The Chelsea gallery scene: December, 2013

The gallery scene in Chelsea this month is utterly dismal. If you want to see truly bad art at blue-chip galleries, this is the time to go. Sonnabend is the worst. Even Lalanne's sheep at the Getty Station on 10th Avenue have moved on. The only highlights are Richard Serra at Gagosian, Hans Hofmann at Ameringer/McEnery/Yohe, and one Sean Scully painting, Landline Pink, at Cheim & Read. Skip the rest. Come back next year.

Remember Pearl Harbor

2 Extraordinary Jewelry Exhibitions: JAR in NYC & Bulgari in SF

Even though I usually write about contemporary art, I wanted to highlight two extraordinary jewelry exhibitions which are on view in the U.S. right now. In New York, Jewels by JAR just opened at the Met. In San Francisco, The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond, 1950-1990 will be on display at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park through March 9, 2014.

http://metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/jewels-by-jar

http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/art-bulgari-la-dolce-vita-beyond-1950-1990

Robert Mangold at Pace Prints

The Robert Mangold show at Pace Prints is an exquisite gem of new and historical works. The prints from his new series, Framed Square with Open Center A and B, 2013, are featured along with the Attic Series.
For over two decades, I have admired Mangold for his dexterity in creating paintings and prints that are beautifully complex in their architectural virtuosity, form and color. The quietly powerful aesthetic of a master painter and printmaker is again on display in this Pace exhibition. See the show before it closes on November 30th!

Pace Prints
32 E. 57th St., 3rd Fl.
New York, NY 10022
http://www.paceprints.com/2013/robert-mangold

Who will join the Balloon Dog Club this week?

This Tuesday, November 12th, Christie's will offer Balloon Dog (Orange), which has an estimate of $35 million to $55 million. Jeff Koons created five balloon dogs in this series and the future owner will join an elite club of collectors.
Also pay close attention to the Francis Bacon triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud, and Gerhard Richter's Abstraktes Bild (809-1), which are both "estimate on request" and in the same evening sale.
If you need a break from the auction house madness, go see the Ad Reinhardt show at David Zwirner (see previous post).

Ad Reinhardt at David Zwirner

There is so much great art to view this month in NYC. However, one show is truly exceptional: Ad Reinhardt at David Zwirner. The superlative display of Reinhardt's black paintings, which have not been on view together since the '91 retro at MOMA, is sensational. Today, Robert Storr, the curator of the show, gave a tour of the exhibition, which also includes cartoons and photographic slides. Chuck Close was in attendance as well as the artist's widow and a former student. Storr, who is one of the most influential art historians and curators in the U.S., encouraged the art crowd to view the paintings more than once to truly absorb their magnificence. The show is on view through December 18, 2013. Do not miss it.

David Zwirner
537 W. 20th St.
New York, NY 10011
http://davidzwirner.com

Must-see Chelsea art shows: October, 2013

John McCracken: Works from 1963-2011
David Zwirner
537 W. 20th St.
on view through October 19, 2013
http://www.davidzwirner.com

Damián Ortega
Gladstone Gallery
530 W. 21st St.
on view through October 26, 2013
http://www.gladstonegallery.com

Robert Ryman: Recent Paintings
Irving Penn: On Assignment
Pace Gallery
508 & 510 W. 25th St.
on view through October 26, 2013
http://www.pacegallery.com

Upcoming: Richard Serra opens at Gagosian on October 26, 2013.
http://www.gagosian.com

Judd Foundation now open for Saturday tours

101 Spring St., NY

If you haven't had any luck in booking a tour of Donald Judd's residence and studio at 101 Spring St. before 2014, it's worth giving it another try now since the Judd Foundation just opened up Saturday tours starting October 12, 2013.
http://www.juddfoundation.org/visit_ny

 

Upcoming contemporary Japanese sculpture show at Ippodo NY

I have been a fan of the Ippodo Gallery for several years. They closed the Chelsea location and now have moved the gallery uptown and display exhibitions on an appointment only basis. A recent email from Ippodo about an upcoming show caught my eye and I wanted to share the news with you.
Sculpting 'Emptiness' features Sho Kishino's works in wood.  He uses old wood from temples and shrines, fossilized wood from riverbeds, branches of bog cedar, plum bark and mulberry roots. Kishino considers Japanese sculpture to be a subtractive art that is a result of the space that is created through the removal of the material. Paring down his subjects opens them to the outer world and presents their true essence. I cannot wait to see the show.

