ART

HOPE IN A BOTTLE “The Geometry of Hope: Latin American Abstract Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection,” on view at the Grey Art Gallery of New York University, concludes this week. The exhibit gathers more than 100 works from the acclaimed collection and provides a scholarly overview of the development of geometric abstract art — widely viewed as the apex of nonobjective art practice — in the Americas. The show also challenges the notion of Latin American art as a monolithic phenomenon by mounting work from five countries, spanning two continents and five eras. The work of Joaquín Torres-García, Gyula Kosice, Tomás Maldonado, and Geraldo de Barros, among others, is featured. Through Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., 212-998-6780, Grey Art Gallery, NYU, 100 Washington Square East, between Waverly and Washington places, free.

RIDING THE WAVE Gianfranco Gorgoni rode the wave of Pop Art in the 1960s, enjoying the camaraderie of artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein through his work as a photojournalist. He came to New York in 1968 to work on a photographic essay. He stayed, taking on assignments and shooting for magazines including Time and Esquire. Through Wednesday, December 12, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Jim Kempner Fine Art, 501 W. 23rd St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-206-6872, free.

SKETCHING FROM LIFE Helen Torr is perhaps best known as the wife of the American abstract painter Arthur Dove. But during her decades-long career, she was widely considered an important Modernist painter in her own right. Torr created landscape paintings, still lifes, and architectural works in which she employed a flat design technique and her unique sense of color. Alexandre Gallery celebrates Torr’s career with an exhibit of “Selected Sketchbooks” to accompany an exhibit of works by Anne Harris. Through Saturday, December 29, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Alexandre Gallery, the Fuller Building, 41 E. 57th St. at Madison Avenue, 13th floor, 212-755-2828, free.

THE CARTOONIST The Jewish Museum presents “From The New Yorker to Shrek: The Art of William Steig.” Steig worked for 73 years at the New Yorker, where his art appeared on more than 120 covers and more than 1,600 of his drawings were published. He is credited with transforming the way cartoons were created at the weekly magazine. He also wrote and illustrated children’s books; his picture book “Shrek!” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) inspired the “Shrek” films by DreamWorks. This is the first major exhibition of the artist’s work. Featured are 190 original drawings, several of the artist’s notebooks, sketchbooks, and letters, as well as Steig’s mock-ups for his books for young readers. Through March 16, 2008, Saturday–Wednesday, 11 a.m.–5:45 p.m., Thursday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m., the Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-423-3200, $12 adults, $10 seniors, $7.50 students, free for members and children under 12.

LETTERS TO A YOUNG ARTIST An exhibit of correspondence between an artist and his young colleague, “Painted With Words: Vincent van Gogh’s Letters to Émile Bernard,” is on view at the Morgan Library & Museum. The show collects 20 letters and sketches written and created between 1887 and 1889, and offers a rare look at the life and creative process of the artists through the letters and works they exchanged. In those letters, van Gogh offers praise to the budding artist, but the correspondence also chronicles van Gogh’s personal struggles as he reached artistic maturity in isolation in Arles and St. Rémy, France. Through Sunday, January 6, Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave. at 36th Street, Tuesday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., 212-685-0008, $12 general, $8 students, seniors, and children. For complete information, go to themorgan.org.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME? Leo Koenig Inc. presents “What’s Wrong With Me,” an exhibit of paintings by Norbert Bisky. The German artist’s Pop-art-inspired, tan, and often blond-haired and blue-eyed boys can be found in this new collection of paintings. But a closer look demonstrates that Mr. Bisky has taken a more visually and thematically aggressive stance, depicting young figures devouring body parts, relieving themselves, or becoming inebriated. Through Sunday, December 23, Leo Koenig, Inc., 545 W. 23rd St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-334-9255, free.

DESIGN

THE DOORS The New York School of Interior Design presents “Making an Entrance: Design Philosophy and the Entry in Western Architecture.” The exhibit explores the history and evolution of the entryway. Particular attention is paid to the the ways in which the Modernist movement led to building entrances that would embody both a literal structure and a metaphorical divide between the outside world and the interior of an architectural composition. The director of the library at the New York School of Interior Design, Eric Wolf, is curator of the show. Through Friday, December 21, Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., New York School of Interior Design, 170 E. 70th St., between Lexington and Third avenues, 212-472-1500, free.

MIXED MEDIA

NEW GERMAN CINEMA P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center presents “Fassbinder: Berlin Alexanderplatz,” an exhibit featuring a newly restored version of the prolific German filmmaker’s sequential film. A 15-hour epic, “Berlin Alexanderplatz” (1980) follows the exploits of the character Franz Biberkopf, who is also the hero of Alfred Döblin’s acclaimed 1929 novel of the same name. A parallel screening of the film is divided into 14 rooms, one for each episode of the narrative. The juxtaposition highlights director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s often challenging, innovative use of images, as well as a recurring theme in his work — political and social corruption in postwar Germany. All 14 episodes are shown successively, in chronological order, and on a continuous loop on a central big screen. Additionally, stills from the film’s 224 scenes are on display, including Gottfried John and Helen Vita, right, and Fassbinder and Hanna Schygulla during a rehearsal, above. A first-time reproduction of Fassbinder’s storyboard is featured, as is his marked-up copy of Döblin’s novel, and audiotapes featuring his dictation and notes on the script. Through Monday, January 7, Thursday–Monday, noon–6 p.m., P.S.1, third-floor main gallery, 22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, 718-784-2084, $5 suggested donation, $2 for students and seniors, free for Museum of Modern Art members and Mo-Ma admission ticket holders.

MUSIC

THE DEBUT A young Venezuelan conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, has his debut with the New York Philharmonic. Violinist Gil Shaham is a featured performer. Mr. Dudamel is the music director of the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, which recently completed a successful first tour in America. The rising-star conductor will take on the role of music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009. Program selections include Dvorák’s violin concerto. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, 132 W. 65th St. at Columbus Avenue, 212-875-5030, $29-$99.

TOTAL REQUEST LIVE Feinstein’s at Loews Regency presents Michael Feinstein’s “By Request,” a program of tunes selected by the audience during Friday and Saturday late shows throughout December. The ever-changing set list will include suggestions ranging from cabaret classics to contemporary standards. Clubgoers are invited to choose from their personal favorites, as well as from Mr. Feinstein’s eclectic songbook, which includes selections from “Winter Dreams,” his seasonal show of holiday-themed songs, which also bows this month at the cabaret club. Friday and Saturday, 11 p.m., through Saturday, December 29, Regency Hotel, 540 Park Ave. at 61st Street, 212-339-4095, $102.96.

OPERA

ROMAN TRAGEDY The Metropolitan Opera presents “Norma,” a bel canto work featuring vocalists Hasmik Papian and Maria Guleghina, who share the demanding title role. Vincenzo Bellini’s Italian opera tells the tragic story of two lovers, a Roman consul and a druid high priestess, set against a backdrop of war and national entanglements 50 years before the Common Era. Tomorrow and Friday, 8 p.m., Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera, between West 62nd and 65th streets, and Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, 212-362-6000, $15–$275.

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