Banksy Month

Bansky offers New York the honor of his presence this month.

Some people might be surprised (like the baby in this video) in the next couple of daysif they run into this truck. I love it!


Here are some of his other pieces. Hopefully they are still up.

 More on his website http://www.banksy.co.uk/

I wish we all run into one of them. Look at the walls when you walk around now!

Hop Hop Hopper

Ooooooh yeeee, who better than Hopper draws those magic atmospheres that take you inside the painting just as if you were part of the scene.

I can't wait to discover the origination of these masterpieces at the Hopper Drawing exhibit hosted by the Whitney Museum. Starting on May 23rd, save the date!

More than 2500 of his drawings will be displayed and...and... some of his mind blowing oil paintings such as Nighthawks!!!!!!

+ You have until October 6 to go see it, plenty of time!

Thank you Life, I love you

Brooklyn Art guide

One of my favorite activity in New York? Definitely visiting art galleries


I already told you about the Chelsea ones.
This time let's stay in the hood and go meet local artists thanks to this simple and suit website : http://wagmag.org

Stay tuned and try to make it every second Friday of the month in Williamsburg:
Galleries in are open late with opening events and special performances.
Next one: Friday December 14, 7-9.

Nice in line with the season; you don't want to miss Mountainscapes by Doug Kofsky at Art101:

Storm King Art Center

One thing I love in this country is how much space you can find. While some people are just wasting it, others hopefully still do very smart things.

The best example I have seen lately is called Storm King Art Center.
Founded as a non profit art center in 1960, it is now an amazing museum of modern sculptural art.
And the best part is, it is in total immersion with the surrounding nature.

Expanding on more than 2000 acres, Storm King Park is a very interesting, relaxing, mind-growing place to visit. I am telling you, you will definitely feel smarter and better once you have been there. Look:

Plan a day trip, it opens from 10 am to 5 pm.
It will cost you between 8 to 12$.
It is upstate New York,  not to far from the Catskills.
All the details to get there and everything : http://www.stormking.org/visit/

Respect!

MoMa + Munch = must do it!

You cannot have missed this news:

The only painting of Le Cri owned by a private collector is now exhibited on the 5th floor of the MoMa until April 29th.

If you remember, this painting has been sold last May 2nd for 119,9 millions dollars in less than 12 minutes at Sotheby's. this is the most expensive art piece ever sold to a private collector via an auction.

Munch did 4 paintings of Le Cri. This one is the most colorfoul one. The 3 others are owned and exhibited at the Munch Museum in Oslo.

Edvard Munch, Le Cri, 1895, Sotheby's © Stefna Wermuth/Reuters.

So unless you personally know the happy owner of this masterpiece, you better not forget to step by the 5th floor if you are around!

Thanks for sharing mister unkown millionaire !

Yayoi! You have until Sep 30, 2012

If you have the chance to be in NY this month, you should not miss this amazing exhibit of Yayoi Kusama’s paintings, drawings, sculptures, films and installation at the Whitney Museum.

Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama came to the US in 1957 and quickly became an icon of the New York avant-garde scene.

Well known for her more than original exhibits and art happenings such as nude polka dots painted models in the subway to denounce how people should communicate instead of just commuting, Kusama will blow you out with her variety of ideas and art pieces. 

 

The Withney Museum is holding your hand for a little journey. Starting from her early drawings, already very powerful, you will fly through the depiction of a struggling life of a Japanese woman during and after World War 2, not to mention in a predominant world of male. On the way, you will realize how tremendous her work is. And the best part is, it never ends. I am telling you…

It is a really deep experience you will not regret.

+ if you are lucky enough to be able to go there on a Friday evening the entrance is pay what you wish starting from 6 pm.

+ + if you are really a fan of her art, take a ticket on line to the masterpiece Fireflies on the water described on the museum website as:

Yayoi Kusama’s depictions of seemingly endless space have been a central focus of her artistic career. Kusama’s Fireflies on the Water (2002)—with its carefully constructed environment of lights, mirrors, and water—is one of the outstanding examples of this kind of installation, which creates a space in which individual viewers are invited to transcend their sense of self.

 Who said accessing to Art in NYC is expensive?!

