An embarrassment of riches. That’s what it is, to indulge in the arts in New York. Too much for ten lifetimes of devoted immersion. And that’s just the visual arts. Let’s not even get into music, theater and mime. Let’s not get into mime.
Every month I set aside a day to feast on art here in New York – an Artist Day. It’s inspiring, it’s engaging, and it’s part of why people live here. I’ll go through New York magazine’s events and arts sections, talk to people for suggestions, find out what Sorgatz says can’t be missed, and then I’ll pick out some things to see and do. Might be museums, might be galleries. And there’s always some serendipity—things pop up along the way. Excellent, unexpected things.
So yesterday, Sorgatz and I headed into Manhattan around 11:30 a.m. with the intention of seeing the Chuck Close show at the Pace Gallery in Chelsea and Wayne Thiebaud at the Acquavella Galleries on the Upper East Side. That was the skeleton of the day. That and lunch. Gotta fuel up.
We took the A train to 34th St./Penn Station and started hoofing. The weather: beautiful. I finer day you couldn’t ask for in November. We headed west and I realized I’d not yet seen the newest portion of the High Line park since it had opened. So, we jumped up on the High Line and headed south. This is what we saw:
They’re on a building next to the High Line, mounting tarnished tin over mirrored glass. It’s an art installation. Now look at it from over here:
It’s like there are holes in the building. The sky reflects so perfectly. Nice little visual treat. So we walked the High Line down to 20th or so, climbed down to street level, and headed up 10th Ave. to the Pace Gallery on 25th to see what Chuck Close has been up to. Mr. Close is one of our faves here in New York, still cranking it out, still experimenting with different styles of painting and printing. Always cool to see what he’s up to. The big surprise was three gigantic tapestries made from his photos. One of Lou Reed!
After about an hour at Pace we needed sustenance. Fortunately we were close to one of the best burgers in the city: The Half King pub on 23rd St. near 10th. En route, surprise number dos: Edward Kienholz’s enormous installation The Ozymandias Parade just a few doors down from Chuck Close in the Pace Gallery’s sprawling complex on 25th. I’d never heard of the piece. I’d never even hear of Kienholz. I’m glad we stumbled upon it. Vicious visual satire, loaded with symbols and aimed right at the lousy “leaders” of the world. The ones who give us war, constant war, when 99% of us only want peace. Seeing this monument of cheerful irreverence renewed my spirit. I’ll be learning more about this guy very soon. He’s a good writer, too. Very conversational. His artist’s statement for the installation made me go from liking it to loving it.
Lunch at the Half King, can’t beat that. This fine pub is partially owned by Sebastian “The Perfect Storm” Junger. I had a bison burger and fries with a pint of Captain Lawrence. Call me Mr. Lucky. We headed east on 23rd, intent on walking off 3-5% of the calories we’d just ingested en route to the uptown 6 train. Next stop would be the fabulous Acquavella Galleries on 79th near Fifth Ave. Way up east. Got off at 77th and Lexington, knocked back an espresso and made it to the gallery. Beautiful. And Wayne Thiebaud? Always a treat. This was a sort of retrospective of his work, from the 1960s to just a couple of years ago, running the gamut of his subjects: still lifes, portraits, and plenty of desserts. My favorite? A slot machine.
And after Thiebaud we hiked north on Fifth to the Guggenheim. The whole place—every story—was dedicated to art by some guy called Picasso. He’s pretty good. Draws women in the damnedest ways. This one was pretty straight up:
All in all, a great day. My takeaways? Never pass up the chance to walk as much as you can in NYC during good weather. Keep your eyes open. Be dedicated to your craft and produce! Like Chuck Close. Be irreverent and explain your work effectively! Like Keinholz. Eat bison; it’s good. Get to galleries you’ve never seen before. Make the effort to get to the Upper East Side. It’s worth it. Paint often and loose and with gusto and vibrance, like Thiebaud. Stay vital through playfulness and productivity, like Picasso.
Next Artist Day in a few short weeks. Can’t wait.
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