DESIGN

SEW CONTROVERSIAL “Pricked: Extreme Embroidery,” on view at the Museum of Arts & Design, is a survey exploring how centuries-old handcraft traditions are rejuvenated in contemporary art and design. The show gathers the work of 48 artists, and features pieces that demonstrate that embroidery is about more than samplers and dainty tea towels. Among the highlights is the work of Benji Whalen, who embroiders tattoos onto a series of stuffed arms mounted on a wall, and Andrea Dezsö’s 2005–06 series “My Grandmother Loved Me Even Though …,” a collection of spooky narratives stitched onto white cotton canvas. Selections from the exhibit include Mr. Whalen’s “Harem of the Snow Lord” (2006), right. Through Sunday, April 27, Monday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Museum of Arts & Design, 40 W. 53rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-956-3535, $9 general, $7 students and seniors, free for members and children under 12.

ART

CAPTION THIS Award-winning novelist Dave Eggers is the curator of “Lots of Things Like This,” an exhibit at apexart featuring works by photographer Tucker Nichols, graphic artist R. Crumb, and authors Shel Silverstein and Kurt Vonnegut, among others. The pieces on view are a combination of one-panel cartoons and text-based art, what Mr. Eggers describes as “somewhat crude, usually irreverent, and always funny.” The exhibit consists of around 100 works, and raises the question of whether humor is allowed in art and in what forms. Wednesday, opening reception, 6–8 p.m., exhibit through Saturday, May 10, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., apexart, 291 Church St., between Walker and White streets, 212-431-5270, free.

MUSIC

CRAZY KEYS The Kaufman Center opens its new series, “Pianoply,” dedicated to presenting innovative artists in keyboard writing and performance. The first concert features Margaret Leng Tan and Sylvie Courvoisier. The two pianists perform compositions by musical pioneers John Cage and George Crumb, among others: The pieces feature singular playing techniques, including the “hands-in” piano practice, pioneered by Henry Cowell, in which the performers put their hands inside the piano and move its strings and other parts to produce a wider range of sound. Tonight, 8 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W. 67th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, 212-501-3330, $25–$30.

ELECTRONIC MEETS TRADITIONAL Min/Wu/Xu, a trio of pioneering Chinese avant-garde musical artists, performs with American electronic music composer Carl Stone at the Abrons Art Center. The group performs modern music using traditional Chinese instruments such as the pipa, a four-string lute that dates back 2,000 years, and the sheng, a traditional Chinese reed instrument. With accompaniment by Mr. Stone, the trio performs the world premiere of his “Ghost Karaoke,” an innovative combination of computer music and traditional Chinese sounds. Tonight, 8 p.m., Abrons Art Center, 466 Grand St. at Pitt Street, 212-598-0400, $10.

TRIUMPHANT RETURN Tim Reynolds, a renowned guitarist and a frequent collaborator with pop musician Dave Matthews, makes a live comeback at the Knitting Factory with the anticipated return of his trio, TR3. Bass player Mick Vaughn and drummer Dan Martier join Mr. Reynolds. Influenced by a wide range of artists, the songs are a mix of updated classics written by Mr. Reynolds and covers of songs by James Brown and Prince. Known for his dexterity on the acoustic guitar and his percussive techniques, Mr. Reynolds showcases a genre-bending musical ability that borrows from progressive rock, straight-up jazz, and high-powered funk. The trio stops in New York City on a two-month tour of the East Coast. Tonight, 8 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St., between Church Street and Broadway, 212-219-3132, $20 advance, $25 at the door.

GRITS AND GUITARS Country singer Phil Vassar performs at the Highline Ballroom in a one-night-only show. This Virginia-born singer and songwriter made his mark in Nashville as an acclaimed performer and musician, and has accumulated a long list of top-20 hits on country radio, including nine no. 1 songs throughout his career. Mr. Vassar is gearing up for the release of his fourth album, “Prayer of a Common Man,” scheduled to hit stores on April 22, and his current single, “Love is a Beautiful Thing,” has just reached no. 14 on the country radio charts.

Tonight, 8 p.m., Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, $25 in advance, $30 at the door.

TALKS

FASHION REVOLUTION Marie Antoinette was one of the first true fashionistas in history. An associate professor of French at Barnard College, Caroline Weber, discusses the intrigue and influence of one of France’s most memorable figures in an appearance at the City University of New York Graduate Center. An expert on the topic, Ms. Weber is the author of “Queen of Fashion: What Marie-Antoinette Wore to the French Revolution” (Picador), as well as “Terror and Its Discontents: Suspect Words and the French Revolution” (University of Minnesota Press).Today, 4:30 p.m., CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave. at 34th Street, 212-817-2005, free.

THE NEW AGE The India China Institute at the New School presents “Prosperity and Inequality: Debates in India and China,” a conference featuring the administrator of the United Nations Development Program, Kemal Dervis, as keynote speaker. The conference provides benchmark assessments of the wealth formation and human development of the two countries. Mr. Davis is the third-highest-ranking official at the United Nations, and discusses the major challenges facing China and India, including growing social unrest, poverty, and worries about rising energy needs.

Conference, today and tomorrow, 9 a.m.–8 p.m., the New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, 55 W. 13th St., 2nd floor, between Fifth and Sixth avenues; keynote speech, tonight, 6 p.m., Tishman Auditorium, the New School, 66 W. 12th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, free. RSVP to 212-229-6812. For more information, go to indiachina. newschool. edu.

PAINTINGS

20th-CENTURY LIFETIME Tamás Lossonczy’s remarkable career is defined by the political and artistic trends of his lifetime; the many movements he is associated with include the Group of Socialist Artists, the European School, and the Hungarian Group of Abstract Artists. His career began after he graduated from art school in 1926, and alternated between creating paintings on his own, and working on Soviet-commissioned architecture during the 1940s. Now 103, Mr. Lossonczy’s first solo show was mounted in 1943, and in 1994, he won Hungary’s highest artistic award, the Kossuth Prize. Selections from an exhibit of paintings from the collection of investor and philanthropist George Soros include an untitled work (c. 1940s), above.

Through Monday, May 5, Monday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Hungarian Cultural Center, 447 Broadway, between Howard and Grand streets, 212-750-4450, free.

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