The Whitney Museum

945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street

General Information: (212) 570-3600

info@whitney.org

How to get here:

Subway: 6 Train to 77th Street

Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4 to 74th Street

General admission: $18
Ages 19–25: $14
Ages 65 and over: $14
Full-time students: $14
Ages 18 and under: FREE
Members: FREE

Admission is pay-what-you-wish on Fridays, 6–9 pm

the graffiti Mecca

If you are a fan of street art, you probably already know this place.

In any case, if you are in New York, you HAVE to make a trip to 5 pointz, Long island City, Queens, New York.

Created in 1993, the 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center is an outdoor art exhibit center where aerosol artists from all around the world come and paint on this 200 000 square feet (19000 m2) factory building wall. The building itself hosts around 200 artists who can rent a studio here. The gallery curator is graffiti veteran Jonathan Cohen, best known by his signature tag, “Meres One.” His goal is to convert the five-story, block-long industrial complex at Jackson Avenue and Davis Street, formerly the Phun Phactory, into a graffiti art museum.

No need to tell you, once there you will be turning your head all over admiring this amazing concentration of street art. Also, if you have a chance to take the 7 trainm you will be able to take even more pictures of that hidden side.

and as you might have guessed, the name 5Pointz refers to the 5 boroughs of New York. Here, the 5 points come all together as 1 such as all those artists coming from all over the world and making this place the Mecca of graffiti.

Your turn to go check it out!

you can also book a guided tour, let's do it!

45-46 Davis Street
Long Island City
Subway : G Court Sq - 7 45 Rd Court Sq
http://5ptz.com

Park Seung Mo : The mind-blowing artist

If you are in NY, hanging out in art galleries is a must do.
Would you be sensitive to art or not, this is an amazing experience that will make you see life differently while going through some nice people, some crazy fellows, some crap, some jokes, some unexpected feelings and some marvels like this impressive artist met last week during the Bushwick open studios.

Park SeungMo is a Korean sculptor or should we say metal-tailor, installation master, that would suit him well i think.

His technic is to cut bunch of wire mesh to create giant ephemeral portraits such as below. This is completely striking, you will stay scotched for a while. Those panels are huge and yes of course, his inspiration is Woman...

 Watch this video until the end!



Check this website to see his other stuffs and run to his next exhibit if you are around! http://www.hadacontemporary.com/park-seungmo/

Javier Perez : el artista hecho y derecho

I think wandering is my favorite activity in New York.
French fellows, no need to open your dictionary wandering means walking around.
Yes of course this City is full of surprises : we can repeat it thousands billionns of times, it will never change.

So I have been striked by Javier Perez's powerful art piece lately at MaD. This Spanish contemporary artist is exposing all over the world his vision of humanity in all its splendour and paradox. Two powerful words for a powerful art I would say.

Javier is attached to the fact that the representation of humanity should not be traditionally frozen in a body shapes but should be something dimensional, determined by the human condition. Trough sketches, videos, sculptures, he pushes the limits of the humanity and takes us on board of a poetic, philosophical, dark and sometimes frightening world where he depicts the human being and its fragility.

Often exposed in Modern Art Museums, feel it ike a chance if you ever fall nose to nose in front of one of his pieces.

If you are a bit sensible to art, it should make you feel something. If not, well, come and stay New York for a bit, you can still be rescued...I think.

A least you should feel this kind of frustration in front of something you so want to touch and feel but you can't as it is totally forbidden. Don't touch, this is Art.

Like in real life, Javier has perfectly understood how to mix fragility and strongness, heavyness and and lightness, dark and light, beauty and repulsion...Duality, as always this is what makes human so confusing and so magnificent. Javier, love him or hate him.

Me? obviously, I love you.

Elementary my dear Watson

This year is very musical for me. I keep on discovering lovely, amazing bands.
This is definitely part of the New York adventure.
I think this kind of discoveries happens in most of big cities.
You just have to keep your eyes open on what's going on, check out the concert places websites (bowery ballroom, glasslands, music hall of williamsburg,magazines like village voice, time out NY, the L magazine and simply just talk to people wherever you hang out, that's the bet part of behaving American!)