Ippodo New York
12 E. 86th St., #507
New York, NY 10028
http://www.ippodogallery.com
tel: (212) 967-4899
Contact Shoko Aono to make an appointment.

Sculpting 'Emptiness' will be on view September 12-October 3, 2013.

How to Book an Affordable Getaway to the Hamptons

Do you need a summer Hamptons vacation at an affordable price point? Interested in viewing two iconic art destinations along with working on your tan?
Here's what you do:
1. Lodging: Call The Harborside Resort Motel in Montauk and make a weekday reservation for a second floor room ($140/night plus tax). The property has two on site tennis courts and a pool.
2. Beaches: The real value of booking a stay at Harborside is the beach parking permit, which gives you access to Ditch Plains Beach and Gin Beach. Ditch Plains is the famous surfing spot in Montauk and even if you don't surf, you will want to catch some rays at this beach (remember to arrive by 10:30 a.m. to secure a parking space and a good tanning spot on the beach). Gin Beach has calmer water on Block Island Sound.
3. Art: Call the Pollock Krasner House and Study Center in East Hampton and book a one-hour guided tour that is offered on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at noon for $10. It is an incredible experience to stand in the middle of Jackson Pollock's studio! Also visit the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, but do this on your way east to Montauk. The museum is in a new Herzog & de Meuron-designed building, which you can't miss from Route 27 (Montauk Highway). When I visited recently, there were more architecture buffs walking around the property than visitors in the galleries. Admission is $10 and the museum is free on Wednesdays.
4. Food: For breakfast, don't miss the Montauk Bake Shoppe!Enjoy scrumptious homemade pastries with your morning coffee. Topside at Gosman's Dock has a sensational view overlooking the harbor and a superb Lobster Caprese salad. The Inlet Café is located below Topside and has a great sushi bar. The Clam Bar at Gosman's has a delicious grilled swordfish sandwich for $10. Harvest on Fort Pond is also highly recommended. For homemade ice cream, stop by John's Drive-In but it is so popular, you won't be the only customer in line with a sweet tooth!
5. Sightseeing: A visit to the Montauk Point Lighthouse is an excellent introduction to the area. The lighthouse closes at 5:30 p.m. during the week. Once you arrive in the village of Montauk, keep driving east on Route 27 for about six miles until you reach the lighthouse. Another fun thing to do is to go for a bike ride on Old Montauk Highway and stop at Gurney's Inn along the way.

Useful links:
http://www.montaukharborside.com
http://www.pkhouse.org
http://www.parrishart.org
http://www.gosmans.com
http://www.harvestfortpond.com
http://www.montauklighthouse.com

Ellsworth Kelly at Gemini G.E.L. in NYC

Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl in NYC celebrates Ellsworth Kelly's 90th birthday and the printing workshop's collaboration of over four decades with the artist by presenting EK@90. The exhibition opens May 2nd and will be on view through June 15, 2013. The show consists of only six prints featuring rectilinear imagery, curves and one plant lithograph.
Happy Birthday, EK!

535 W. 24th St., 3rd Fl.
New York, NY 10011
http://www.joniweyl.com

An Oldenburg Moment in NYC

MOMA has just opened The Street and The Store, an important examination of Claes Oldenburg's first two major bodies of work for the early 1960s and will be on view through August 5, 2013. Oldenburg's Mouse Museum and Ray Gun Wing, both created in the 1970s, are in the museum's atrium.
If you are interested in taking a course, the museum will offer Focus On: Claes Oldenburg and the 1960s on 4/25, 6/8 and 6/15 from 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. For more information, visit MOMA's website: http://www.moma.org.

