New York Art Guide - October

I.

Exhibition: Modigliani Unmasked
Venue: The Jewish Museum
Dates: Until February 4th, 2018

The exhibition puts a spotlight on Modigliani’s early drawings. They were made shortly after he arrived to Paris in 1906, when the city was still roiling with anti-Semitism after the long-running tumult of the Dreyfus Affair and the influx of foreign emigres. Modigliani Unmasked exposes the ways Modigliani responded to the social realities that he confronted in the unprecedented artistic melting pot of Paris.

Amedeo Modigliani, Head, c. 1911. Modigliani Unmasked at the Jewish Museum

While you're at the Jewish Museum make sure to stop for brunch at Russ and Daughters!  It's a New York institution and one of the most delicious spots in the city. This traditional, family-owned, New York Jewish-European deli, specializing in smoked fish, caviar, fresh bagels and other delicacies.  Russ & Daughters at the Jewish Museum, is the 3rd location in addition to their original deli at Houston Street and a restaurant on the Lower East Side. 

Russ & Daughers at the Jewish Museum

II.

Exhibition: Generation Wealth [Retrospective of Lauren Greenfield]
Venue: ICP (International Center of Photography)
Dates: Until January 7th, 2018

The retrospective of photographer Lauren Greenfield at ICP encompasses 25 years of her documentary photography.  This show reflects stories about corruption, beauty, body image, fantasy, competition, and excess. It was originally shown at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles and has now made its way to the ICP in New York City.

Generation Wealth, Lauren Greenfield

Generation Wealth, Lauren Greenfield

Join our public art tour in Chelsea on October 14th or schedule a private tour with Maya to discover more!

New York Art Guide - July

I.
Exhibition: Condo, New York
Venue: Galleries across the city
Dates: Until 28 July, 2017
 
Initially started in London, Condo is now having their second edition in new York city.
For the month of July, 16 art galleries at the Lower East-Side and Chelsea will be hosting galleries from the U.S and around the world in their spaces. 
Summer tends to be a sleepy time in the New York art world, galleries use to come up with light group shows and go on long summer breaks before reopening in September.  
Condo is probably the most refreshing innovative project that is happening these days in the city.
Some of Condo’s highlights include Labor gallery from Mexico City hosted in Gavin Brown Enterprise and Project Native Informant from London at Bridget Donahue gallery. 
Check out their website for the complete list of exhibitors.

II.
Exhibition: Guggenheim Collection: Brancusi
Venue: Guggenheim Museum 
Dates: Until 3 January, 2018


This beautiful show is dedicated to the Guggenheim's permanent collection of Constantin Brancusi's works. 
Brancusi was an integral part of the modernist movement among Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger, Amedeo Modigliani, and Henri Rousseau and more. Brancusi's works altered the trajectory of modern sculpture in the early decades of the twentieth century. 

III.
Exhibition: UncleBrother
Dates: Until September 4, 2017

If you feel like escaping the city, here’s a place where you can catch an interesting show, eat well and enjoy the countryside peacefulness.
UncleBrother is a pop-up gallery and restaurant by Gavin Brown enterprise and artist Rikrit Trivanija.  
In 1992, Rirkrit Tiravanija created an exhibition entitled "Untitled (Free)" at 303 Gallery in New York. In this work, Trivanija converted the gallery into a kitchen where he served rice and Thai curry for free. This landmark piece marked the first step of his practice till this day- feeding people, inviting them to interact and by that bringing art closer to life.
UncleBrother will be open every weekend for brunch and dinner, a large group show will be on display, featuring works by SARAH SZE, OLAF BREUNING, TRISHA BAGA and more.
Hancock NY is about 2 hours drive from the city.
Take a look at their website for more details.
Friday-Sunday
250 E FRONT STREET, HANCOCK, NY 13783

Background to the Chelsea Art Scene

For the past 20 years, Chelsea has remained a designated area for true art lovers. 
It is in this particular moment that Chelsea has become the center for contemporary art in New York City, while the neighborhood is going through a massive face lift and things are always changing.

The famous wild art scene of the 60’s and 70’s in NYC was based in Soho—at that time it was considered the industrial area for businesses like import/export houses, textile houses and “rag trade” clothing stores.

Artists began to move to Soho mainly because of it’s big loft spaces and cheap rent. 
Artists like Philip Glass, Twyla Tharp, Nam June Paik, Meredith Monk, Chuck Close and Frank Stella were of the few that helped create and shape the ideal situation which made Soho a nexus for creative activity at a very magical time in the 1960's. SoHo became the focal point which represented the hip, avant garde scene of the time.

Not long after, artists concentrated the area and marked it as a hip neighborhood in NYC, Soho was announced to be the “art district of new york” and what started as an organic process of art imigration, continued to be a real estate target for “art oriented” commercial businesses.
The rise of rent and change of atmosphere in the  Soho of the early 1990’s meant that galleries needed to find themselves a new home. 

This  leads us to the Chelsea art scene... 

Today, the art galleries of Chelsea are located in a small zone near the Hudson River where shipping containers used to get stored. It still feels like a secret location—an isolated art bubble that is somehow being protected from the neighborhood’s gentrification process.  With more residential spaces and tourist destinations surrounding it (like Chelsea Market, The High Line, etc.), Chelsea still maintains a good balance of the native New York scene and a tourist-friendly environment.

Considered to be the most updated center for main discourses in the international art world, expressing a wide range of innovative ideas and outstanding techniques, Chelsea is currently home to more than 350 galleries, institutions and independent art projects. It has some of the most important art galleries today, representing the most acclaimed artists from around the world.

When looking at Chelsea, one will see how it has evolved and still remains a hip and fun location. Most importantly, Chelsea is definitely the place to be to engage with the contemporary world of art!

- by Maya Yadid