Have you ever heard of Patrick Watson?
I have not, until yesterday. It was such a great pleasure that I bought the CD.
This funny smart and cute guy from Montreal has been singing since the age of 7.
As soon as you start hearing his voice, you can tell he's a real master.
Close your eyes, listen to each sound of this wonderful band.
You might not want to open them back, it is like a dream, like being flying overseas...

I love it!

Thanks Canada!

Bottles by Jim Dingilian

While you are doing your house cleaning and getting rid of dust, ashes, smoke and other dirts, some people are making Art from it. Why not!

Especially hen you see this kind of work which I think is totally amazing:

How does he do it : He uses candle smoke to paint picture-perfect images on the inside of empty bottles by scratching it once the smoke deposit formed.

“The miniature scenes I depict are of locations on the edge of suburbia which seem mysterious or even slightly menacing despite their commonplace nature. The bottles add to the implied narratives of transgression. When found by the sides of roads or in the weeds near the edges of parking lots, empty liquor bottles are artifacts of consumption, delight, or dread. As art objects, they become hourglasses of sorts, their drained interiors now inhabited by dim memories” Jim Dingilian says bout his art.

(après avoir enfumé la surface de bouteilles en verre, gratte ensuite la suie collée sur les parois créant ainsi divers paysages monochromes. Un travail fastidieux pour des œuvres étonnantes! «Comme les objets d’art, ils deviennent des sortes de sabliers, leurs intérieurs drainés maintenant habités par de vagues souvenirs.»)

Go admire those bottles at the Museum of Art and Design.

It is pay what you wish every Thursday from 6 to 8 and you will have access to every exhibit. Get lost into the different levels and enter in this wonderful world of people who do things that you would have never thought about and will make you dream...

Don't forget to step by the museum store, those are always like Ali Baba's cave.

MaD
2 Columbus Circle
New York
Subway : 1 A C B D - Columbus Circle
http://www.madmuseum.org

The subway artist

Above, Below, from the sky to crappy undergrounds, Art is everywhere in the world.
And this is more than true here in NY.

For most people, subways are just a way of commuting, sometimes annoying, often stinking where everyone tries to isolate themselves nose in their e-book, ipods well hooked in both ears, staring at their phone even if there is no network in there...

But if you open your eyes a little bit, you can find very cool stuffs that will definitely change your daily rides!

Without even talking about the numerous musicians, dancers and singers (L train Union Square band, I love you), let's focus on this curious guy, Thomas Enrico Miguel, also known as the Subway Artist, who has been painting on subway maps since 2007. Subway plateforms, stations, cars are his studio and you can buy a piece of his art right there, magic and fun!

According to Thomas, “my work is about taking the materials at hand and making the most of them. My materials are minimal and inexpensive; sharpies, watercolor, subway maps, and poster boards, and subject me to the challenge of making something beautiful out of seemingly impossible resources.”

For Thomas the subways represents the vibrance of New York City and his drawings capture the energy and beauty of their role in city life.

 I totally agree!

First Fridays at Neue Gallery

In New York, there are 3 essential things you have to have : 1- your sunglasses, 2- an umbrella, 3- an agenda/calendar or a very good memory.

Yeah baby! There are some events you can't miss such as First Fridays of the Month at Neue Gallery. This marvelous museum is open to the public for free from 6 pm to 8 pm. Please arrive on time if you want to enjoy all the treasures of that German and Austrian early 20th century art.

Here resides some masterpieces from Klimt, Kandisky, Schiele, Kokoschka, Klee, Kirshner, Grosz, Otoo Dix and so many others that I didn't know at all and had the pleasure to discover. Some samples here below:

Ludwig Meidner - Apocalyptic Landscape

 Sigmar Polke - B-Mode

Erich Heckel - Windmill

Et forcément pas besoin de le nommer mais juste pour le plaisir, on dirait vraiment de l'or quand on le voit en vrai

 This museum has been founded by 2 friends fan of art, collector and businessmen. Thanks guys!  

Two of the principal goals of the Neue Galerie New York are to bring a sense of perspective back to Germanic culture of this period, and to make the best of this work available to American and other audiences for both scholarly and aesthetic inquiry. A nice way to celebrate New York and its fount of culture.

Take the advantage of being here to visit the medieval room (it if is still there as they often change their exhibits) and go get a break at cafe Sabarsky, very cute Eastern European Style café. 

