-8835, free.

COMEDY

GET UP, STAND-UP The Gay & Lesbian Comedy Fest features comedians such as Erin Foley of Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and local stand-up regulars including Dale Sorenson, Lisa Kaplan, and Ted McElroy. Michael Brill hosts. Friday, 9:30 p.m., Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-757-0788, $10 admission, two drink minimum.

DANCE

MOVES FROM JAPAN The Japan Society presents cutting-edge Japanese dancers and choreographers in its eighth annual Japanese Contemporary Dance Showcase. Performers include the all-female Sennichimae Blue Sky Dance Club and Jo Kanamori’s new company, Noism05. (Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., $25). In conjunction with the festival, the Legend Lin Dance Theatre of Taiwan performs “Anthem to the Fading Flowers” (Sunday, 7 p.m., free with reservation, 212-697-6188 ext. 105). All events at the Japan Society, 33 E. 47th St., between First and Second avenues, 212-752-3015.

FILM

GERMAN CULTURE The documentary “Hitler’s Hit Parade” (2003) is a compilation of Nazi-era German entertainment, home movies, archival footage, animated and educational films, commercials, popular songs, and propaganda. Will Friedwald wrote yesterday in The New York Sun, “Watching and listening to the performers of this era is fascinating – and disturbing.” The film’s producer, C. Cay Wesnigk, attends tonight’s 8:15 p.m. screening. Tonight through Tuesday, January 18, 1:15, 3, 4:45, 6:30, 8:15, and 10 p.m., Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street, 212-727-8110, $10 general, $5 members and children under 12, $5 seniors on Monday-Friday before 5 p.m.

GLOBAL GAI PAN Filmmaker Cheuk Kwan screens a selection from his 13-part documentary series “Chinese Restaurants,” which takes him to eateries all over the world. After the screening, Mr. Kwan participates in a question-and-answer session. Tomorrow, 7-9 p.m., Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave., between 37th and 38th streets, 212-619-4785, $12 general, $10 members, reservations suggested.

MUM’S THE WORD A screening of “The Illustrated Mum” (2003) introduces adolescents to Cilla Ware’s story about a 10-year-old whose tattooed mother suffers from mental illness. “EastEnders” star Alice Connor plays the protagonist. The screening is the first in a series for children ages 11 to 14 that will include both contemporary films and classics. Sunday, 11:30 a.m., Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-708-9805, free with museum admission, $20 general, $16 seniors, $12 students, free for members and children under 16.

HEALTH

WOMEN’S HEALTH Community members and health-care professionals are invited to a forum addressing health problems faced by women in New York. Tomorrow, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Bronx Community College, Colston Hall, University Avenue and 181st Street, Bronx, free.

MUSIC

STRING SERENADE The band String Fever sings close three- and four-part harmonies and plays mandolin, fiddle, guitar, bass, and five-string banjo. They perform in a candlelit tavern at Staten Island’s living history village Historic Richmond Town. Saturday, 7:30 and 9 p.m., Historic Richmond Town, Guyon Tavern, 441 Clarke Ave. at St. Patrick’s Place, Staten Island, 718-351-1611 ext. 280, $12 general, $10 members, reservations required.

GLOBAL GATHERING GlobalFest assembles 13 performers from five continents for a five-hour concert that plays out on three stages. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. until after midnight, the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St. at Astor Place, 212-239-6200, $40 includes access to all stages.

OPERA OF OPRESSION The Bronx Opera performs Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Consul,” which premiered on Broadway in 1950. Set in an unnamed country behind the Iron Curtain, the opera follows the efforts of a woman who needs a visa in order to join her husband in a neighboring state. Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 2 p.m., Lehman College, Lovinger Theatre, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, between Paul and Goulden avenues, Bronx, 718-960-8833, $15, $25, and $30.

READINGS

BROOKLYN BOOKS The founding editor of the Land-Grant College Review, Dave Koch,joins storyteller and playwright Martin Dockery for a reading at a Brooklyn cafe and used bookstore. Tonight, 7 p.m., Freebird Books, 123 Columbia St., between Kane and Degraw streets, Brooklyn, 718-643-8484, free.

TALKS

CEMETERY SCULPTURE Artist Patricia Cronin discusses how the 19th-century use of bronze and marble in sculpture influences her work. Ms. Cronin is best known for “Memorial to a Marriage” (2002), a plaster sculpture of the artist and her partner, the painter Deborah Kass, embracing in bed. Created for their graves, it is installed permanently in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, where the couple wish to be buried. The talk is part of the Dahesh Museum’s “First Thursday” program, which includes late hours and free admission to the collection. Tomorrow, 6:30-7:30 p.m. talk, 6-9 p.m. free admission, Dahesh Museum of Art, 580 Madison Ave., between 56th and 57th streets, 212-759-0606, free.

SALON SESSION A former Manhattan borough president, Ruth Messinger, leads a session of the “Downtown Salon” conversation series sponsored by the New Shul. Next week’s session focuses on individual activism in the face of large-scale needs. Monday, 6 p.m., Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia St., between Sixth Avenue and Bleecker Street, 212-989-9319, $10.

THEATER

CAPITAL ‘PUNISHMENT’ Russian director Kama Ginkas’s play “K.I. From ‘Crime'” opens in New York. The work is an adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” that depicts the last evening of the novel’s marginal character Katerina Ivanovna. Staged in two rooms, rather than on a stage, the play casts the audience as guests at a dinner party thrown by Ivanovna as a memorial for her dead husband. Moscow-based actress Oksana Mysina stars in the play, which is a production of the Foundry Theatre and the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation. Previews begin: Tonight, 7:30 p.m. Runs: Monday through Sunday, January 30, Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, 4 p.m., Freight Entrance/Chashama Theatre, 208 W. 37th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-868-4444, $40.

TOURS

MANHATTAN MANSION Morris-Jumel Mansion, Manhattan’s oldest house, began as Roger Morris’s “Gentleman’s Farm,” became Washington’s Revolutionary War headquarters, and in the 19th century was used by Madame Eliza Jumel as a “Chateau in the Heights.” A guided tour provides a look at its 11 period rooms decorated in styles from throughout its Colonial, Federal, and Empire history. Saturday, 11 a.m.-noon, Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel Terrace, between 160th and 162nd streets, 212-923-8008, $5 general, $3 seniors, students, and members, reservations recommended.

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