Just a short stroll away from MOMA, you can view Typewriter Eraser (1976), which is on display at 535 Madison Ave. (at 54th St.). Oldenburg (b. 1929) enjoyed playing with typewriter erasers at his father's office when he was a boy. The other two pieces in the edition of three are at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Nasher Collection. The whimsical work is 89 1/2 x 80 x 70 inches. The sculpture is being offered by Christie's Private Sales department. It was sold at Christie's in 2009 to the present owner for $2,210,500. Despite the public showing, the price remains confidential.
For more information, visit Christie's online gallery: http://www.christiesprivatesales.com.

Are you a history buff who loves to cook?

Have you ever created a menu based on recipes from the Founding Fathers? It's a great way to get friends together to enjoy a meal from the past. You can start with the three books below:
Dining at Monticello
Dining with the Washingtons
The Founding Foodies: How Washington, Jefferson and Franklin Revolutionized American Cuisine
Enjoy!

The Essential NY Contemporary Art Gallery Guide: March, 2013

Beatrice Caracciolo: Battaglia
Paula Cooper Gallery
534 W. 21st St.
http://www.paulacoopergallery.com
on view through March 23, 2013

Jim Dine
Pace Gallery
510 W. 25th St.
http://www.pacegallery.com
on view through March 23, 2013

Joel Shapiro: Sculpture and Drawings 1969-1972
Craig F. Starr Gallery
5 E. 73rd St.
htttp://www.starr-art.com
on view through March 23, 2013

Miroslaw Balka
Gladstone Gallery
515 W. 24th St.
http://www.gladstonegallery.com
on view through March 30, 2013

Jean-Michel Basquiat
Gagosian Gallery
555 W. 24th St.
http://www.gagosian.com
on view through April 6, 2013

Painted on 21st Street: Helen Frankenthaler from 1950-1959
Gagosian Gallery
522 W. 21st St.
http://www.gagosian.com
on view through April 13, 2012

Frank Gehry at Gemini: New Sculpture & Prints, with a Survey of Past Projects
Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl
535 W. 24th St.
http://www.joniweyl.com
on view through April 13, 2013

Darren Almond: Hemispheres & Continents
Matthew Marks Gallery
522 W. 22nd St.
http://www.matthewmarks.com
on view through April 20, 2013

Al Held: Alphabet Paintings
Cheim & Read
547 W. 25th St.
http://www.cheimread.com
on view through April 20, 2013

James Turrell: Roden Crater and Autonomous Structures
Pace Gallery
32 E. 57th St.
http://www.pacegallery.com
on view through April 20, 2013

Need a snow break? Go to Stowe, VT!

It's not too late to book a New England ski getaway. Fly into Burlington and then drive an hour to the charming village of Stowe. Alternatively, you could drive up from Manhattan, but allow six hours. If you're looking for a bit of old Stowe, book a room at the Stowehof Inn, especially if you enjoy fondue. You can rent equipment at Pinnacle Ski & Sports, which is preferable to getting the gear on the mountain. Have fun in the snow!

http://stowehofinn.com
tel: 802.253.9722

http://www.pinnacleskisports.com
tel: 802.253.7222

A Weekend Getaway in Rhinebeck, NY

If you need to get out of the city for a couple of days and are a history buff, then how about going up the Hudson River Valley to to the charming town of Rhinebeck? Book a room at The Beekman Arms, which promotes itself as the oldest inn in America. Be sure to stay at the Beekman and not their sister property, the Delamater, down the street. I recommend having a car to explore the area around Rhinebeck, but even if you don't have one, you can take Amtrak out of Penn Station to Rhinecliff (about an hour and a half ride each way) and a taxi two miles to Rhinebeck. Drop off your bags and explore the town. Stop by Bread Alone for a latte and slice of pie. Enjoy dinner in the Colonial Tap Room at the Beekman and end the day with a glass of brandy in your room (the inn provides a decanter with enough brandy for two people at no charge). Start the next morning with a complimentary continental breakfast at the inn. Spend the day in nearby Hyde Park visiting FDR's home and library followed by a tour the Vanderbilt Mansion. You can either dine at the Culinary Institute of America or return to Rhinebeck for dinner. Liberty Public House, Terrapin and Le Petit Bistro are all within a block of the Beekman. If you're in the mood for a movie, there's a two-screen theater next door to Liberty. Enjoy!