No no you are not in Vienna, you're still in New York!

Now you know what to to do next First Friday.

Neue Gallery
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(closed Tuesday and Wednesday)
General $20
Students and seniors $10
1048 Fifth Avenue (86th St)
http://www.neuegalerie.org/

Diego Rivera is your man

After all those family reunions
After the usual New Year eve's useless crazyness
Surrounded by a sad economy
And a weird so weird weather
What is left?
How to get rid of this depressive atmosphere spreading around?

Let's get back to basics!
Family, love, very few best friends, good food, good health, cultural events, here we go!

Everything should be accessible in New York, just go get it, help yourself with all the treasures hidden here and there. Keep breathng, surviving I should say.
Friday nights, the Moma is free. Enjoy it once a while!

Until May 14, you can go see some master pieces done by Diego Rivera.
This magnificient exhibition recounts the different works of this artist, so famous for his murals.
You will be pleased to discover his drawings, sketches and paintings which are to my mind as impressive as his murals:

Who else can tell that he became friend with Modigliani, Orozco in few years in Paris, got married to Frida Khalo, had Trotski sleeping on his coach and his famous Zapatta's painting in almost every Spanish learning books:



Yep Remember the exhibit date is until May 14th!
It is a small exhibit, so take the advantage to explore the rest of the museum:
http://archou.blogspot.com/2011/12/follow-fluxus.html

http://archou.blogspot.com/2011/04/le-moma-en-mode-orgasmique.html

Le temps passe tellement vite, so go go go!

Day trip in a world of Art

New York is this kind of City which does not have any boundaries.

The best way to experience it is to go to Grand Central station , take any train and go for any day trip around.You will maybe no more be in New York but this so unique spirit of liberty will always be there.

Something you have to do absolutely if you like art is going to Dia Beacon.
The trip along the Hudson is very pleasant in any season.
And if you are at least 2 and have to wait for the train in Grand Central, you can play that game which consists in finding the spot under a curve  ceiling where the echo allows you whispering or speaking very low agaisnt the wall and your friend can hear you from the opposite side! One clue : it is in a small allee behind the counters and next to an oyster place...
 

There you will find a museum of modern art (1960to present) occupying a fomer printing factory. The halls are so spacious and bright, this is a very peaceful and mind blowing trip.

Very oftern, different kind of exhibits and performances take place and you could find yourself in the middle of a cocktail party surrounded by artists and art lovers, what else do you need for a perfect week-end?

Want some examples of art pieces you could find there? Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra, Joseph Beuys, Max Neuhaus, Sol Lewitt, Robert Irwin and more infos here : http://www.diacenter.org/sites/main/beacon

Follow the Fluxus

If I had to choose one thing you cannot miss currently in New York, I would definitely recommend you this exhibit at the Moma:

I had vaguely heard about Fluxus but I did not really know what it was before I discovered this exhibit thanks to Diego Riveira!

Fluxus designate a contemporary art movement born in the sixties and mainly related to visual art, litterature and music. Influenced by the dadaisme and a philosophy of zenitude, fluxus aims at systematically rejecting any institutions or form of art as a work. Fluxus embraced many of the concepts and practices associated with the post-war avant-garde of western Europe and North America, including those of Lettrism, concrete poetry, concrete and random music,

The manifesto of 1963 exhorted the artist to ‘purge the world of bourgeois sickness, “intellectual”, professional and commercialized culture … dead art, imitation, artificial art, abstract art, illusionistic art … promote a revolutionary flood and tide in art, promote living art, anti-art, … non art reality to be grasped by all peoples, not only critics, dilettantes and professionals’. The Fluxmanifesto on Fluxamusement used innovative typography and ready-made printed images to communicate the concept of the self-sufficiency of the audience, an art where anything can substitute for an art work and anyone can produce it.

I have rarely seen anything so cool as Fluxus, it makes me feel like joining it such as John Cage, Joseph Beuys, Yoko Ono,Nam June Paik, Robert Filliou, Dick Higgins, Henry Brecht, Henry Flyn, Ben Vautier and so many other great people you will get to know.

 

A découvrir de toute urgence!

Definitely go, check it, it might change your life!

 

@ Moma until January 16