NYC Trip - Numero Uno


My first trip to NYC of the year was not only a stimulating one, but a warm one, as the temps pushed 60 degrees – no exaggeration!  I guess that’s the silver lining to global warming. 

The Chelsea highlights were…

  • Ai Weiwei’s porcelain sunflower seeds at Mary Boone.  Fab!  Too bad you can’t roll around in them like you can at the Tate.  Love the idea of selling sculpture by the ton
  • Shirin Neshat at Gladstone Gallery  Powerful, black and white portraits of Iranian and Arab people with Persian poetry subtly super-imposed on their skin
  • Joel Sternfeld at Luhring Augustine  Captivating, dated, narrative, early photographs      
  • Bosco Sodi at Pace Gallery  Huge textured fuchsia wall works in a gallery space to die for
  •  Damien Hirst at Gagosian  Not truly a highlight but I was glad I saw the work, even though I left with this nagging desire for a game of twister
  •  Finished the day seeing the film Pina about Pina Bausch, directed my Win Wenders, which was a real treat in 3-D.  Anyone who appreciates dance should see it!

Museum Highlights on Day 2 included a visit to MOMA…
      

And at the Whitney…
  • Aleksandra Mir: The Seduction of Galileo Galilei (video of stacked tires ala Leaning Tower of Pisa and an insightful look at the relationship between faith and science) 
  • Real/Surreal (a look at just how influential Freud and the European surrealists were in American Art if the 20's, 30's and 40’s)
  •  Calder’s Circus I could see this every day and never grow tired of it, especially the video and Calder ‘performing’ his creations.  Truly a highlight!

I figured this one to be a Work-the-Kinks-Out Trip and hope to improve on the details on the next go... 
  • Dodge rush hour at all cost
  • Plan my gallery/museum hit list before I go
  • Avoid Mondays and Tuesdays as many galleries and museums are closed
  • Avoid the very end of the month as galleries close to install the next show
  • Memorize museum free nights
  •  Pack light, wear good shoes, carry water and emergency almonds


One good thing I did was to become a member to both the MOMA and the Whitney allowing me unlimited admission for the year.  Of course no trip to NYC is complete without a hot pretzel with mustard and a slice of cheese pizza.  

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