EXHIBITIONS

"Snowclones" at Art Blog Art Blog, August 4, 508 West 26th St., 6 p.m. - 9 p.m., artblogartblog.com

The poster for the 5th exhibition at this pop-up art space is a dog nextto a snow-dog, printed in bright cyan. The in-your-face aesthetic is representative of the alternative gallery’s attitude, an artists-for-artists outlook that has produced some of the more daring Chelsea group shows in recent memory. This looks like one for the books.  

Joe McKay, Culture Fix NY, 9 Clinton St., August 5 and 6, 5 p.m., culturefixny.com

In the last of a series of five shows dubbed "Opening Receptions" focusing on artists working in multidisciplinary mediums, Joe McKaysinteractive game of killing virtual cockroaches will be played on the walls of the gallery. Better than playing it in your apartment, with real cockroaches.

"Eldridge Express" at LMAK Projects, 139 Eldridge Street, Opening August 6, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., makprojects.com

Theflip side of the old contemporary art knock "my kids could draw that" is that, hey, children can make some terrifically creative artworks. Non-parents can see this for themselves in "Eldridge Express," a show ofsome 140 drawings made by the young Picassos of the Preschool of America at 39 Eldridge Street, a bilingual English-and-Mandarin school for kids ages two to five. Each of the school's nine classrooms followed a different "theme" in making their composition — from scratch art to experimenting with the different shades of a single primary colorto making work inspired by the Caribbean — and the drawings will be on sale for $10 each, with all proceeds going to the school.

iPhone Poetry by Ryder Ripps, online, iphonepoetry.info

Internet artist Ryder Ripps recently published his latest project, short poems about iPhones, displayed on an iPhone. The single-use site that houses the work has a virtual iPhone that viewers scroll through, checking out poems with lines like “You are a fragile glass flower from another world.” One hopes that there’s a healthy dose of irony here along with the techno-obsession.

THINGS TO PURCHASE

"In a Lonely Place" by Gregory Crewdson, Abrams (2011), $40, amazon.com

Photographer Gregory Crewdson released a new book, "In a Lonely Place" to accompany a traveling European exhibition of his work. Edited by London gallerist Craig Burnett, this volume collects several of Crewdson’s major photo series, including "Fireflies," "Beneath the Roses," and "Sanctuary." The book is way cheaper than any of his photos will ever be, so this might be the best bet for bringing some Crewdson big-budget surrealism to your very own desolate patch of suburbia.

ARCHITECTURE EXTRAVAGANZA

Elizabeth Diller Lecture at BMW Guggenheim Lab, Houston St. and 2nd Ave, August 5, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m., free, bmwguggenheimlab.org

Kicking off the BMW Guggenheim Lab's urbanism and architecture-based programming schedule, the pop-up space will be hosting a lecture by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro founding principal Elizabeth Diller on the topic of comfort in our cities. The innovative firm is fresh from the triumphant opening of the second segment of New York’s High Line park, so catch this chance to get an inside view into one of the hottest architecture offices working today. The Atelier Bow-Wow designed Lab pavilion isn’t half bad, either.

High Line Roller Rink, The Lot, 30th St. and 10th Avenue, 11 a.m-10 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, $12 for adults, $10 for children under 13, thehighline.org

ARTINFO market editor (and former competitive roller skater and coach) Shane Ferro says, "From what I've seen on my lunch break, the crowds aren't wild and the rental skates are new (no fungi!), so it looks to be a good time. I'll probably be going on Friday night. Come join me for a slow song and a beer." The rink is designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro (see above), so extra culture points there, too. 

UPSTATE OPERATICS

Bard SummerScape at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, through August 21, fishercenter.bard.edu/

Head upstate to catch the last two weeks of Bard SummerScape, where you can see cabaret at the Spiegeltent, the rarely-performed Strauss opera "Die Liebe der Danae," and a Nordic Film Festival, featuring the works of Bergman and Kaurismäki.