Street art aficionados know that Freeman Alley is the premier spot on the LES for checking out contemporary street art as it is happening. The alley’s visual landscape of wheat pastes, stickers and stencils changes daily, so I like to head over there a few times a month to see what’s new and share the best discoveries here on the site. It was during a visit in mid-February that I started seeing the art of Goldloxe in a series of paste-ups depicting nearly identical little girls — wearing baby doll dresses, Mary Janes shoes and bobby socks — which are part of her Just a Girl collection. For Goldloxe, these girls are all about “Celebrating unapologetic women who won’t stop pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo.” Heck yeah!
The comprehensive Yayoi Kusama exhibit, Kusama Cosmic Nature, runs through October 2021 at the New York Botanical Garden, and it’s all kinds of crazy fun to explore. The garden recently added one of the legendary Japanese artist’s super popular immersive Infinity Mirrored Rooms to the mix, and for just $10 you get a whopping 45 seconds to enjoy the light show and take as many insta-worthy photos as you can: not much time really to work on your composition, but was it work it? Oh yeah! Especially since purchasing these limited-availbilty tickets in advance means pretty short lines as compared to the time I nearly crippled myself waiting to get into one of these things for three hours. Ugh, never again.
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On an otherwise gloomy and very rainy Sunday in New York, we made our way to the NYBG in the Bronx for the second day of artist Yayoi Kusama’s new exhibit, Kusama: Cosmic Nature. While Saturday’s opening day enjoyed the benefit of bright sun and warm temperatures, we did not let the overcast skies dampen our sprits at all while exploring this amazing exhibit which showcases of all of Kusama’s ‘greatest hits’ (if you know what I mean). An in-depth review will likely be on the horizon here on The ‘Gig. In the meantime, check it out for yourself buy snagging a couple of hot tickets at This Link!
Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden Sculpture/Installation Paired With Chris Ofili’s Painting To Take and To Give (All Photo By Gail)
On a very rainy Sunday in NYC, the ideal indoor activity turned out be a ferry ride over to Randall’s Island for the Frieze Art Fair! Because what’s a little mud on your shoes compared to the joy of browsing for hours through thousands of prohibitively expensive artworks?
It Isn’t an Art Fair Without Yayoi Kusama!
Looking back through the digital archives, it appears that my previously most recent Frieze recap dates all the way back to 2015 — wow — for reasons that take too long to talk about. One thing that is abundantly clear though is that my skills as a photographer have improved greatly in the last four years! Let’s take look around this year’s Frieze Art Fair and check out a selection of my favorite art!
Carlotta (2017) is monumental 3D-effect stiles steel sculpture by Juame Pensa, found at Richard Grey Gallery. That’s an Alex Katz abstract painting at the left.
It didn’t take me long get distract by shiny things, because I neglected to note the artist of this installation of Colored Spherical Shaped Mirrors, which is just fantastic.
It might look like a weed has sprouted up though a crack in the wall at the booth for the Marlborough Gallery, but that weed is actually a metal sculpture. Clever!
Quartz Eroded Newspaper Machine (2019) by Daniel Arsham.
Here’s the view of another side: Coffee Cup included! Spotted at Perrotin Gallery.
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Two colorful, feathered bears wrestle playfully in this sculpture by Paola Pivi entitled You Drive Me Crazy, also at Perrotin Gallery.
You know how it is when you have to wait so long for all of the people to clear out of the shot that your forget to make note of what you were photographing? This is one of those times.
Untitled (After John Singleton Copley) By Ewa Juszkiewicz
Mermaid Sculptures by Olivia Erlanger at And Now Gallery sell for $8,000 each!
Back and Forth (2016) By Marilyn Lerner at Kate Werble Gallery
Alyson Shotz created this iridescent suspended soft sculpture made from interlinked, dichroic-dyed aluminum discs, found at Derek Eller Gallery. Check out two detail views of this work, below.
Surface of Discs. Exterior.
Surface of Discs, Interior.
Here’s a unique blown-glass work by Gabriele Beveridge called True Bone. It’s so lovely I am compelled to offer a side view from which you can see how the glass ‘weeps’ over the chromed Steele frame, or bone.
Men Who Cannot Cry (2018) Neon Sculpture by Alfredo Jaar.
Mark Thomas Gibson, The Snowman (2018) at Fredericks and Freiser.
Stainless Steel and Urethane Vinyl Sculptures and Drawings by Seung-Taek Lee at Gallery Hyundai.
Alex Da Corte, Orb Weaver Weft (2019) at Karma Gallery.
Indigo Illusions (1991) By Betye Saar at Roberts Projects.
Empowered Women (2019) By Andrea Bowers at Andrew Kreps Gallery
This neon sign switched up its timely message by having the “ed” in “Empowered” flicker off and on. Nice.
Metaphysical Leg Pull (1976) By Duggie Fields, at The Modern Institute / Toby Webster Ltd.
You Should Be Dancing (2018) By Jim Lambie
This reflective wall sculpture made from the lenses of sunglasses was also spotted at the both for at The Modern Institute / Toby Webster Ltd.
Mirror Balloons By Jeppe Hein (2019) at 303 Gallery of New York.
Colorful Acrylic Sculptures By Marta Chilindron (Above and Below).
My Life As A Tree By Edouard Duval-Carrie (2019) at Lyle OReitzel Gallery.
Shiatsu (2019) By Max Hooper Schneider
Now here’s a modern sculpture that has everything! Max Hooper Schneider’s Shiatsu takes a custom acyclic vitrine — that an observer might easily mistake for an ordinary household aquarium — and creates a surreal habitat filled with hand tools scattered among the lush terrarium plant life and accented with a vintage neon sign! Let’s take a closer look.
Spectacular! Hooper Schneider’s work is represented by Maureen Paley Gallery of London.
Avid readers of The ‘Gig might recognize this freeform abstract sculpture as the work of sculptor Tony Cragg from This Post, though the one above, entitled Gate (2017) is of a much, much smaller scale!
Look Up: It’s one of Nick Cave’s Sound Suits!
Raked Leaves (Apparition) (2019) by Patrick Jacobs is a tiny diorama that was embedded into the wall of the booth for Pierogi Gallery of New York.
Check out this fabulous silk flower and bead-embellished hoodie sculpture, February (2018) by Devan Shimoyama. I would wear it.
Well that about wraps up this year’s Frieze coverage. If you dig the photos in this post please share the love and share the link on your social media! Art!
