All Photos By Gail
When we were invited to an art opening last week at Other Criteria, Damien Hirst’s high-end gift shop / gallery on Broome Street in Soho, the first thing I thought of was, why have I not been to Other Criteria during its entire first year of existence? Seriously, WTF have I been up to? I wish could tell you. Continue reading Eduardo Sarabia’s Ballads at Other Criteria
The Tame Impala (All Photos By Gail)
I remember when I first saw the trailer for Night at the Museum, and I was so excited for the movie because it had long been a fantasy of mine to be in NYC’s Museum of Natural History after closing time to see if all of those animals in the nature dioramas might come to life. Just being serious.
Continue reading Hall of Mammals Dioramas, Museum of Natural History
Happy Place (All Photos By Gail)
Sally Curcio’s Bubbles series artworks – 12 x 12-inch, domed fantasy world dioramas created with colorful beads and other repurposed objects – are a new passionate favorite thing of mine that I discovered accidentally through a referral from another artist, with whom Curcio and I share mutual acquaintanceship. Thank god for happy accidents.
Continue reading A Redefined Existence Featuring the Art of Sally Curcio at J. Cacciola Gallery
A Day at The Guggenheim, Diorama inside a Parking Meter, By Conrad Stojak (All Photos By Gail)
Artist Conrad Stojak was taking photographs in his neighborhood one day when he happened to take a closer look at a defunct New York City Parking Meter. He noticed how the domed glass, with its tiny built-in shelf, reminded him of the dioramas he used to make in school. And then he got an idea: why not make use of the literally thousands of disused meters to make a different kind of street art?
Zeppelin Parking Only, Close Up
Having had some experience as a graffiti artist, and having realized that dressing in all black was not necessarily the way to go, Conrad ventured out at night in florescent clothing like that worn by construction workers, thus hiding in plain sight. With tiny figurines he purchased from a hobby store, he used chopsticks and glue to carefully create dioramas that would tell stories of various aspects of city life.
Bag Lady
Bag Lady, Close Up
Overnight, the glue on his tiny figures would dry and he would return with his camera to immortalize the scene forever. The best part about this project is that the artist wasn’t leaving any permanent mark or anything that could be construed as vandalism on private, public or city property.
Conrad also used Parking Meters as Flower Vases
Looking at photographs of these dioramas encourage endless imaginative extrapolation regarding the story behind these tiny scenes, and there is a printed version of Conrad’s back story on how the project evolved posted along with the photographs at Daugherty Gallery. This is a must-read, as his completely engaging personal story adds great value to his unique artwork, the likes of which I’ve only seen in the photographs of artist Randy Hage.
The Muse 2, Close Up
Conrad’s beautifully framed photographs are also very affordable, each selling for around $300, so they are quite a good investment, as I am sure he is an artist we will be hearing from for a long time. You can find out more about the art of Conrad Stojak at This Link. The exhibit opened on Friday, May 16th and I am not sure how long it will be up, so call the number below to plan your visit accordingly.
Over the Steel Rainbow, Close Up
The Dougherty Gallery at Crescent Grill is located at 38-40 Crescent Street at 39th Avenue, LIC Queens, NY 11101. Phone 718-729-4040 or Visit Crescent Grill Dot Com for more information or to make a Dinner Reservation.
Image Courtesy of Anne Raso
As amazing as it would be to think that a real Bacon Flavored Marshmallow Peep exists, these faux Bacon Peeps were created as part of a Peeps Diorama Contest back in 2010.