Brimfield, Opening Day
A return to the Woodstock of the antiques and collectibles world, Brimfield in mid-Massachusetts. Today, the first day, the dealers were blissful, the buyers so sated. A sensorial all-you-can-eat buffet that spans perhaps a mile, it is exhilarating to take in the profusion of stuff, amusing to see the absurd combos of items in arbitrary tableaux, and inspiring to experience the exploding encyclopedia of textile prints and typography. Warholian spores wafted and pervaded the fields of booths. What popped out for me thematically were needlepointed items, giant versions of things, vintage military, work and sports uniforms, technical tools, stripes, jewelry from all eras and countries, gardening decor and vessels, beaded and non-beaded handbags, and barkcloth. Even though there were enterprising porters dragging rickshaws of choice hauls, many attendees had to sit, retreat and regroup from the long day of stimuli and transacting.
Meet the Beetles
A double-parked installation on West 16th Street between 8th & 9th, by Bolivian artist, José Maximiliano Siñani Paredes Sánchez. Siñani, who now lives and works in New York, reinterprets everyday objects to expose another reality. . . with much humor.
The Heart of Wetness
This evening, we sipped Curacao-tinted Prosecco at the chapel of the surf—a magnificent, torrential, calligraphic Raymond Pettibon show at Venus over Manhattan on Madison Avenue. Spanning 25 years (1987-2012), the show aggregates 40 of Pettibon’s surfer-thermed paintings ranging from intimate black ink wash images to colossal indigo-slashed pieces often accompanied by handwritten poetic Lichtensteinian texts, that put one at the core of the wave, feeling at once powerful, vulnerable and alone.
Freight Elevator as Gallery
One of the rarely seen—and exclusive—art installations in Chelsea: a freight elevator in the former Nabisco factory, now the Chelsea Market, encrusted with carefully cut and silhouetted sports memorabilia. The artist (and sports nut)—the elevator operator himself, allowed me to take a few photos of his magnum opus.
Mirror Man
Art Spiegelman’s retrospective at the Jewish Museum is a revelation, of the inner workings—anguish, humanism, intellect, humor—and the eloquent, prolific output of this storytelling artist and genius. For Spiegelman, the explored life is worth living, and he lives up to his name,“mirror man” in German—let alone his first name. A well-written, organized and documented show—you should see it.
Balthus, Cats & Girls
The best part, perhaps the most genuine component of the Balthus: Cats and Girls show now at the Met is its coda, a separate room labeled Mitsou. Based on his found and lost stray cat—these beautiful 40 pen and ink drawings resemble woodcuts, and show a precocious talent, as they were made when Balthus was just 11 years old.
Calder Jewelry: Show & Tell
Election Evening: I went from civic duty at PS 9 to a soiree at Salon 94.
A swank Upper East Side townhouse gallery off of Fifth Avenue—from which Fran Leibowitz had just exited—Salon 94 was the gracious host to a show of
Alexander Calder’s exuberant and spectacular jewelry, intimate mobiles and stabiles. Meandering through the two stories and the curved seashell staircase were Calder family members and friends, resplendent in his bold, tribal, playful metallic leis, breastplates, cuffs, brooches, and earmobiles.
It was as if we entered a time warp or a déjà vu—on exhibit too were the other guests—some topless, with raccoon bands of makeup or black /white faced like Frank Gorshin in an early Star Trek, affectless stretched faces and bearded ladies—striking poses for klieg lights and a Polaroid photographer who posted their images on the wall. We met party presence Andre J regal in red patent leather harness and leopard lederhosen. Upstairs, we saw the Studio Museum’s Thelma Golden schmoozing just outside an abundant open kitchen, where cooks proffered tofu and cilantro baguettes, open-faced steamed pork dumplings and shortbread cookies studded with coffee beans. Red and white wines were flowing.
The ultimate experience though, of the whole evening was the opportunity to touch and actually adorn myself with Calder jewelry!
Amphibious Landing
Turn over many a flat rock or peer into the almost neon green mosses in the Berkshires and you will delight in finding these “salis,” unreal in their hyper-orange, almost gelatinous bodies. I still like to hunt for these amphibious creatures. Their brilliance lingers, and inspired me to create this print, an homage to their form, color and gentle sweetness. And now, anyone who shares in the wonder of discovering salamanders can enjoy them in a playful duvet cover.
Produced by the newly launched BYCO, the first micro-financing site exclusively for designers, Salis will be featured for sale for the next 60 days.
Salis the duvet cover is printed on one side on super soft microfiber, and has an invisible zipper closure at the bottom. Salis is available for sale in full, queen and king sizes until October 11.
Read the press on 2Modern Blog
Read about BYCO in the New York Times
Bucolic Telecommuting Illustrated
Berkshire Magazine, the New York Magazine of the region asked me to create an illustration for an article on the current state of telecommuting in the area. A mashup incorporating pen and ink drawings with collaged elements, this piece represents the dream: to be able to Skype wirelessly with colleagues all over the planet from a dock on Lake Garfield or the middle of an idyllic field in the Tyringham Valley.
Read the article.
42nd on Warren
One of my pieces, 42nd 5th & 6th, a collage made from ephemera I found on that street, will be in Well Put Together: The Art of Collage & Assemblage, a group show at the CCCA Gallery, 209 Warren Street, Hudson, NY. The opening reception is April 6 from 5-7pm. The show runs through May 17.