Tag Archives: Forbidden Fruit

Chris Antemann’s Forbidden Fruit at The Museum of Arts and Design

Forbidden Fruit
All Photos By Gail

If the idea of bearing witness to dozens of tiny, semi-clad porcelain figurines that appear to be on the cusp of indulging in a bacchanalian orgy floats your boat, have I a got an art exhibit for you. Chris Antemann’s Forbidden Fruit — up now at the Museum of Arts and Design — celebrates the collaboration between the Oregon-based artist and Meissen, the renowned manufacturer of fine Porcelain.

Forbidden Fruit Detail
Detail from Above Photo

In 2011, Antemann was invited to participate in Meissen’s Art Studio Program, where she worked closely with Meissen’s master artisans to create unique pieces and a series of limited editions that strike a perfect balance between her distinctive style and Meissen’s identity. These pieces are arranged in Forbidden Fruit as a grand installation that reinvents and invigorates the great figurative tradition.

Forbidden Fruit Installation View

Inspired by eighteenth-century porcelain figurines and decorative art, Antemann’s delicate and intricately detailed sculptures are lavishly presented on a central banquet table alongside a selection of stand alone sculptures and a nine-light porcelain chandelier. Her centerpiece, Love Temple (2013), is inspired by Meissen’s great historical model of Johann Joachim Kändler’s monumental Love Temple (1750). Stripping the original design back to its basic forms,  added her own figures, ornamentation, and flowers to her five-foot work, as well as a special finial with three musicians to herald the arrival of guests to the banquet of “forbidden fruit” below.

Love Temple Detail

Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Fruit

Using the Garden of Eden as her metaphor, Antemann has created a contemporary interpretation of the eighteenth-century banqueting craze by inserting her scantily clad male and female figures.

Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Fruit

Posed in intimate and playful vignettes of seduction, Antemann’s figures convey narratives of domesticity, social etiquette, and taboos while making formal references to classic Baroque Meissen figurines. The ceramist invents a new narrative on contemporary morality in a setting that evokes the decadence of François Boucher and Jean-Antoine Watteau.

Forbidden Fruit

Chris Antemann’s Forbidden Fruit will be on Exhibit Through February 5, 2017 at the Museum of Arts and Design, Located at 2 Columbus circle (58th Street) in NYC.

Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Fruit Installation View

Forbidden Fruit Offers Patriotic Strawberry Special for Labor Day Weekend

Patriotic White Chocolate Covered Strawberries

For New Yorkers staying in town over Labor Day Weekend, Forbidden Fruit NYC invites all to celebrate their American spirit and indulge in patriotic sweet treats. The new chocolate dipped fruit shop, located in the West Village, is offering a special deal on American-themed chocolate-covered, ripe red strawberries, which are dipped in creamy white chocolate and covered in blue sprinkles. America!

Whether you’re relaxing with friends at home or heading outdoors to enjoy the last days of summer, customers can pick up a box of 6 of these Red, White, and Blue specialty delights for just $12.00 (normally priced at $17.85) from Friday, August 31st through Monday, September 3rd. No matter where you choose to enjoy them, they’re the perfect Labor Day treat!

NOTE: FORBIDDEN FRUIT HAS CLOSED FOR BUSINESS – Forbidden Fruit NYC is located at 106 MacDougal St. (Off of Bleeker).  

Forbidden Fruit NYC Offers Grand Opening Specials on Thursday July 12th!

Multiple Fruit Skewers

Talk about a sweet deal! To celebrate its Grand Opening in the heart of Greenwich Village, Forbidden Fruit NYC  —  a new Chocolate Dipped Fruit Shop — is offering Complimentary Tastings and Buy One, Get One Free deals all day on Thursday, July 12th, 2012!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Enjoying a sweet treat in the city just got healthier thanks to Forbidden Fruit NYC! This fruit and  chocolate confections shop, located at 106 MacDougal St. offers fresh fruit that is hand dipped or “dripped” (drizzled) with fine Belgian chocolate (the best!) and specialty toppings for an all-natural sweet treat that will satisfy the chocolate-lover inside everyone. Whether you prefer long stemmed strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, ripe pineapple crescents enveloped in white chocolate and toasted nuts, or a sweet clementine drizzled with creamy milk chocolate (holy cow!), you can find all of that and more at the new Forbidden Fruit NYC. I can’t wait to go!

Update: Please Note That This Shop is Now Closed Permanently Forbidden Fruit NYC is located at 106 MacDougal Street, off Bleecker.