Met Opera & Met Museum in March

Don't miss a great program on Thursday, March 28th at the Met Museum which focuses on the upcoming Met Opera production of Handel's Giulio Cesare. Curator Christopher Lightfoot will talk about Caesar's sojourn in Egypt and Egyptian art's impact on Rome. Then, director David McVicar and set designer Robert Jones will discuss how they approached the staging of Giulio Cesare. David Daniels will perform an excerpt from the opera.
Tickets: $25
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
http://www.metmuseum.org/tickets
You can also order tickets by phone: 212-570-3949.

'Heartwalk' in Times Square

An article in this weekend's WSJ caught my eye today about an art project that will be on view in Times Square from February 12th until March 10th called Heartwalk. The work, designed by Situ Studio in Brooklyn, incorporates hundreds of planks from boardwalks in Atlantic City and the Rockaways that were devastated by superstorm Sandy. The boards form a heart-shaped enclosure that visitors can enter and red lights will glow from inside of the heart. Since many of the planks were waterlogged or splintered, Situ Studio had to clean them, remove the rough edges and then stack them to dry. The work was the winner of an annual art competition with the theme of Valentine's Day that was sponsored by the Times Square Alliance. It was the only entry that had a Sandy theme. I can't wait to see it, even though I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day!

2 Must-see London Art Shows

If you're going to be in London soon, be sure to check out these two shows:
Light Show at the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre through April 28, 2013 (http://southbankcentre.co.uk/lightshow)
Schwitters in Britain at Tate Britain through May 12, 2013 (http://www.tate.org.uk)

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Artist George Condo at Gallery Met

There's a new show of ink-on-paper drawings of jesters by the artist George Condo at the Arnold & Marie Schwartz Gallery Met, which is in the south lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House. The gallery has no admission charge for ticket holders and the general public.
There is also a banner by Condo on the facade of the Opera House which advertises the new production of Rigoletto.
The jesters in Condo's works are featured in the exhibition because of the significant role of the jester in Rigoletto.
The art show will be on view through May 11, 2013 and so if you're attending a performance or in the vicinity of Lincoln Center, the Condo pieces are worth checking out.

http://www.metopera.org

Need a cheese break in NYC? Check out Murray's Cheese Bar

Murray's Cheese Bar opens at 5 p.m. and go early to grab a seat at the counter. Then order the Mac & Cheese and the Baked Lemon Ricotta Cake with Earl Grey syrup and creme fraiche. Be sure to visit their store on your way home. A bit of heaven in NYC....

Murray's Cheese Bar
264 Bleecker St.
Greenwich Village, NYC
tel: 646.476.8882
http://www.murrayscheesebar.com

A Day Away from NYC: Yale University Art Gallery

Are you looking for a cultural day trip idea? How about spending the afternoon at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, CT? The museum reopened in December, 2012 after an extensive restoration of the 1953 Louis Kahn builiding and expansion of the Old Yale Art Gallery and 1866 Street Hall. Don't miss the Asian, African and contemporary galleries.

From NYC, take Metro-North from Grand Central to Union Station in New Haven. From DC or Boston, take Amtrak to New Haven.
It's a five minute taxi ride from the train station to the gallery.

Yale University Art Gallery
1111 Chapel St. (at York)
New Haven, CT 06520
tel: 203.432.0600
http://artgallery.yale.edu
Admission is free.
Hours:
Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m-5 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Must-see New York Contemporary Art Shows: Winter, 2013

Not Too Late: Recent Works by Feng Mengbo
Chambers Fine Art
522 W. 19th St.
http://www.chambersfineart.com
on view through February 22, 2013

Brice Marden: Red Yellow Blue
Gagosian Gallery
980 Madison Ave.
http://www.gagosian.com
on view through February 23, 2013

Keith Sonnier 68-70
Mary Boone Gallery
541 W. 24th St.
http://www.maryboonegallery.com
on view through February 23, 2013

Tacita Dean
Marian Goodman Gallery
24 W. 57th St.
http://www.mariangoodman.com
on view through March 9, 2013

Nicolas Carone: The Later Paintings
Washburn Gallery
20 W. 57th St.
http://www.washburngallery.com
on view through April 6, 2013