left to right: Candlestick “sculptures” by French artist Jean Despres; Josef Albers “Homage to the Square” oil on masonite; Working model of the Bloch MB 175 reconnaissance plane is now a work of art
Salon Art + Design
Bunny Williams, Geoffrey Bradfield, Jamie Drake were among designers who braved the weather to check out the booths set up at the Park Avenue Armory by over 50 dealers participating in the first American edition of the fair, a collaboration with France’s renowned Syndicat National des Antiquaires.
Representing the inclusionary nature of collecting today—modern pieces mixed with historic objects—20th-century and contemporary works of art and design were intermingled with old masters and classic French furniture.
Among items we noticed were a classic Albers “Homage to the Square” color block painting at James Goodman Gallery, Niki de St Phalle’s whimsical “Tete” pendant brooch at Didier Ltd., witty metal candlesticks at Jean-David Botella, and at Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, a walnut and tin MB 175 model airplane “sculpture” created for Marcel Bloch Dassault to be used in wind tunnel testing of the aircraft which played a prominent role in WWII reconnaissance. www.thesalonny.com
“Diarios” works of Guillermo Kuitca on display in the renovated galleries of The Drawing Center
Grand Reopening Reception: The Drawing Center
A more casual crowd trooped down to Wooster Street to visit the Drawing Center’s transformed and expanded bright-white storefront space which now includes two main floor galleries and a lower level space for an education center and additional gallery. Inaugurating the renovation is the “Diarios” exhibit of noted Argentinean-born artist Guillermo Kuitca and two collections by Jose Antonio Suarez Londono: the Colombian artist’s “Yearbooks” pictures inspired by books he is reading and explorations of the notion of artists’ certificates “In Deed: Certificates of Authenticity in Art.” www.drawingcenter.org
“Sanstars” installation by Gabriel Orozco on display at the Guggenheim Museum. Photo by Mathias Schormann
Gabriel Orozco: Asterisms
The next day, in much improved conditions, we walked through melting slush to the Guggenheim for the opening of a new exhibit by Mexican-born Gabriel Orozco. The two-part installation of sculptural objects and photographs is comprised of thousands of items of detritus the artist gathers at two sites: a playing field in New York and a protected coast in Baja. The objects —bottles, buoys, shells and light bulbs are laid out in categories and each set of objects is portrayed in large grid photographs. Carefully placed in a closed case and laid out on the floor like a carpet, the exhibits can bring to mind traces of erosion, poetic encounters with mundane materials and the tension between cultures and nature. www.guggenheim.org
