This weekend both the east and west side highways were flooded with art aficionados seeking the latest pieces of art to add to their personal collections. From political statements to whimsical illusions, both shows were full of a wide variety of artistic statements. Below are my favorite pieces from the Armory and Art on Paper.
C-print mounted on aluminum behind glass
71 x 68 1/2 inches
Swedish artist Nathalia Edenmont’s second U.S. exhibition, “Fruitfulness,” opens on March 23 and will touch on the fertility and fecundity of nature in each season.
"Each of the fruits recalls a season of ripeness, a moment when nature yields a crop of tender grapes in the Fall, a bounty of green tomatoes for only two short weeks in Summer, or bright white asparagus in Spring. Without earth and worms, the harvest of fruits and vegetables would be impossible, and thus, the artist gives us a portrait of Mother Earth, a beautiful, regal woman dressed in a mountain of earth, with hair piled high and her gaze fixed on the viewer, a potent planter."
Collage on paper, thread and watercolor
16 1/2" x 14 1/4"
$1,800
"When I use objects I see them as a vocabulary of feelings. My work explores intuitively my various stages of feminine awareness. It examines the female form, gender roles, relationships, sexuality and interconnectedness. Through the recycling and juxtaposition of various objects (forgotten, discarded and seemingly worthless), I am attempting a transformation towards a precious recollection. Resurrecting memories, collective yet intimate, visceral yet tender....piecing together beauty as if telling a story."
Painted cast aluminium
Edition of 5 + 1AP
Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama started to paint polka dots around the age of ten and has since become known for her avant-garde sculptures and paintings.
"Polka dots can't stay alone. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environments."
Archival dyes on jacquard, with embroidery, hand-knotted threads,
and assorted embellishments
52 x 69 inches (132.08 x 175.26 cm)
"My ongoing body of work explores constructions of the masculine within popular culture while using Jamaican dancehall culture as platform for this discourse. My works seeks to measure the masculine by looking at how popular culture as contributed to these transformations."
Iván Navarro - WEBEATME
Neon, aluminum, drum, mirror, one-way mirror, electric energy
60 x 60 x 28 1/4 inches
"There is a certain amount of fear in my pieces. All the pieces that I’ve made make reference to controlling activity, and electricity was a way to control people."
400-plus pound granite
Initially, this tombstone was installed anonymously in a Brooklyn park until the NYPD confiscated it and the Secret Service identified Whiteley.
"It began as a pointed statement about Trump’s campaign, every day there’s something more hateful. Nothing’s changed. I was surprised at how few artists were speaking out about Trump. I never worked in the political sphere before. People ask me, ‘How could you do this — you have kids?’ I tell them, ‘I did this because I have kids.’ I wanted the tombstone to make Trump be reflective. He buys paintings of himself."
Well that's a wrap! Don't mind me, I'll just be reminiscing on how clutch this sandwich was from Fedoroff's Roast Pork. 😍😍😍😍
xx
Nicolette
