Luxury for Export at the Gardner, Street Level at the ICA, and Elections and Erections at the Club at Zero Arrow Theatre

by Heather Bouzan, 03-25-2008

THROUGH SUNDAY, MAY 4
By our definition, “luxury goods” are the items we’ve splurged on at Barneys — but it wasn’t quite so for the citizens of India and Portugal around the year 1600. Now an exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (280 The Fenway, Boston, 617.566.1401) focuses on the period of time after Portugal discovered a direct maritime route into the Indian Ocean, which, in turn, inspired a trade relationship influenced between both ports. “Luxury for Export: Artistic Exchange Between India and Portugal Around 1600” showcases luxury goods including furniture, household objects, textiles, and religious items made in India for export to the West. Many of the pieces have been sourced from museums and collectors around the US and Europe, though the exhibit’s main attraction is an embroidered work purchased by Gardner herself. Museum admission is $12 for adults and $5 for students.

THROUGH SUNDAY, JULY 13
Can you recognize the intrinsic artistic value in a mess of discarded flyers, a pair of abandoned sneakers, and graffiti splashed across a decrepit wall? The talented young trio of artists showcased in “Street Level: Mark Bradford, William Cordova, and Robin Rhode” at the Institute of Contemporary Art (100 Northern Avenue, Boston, 617.478.3100) sure can. Drawing from the gritty urban landscapes of LA, Lima, Miami, New York, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Berlin, the artists have built their bodies of work around street culture and have found their muses in the living, breathing cities themselves. The exhibition, which features various types of media, from large-scale painting and sculptural installation to photography and video, features 19 works produced between 2001 and 2008. Museum admission is $12 for adults.

THURSDAY, APRIL 3 – SUNDAY, MAY 4
Need a break from your obsessive election-coverage surfing? Find a little humor in the whole mess with the American Repertory Theatre’s production of Elections and Erections: A Chronicle of Fear and Fun. Created and performed by South African satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys, the one-man show takes on political outrages and hypocrisies. Uys gives life to characters such as Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and his own creation, Evita Bezuidenhout, who considers herself “the most famous white woman in South Africa.” Elections and Erections is at the Club at Zero Arrow Theatre (Zero Arrow Street, Cambridge, 617.547.8300) — that’s the Zero Arrow Theatre, rearranged with tables and a cash bar into a cabaret setting. Tickets ($15 to $52) are available at www.amrep.org or 617.547.8300. @