ART

NEO-GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents the opening of an exhibit of new paintings by German artist Neo Rauch. The works depict a parallel world of hypertrophied humans, for which Mr. Rauch references Surrealism, public murals, and the heroic 1950s workmen and women of Eastern bloc political posters. Tonight through Sunday, October 14, Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Met Museum, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street, 212-535-7710, $20 suggested donation, $10 seniors and students, free for members and children under 12.

COAST TO COAST London-based Greek artist Emo Avora and New York artist Julia Junin join forces in the exhibit “Against Nature.” The title is taken from a 19th-century novel by Joris-Karl Huysman, which describes elements of decadence, taste, and beauty from the perspective of the narrator, Des Esseintes. Through Friday, June 22, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, the Crown Building, 730 Fifth Ave. at 57th Street, 212-445-0444, free.

CLAY AND CANVAS Before painter and sculptor Hugo Robus died in 1964, Forum Gallery mounted a retrospective of the artist’s 60-year career. The gallery revisits Robus’s work with seven paintings created between 1913 and 1920, and 24 sculptures from every decade of his work. Robus was a contemporary of artists Max Kalish and William Zorach. Selections from “Hugo Robus: Sculpture and Paintings” include “The Wrestlers” (1916), above. Through Friday, June 22, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Forum Gallery, 745 Fifth Ave. at 57th Street, 212-355-4545, free.

AUCTIONS

BEFORE THE GAVEL Swann Galleries holds its Photographic Literature and Classical and Contemporary Photographs auction, featuring a rare copy of Peter Henry Emerson and T.F. Goodall’s classic “Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads,” with 40 original platinum print photographs from 1886. During a later auction, “Important Photographs,” beginning at 2:30 p.m., works by artists including Diane Arbus, Imogen Cunningham, Robert Mapplethorpe, Herb Ritts, and more, are auctioned. Today, begins at 10:30 a.m., Swann Galleries, 104 E. 25th St. at Park Avenue, 212-254-4710, free.

HOLIDAYS

UP ALL NIGHT The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan celebrates Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the Jewish holiday for insomniacs, with an all-night celebration. Shavuot is the day that marks the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It was reclaimed in modern times by Jews for its traditional edict to stay up all night and study. Contemporary followers now use the holiday to celebrate in culturally artistic ways. The JCC offers an all-night program of film, music, workshops, and discussion. Tonight, 10 p.m.–5:15 a.m., the JCC, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th Street, free.

MUSIC

MISSING ON NORFOLK The Vision Festival and Arts for Art present a showcase during May featuring artists whose shows were canceled after the announcement that the venue Tonic, on 107 Norfolk St., would be closing this month. The showcase, called Vision Tonic, features performances by lute player and electronic musician Jozef van Wissem. During a later set, Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra performs. Tonight, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Clemente Soto Velez LES Gallery, 107 Suffolk St., between Rivington and Delancey streets, 212-696-6681, $10 per set.

MEET IN PERSON The New York Philharmonic goes “Offstage” and presents violinist Julian Rachlin before he begins a three-day recital series with the Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall. Mr. Rachlin performs and discusses his career with a host from the radio station 96.3 WQXR, Jeff Spurgeon. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-875-5656, free.

READINGS

RESISTING CABIN FEVER Author Mary Pope Osborne, best known for her “Magic Tree House” series, ushers in the 11th annual Barnes & Noble summer reading program, designed to keep young children between the first and sixth grades reading during their vacations from school. Broadway actors Paul Wyatt, Katie Brunetto, and Donna Bullock, all cast members of “Magic Tree House: The Musical,” join Ms. Osborne during the opening. Today, 10:30 a.m., Barnes & Noble, 240 E. 86th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-794-1962, free.

‘LOVE IS A MIX TAPE’ Freebird Books & Goods hosts a reading with writers Darcey Steinke and Rob Sheffield. Ms. Steinke reads from her memoir “Easter Everywhere” (Bloomsbury), in which she tells the story of her growing up as the child of a Lutheran minister and a depressive former pageant queen, before embarking on a journey to find a meaningful spiritual life. Her nonfiction work has been featured in such publications as Vogue magazine, the Washington Post, and SPIN magazine. Mr. Sheffield, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, reads from “Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time” (Crown), a celebratory memoir and eulogy for “the decade of Nirvana,” including the sudden death of the rock critic’s wife from a pulmonary embolism. Thursday, 7 p.m., Freebird Books & Goods, 123 Columbia St., between Kane and Degraw streets, Brooklyn, 718-643-8484, free.

TALKS

A SANSKRIT CLASSIC “Rediscover the Bhagavad Gita,” a new course offering on the world’s oldest text on yoga philosophy at the Jivamukti Yoga School, begins tonight. A professor of religion at Hofstra University, Joshua Greene, leads the course. The 12-week class includes lectures, live music, meditations, and re-enactments of scenes from the spiritual text. Mr. Greene is also the author of the recently published “Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison” (Wiley). Tonight, 8–9:30 p.m., and successive Tuesdays, Jivamukti Yoga School, 841 Broadway, between 13th and 14th streets, second floor, 212-353-0214 ext. 0, $17 for single class, $150 for semester tuition.

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