There are two things in this world that I love above all else: every single dog on earth, and summertime. While I have to admit that being steamed and broiled in the harsh sunlight sitting over the city has put quite a ding in my favor for the season, nothing short of an unexpected volcano eruption could have stopped me from beelining to Dog Days of Summer, a group exhibition devoted to our darling companions at Timothy Taylor Gallery’s Manhattan location.
On view through August 23, the collaboratively organized exhibition features over 60 artworks by 47 emerging, mid-career, and established artists. With a blasting air conditioner, water bowls filled to the brim, and a glass jar of bone-shaped treats at the entrance, the gallery has made it clear that the four-legged stars of the show are welcome to comfortably peruse the show accompanied by their human escorts.
Though the featured works is united as lovingly rendered homages to our ancient and affectionate symbiosis with the dogs, it’s brilliant to see how each artist interprets the purest interspecies relationship. Humor and adoration, fidelity and companionship, beauty and form, and an unfettered appreciation for canine quirks encompass the salon-style exhibition. While I thoroughly David Surman’s floppy, gloppy puppy giants as they contrasted with Julia Felsenthal’s fastidiously fuzzy paintings, I was also pleasantly surprised to see related works by the likes of Paula Rego, Robert Mapplethorpe, Alex Katz, Jonas Wood, and Kiki Smith.
I was especially excited by Surman’s “Demon Hunter” (2020), whose gray-and-white subject bore a striking resemblance to my late childhood dog Ralphie (who at most hunted for pieces of cheese on the floor), Justin Liam O’Brien’s “Hungry Borzoi” (2024), and Robert Roest’s three photorealistic paintings of a Chihuahua’s tongue gone rogue.
As damp, hot air radiates off of every outdoor surface in Manhattan, Dog Days of Summer is the perfect excuse for you and your pup to linger around some air conditioning and remember that the best things in life are the things that love you back even harder.
See more photos from the show below:
