ORTA ARTE

I was walking down the street in Chelsea, and a flash of neon orange caught my eye.  The flash was coming from Jane Lombard Gallery, and orange nylon was part of a symbolic hot air balloon made by Lucy and Jorge Orta.

I had never heard of the couple before and later found out that ANTARCTICA is their first exhibition here in the US, based on their expedition to the icy continent in 2007.  Much of the pair's work considers environmental conditions and human survival, and the exhibition includes drawings and plans for sculptures that the artistic duo executed in Antarctica during their travels.

Part of the traveling exhibition, The Antarctic World Passport Delivery Bureau, encourages individuals to pledge to work against global warming, and I happily signed up to participate.

It was so refreshing to see and experience new-to-me artwork dealing with a global issue that is also well executed and eye catching (thanks to that flash of traffic-cone neon)!

Lucy + Jorge Orta

ANTARCTICA

Jane Lombard Gallery

Open through February 20

PAWEL ALTHAMER: The Neighbors

Lured by a tweet from the New Museum, promising me that I could paint on their walls, I donned my work-in-progress doodle dress and descended upon the Fourth Floor gallery for Pawel Althamer's Draftsmen's Congress.  Initially a blank, white space, the room invites museum-goers to make their mark with provided supplies including paint, pastels, paper, and pencils.  It was almost more fun to walk around the room (and explore the teepee!) inspecting others' graffiti, but, of course, we had to make our own masterpiece as well.  I always consider it a good day when a museum guard signs my dress.

With a focus on collaboration and social & political networks, Polish artist Althamer's work allows him to occupy various roles: teacher, organizer, activist.  As a part of the exhibition (which also includes the haunting Venetians), Althamer arranged for a street band to play within the museum, and has also coordinated a coat drive through the Bowery Mission.  I highly recommend bringing everyone you know to this show, which encompasses beauty, interaction, politics, and social commentary in an engaging and edifying experience.

Dress: DIY (signed by some of my favorite graffiti writers and friends)  See the last time I wore it, at 5 Pointz.

Tights: Uniqlo

Blouse & Boots: Joe Fresh

Scarf: Vintage / handmade

Pawel Althamer: The Neighbors is on view at the New Museum on the Bowery in NYC through 4/13.

Photos of me by Maureen Nacy; other photos by me.

INSPIRATION: Steven Vasquez Lopez.

If you know me, then you know of my obsession with Staedtler Triplus Fineliners--the perfect marker/pen hybrids that come in a rainbow of colors in an award-winning easel case.  When I came across these mind-blowing works on paper by San Francisco-based Steven Vasquez Lopez, I assumed they were created with thread.  Wrong!  These works are ink on paper, using the dear-to-my-heart Fineliners!  How beautiful are these drawings, and how miraculously does the artist capture the warp and weft of fabric?

Images from cover-magazine.com, design-milk.com, and cescontemporary.com.

KEITH HARING

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Keith Haring: 1978-1982 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.  I've always been enamored by the scope and reach of Haring's work, produced in such a short time span.

I briefly discussed Haring's work before here, but the Brooklyn Museum exhibition was the first time I'd experienced such a wide range of media.  Haring's classic imagery such as the radiant baby and barking dog were well represented, but there were also a number of unfamiliar pieces that provided new insight to his work as a whole.

Central to the exhibition was a selection of party photos from the Keith Haring archives that showcased Haring's involvement in the East Village club culture, as well as his association with other artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf.  In addition, excerpts from Haring's journals gave insight into his artistic process.

A particularly poignant piece in the exhibition is a film that I saw for the first time, Painting Myself Into a Corner, from 1979.  The work is an excellent example of the way that Haring's work, life, and essentially, his being, overlapped.

Before his death in 1990, he founded the Keith Haring Foundation, which provides funding and imagery to AIDS organizations, and has continued Haring's legacy of social and political awareness with a sense of humor.

I'm wearing a Keith Haring x Patricia Field dress, United Nude shoes, and an H&M necklace.

Keith Haring: 1978-1982 is on view at the Brooklyn Museum through July 8.
Visit their website for more information and interaction, including a playlist meant to accompany the exhibition.

ROBERT LONGO

Robert Longo's drawings have been occupying my inspiration folder for some time. Recently, Lycra asked me to try out a new pair of jeans by wearing them during my most rigorous everyday activities to see how well they hold their stretch.  I immediately thought to the emotive, expressive drawings of Longo, and realized that emulating them would be the perfect way to test out the jeans.

Longo (b. 1953) is an American painter and sculptor, most known for his "Men in the Cities" drawings, pictured here.

To make the works, Longo started with photographs, which he projected onto paper.  From there, he traced the outline of the image (subtracting any background details), and continued to fill in the figure.  Each drawing took up to a week to complete.

There is a distinctive sculptural quality to these works, which play on themes of authority, emotion, and isolation.

Longo has also been involved in the direction of music videos and films, and acted as head guitarist for an experimental band in the 1970's.

For my rendition of Longo's photographs, I opted for a high-contrast look against solid wall.  I had a lot of fun taking these photos, and I must say -- throughout all the frames, and for the rest of the day, I was seriously impressed with the way the jeans kept their shape.

I'm wearing a Cynthia Rowley sweater, vintage blouse, J. Crew scarf, Regal boots courtesy of Cougar Shoes, and DL1961 Emma jeans courtesy of Invista's Lycra.

Thank you to Invista's Lycra for sponsoring this post, and for Cougar's support as well!
[Longo images from robertlongo.com, tensongsthatsavedyourlife.com, and wellthreaded.com.]

ART TO WEAR: Atelier.

I recently had the pleasure of viewing the first capsule collection from the artist and designer collaborative Atelier. Scottish artist Lucy McKenzie and designer Beca Lipscombe created a collection of high quality, made-to-order garments, specifically engineered for those who work in creative or artistic capacities.

The collection, part of The Inventors of Tradition project, is meant to underscore the very best in Scottish textile and fashion manufacturing, referencing the solidification of national identity through the industry since the 1930s.

Working with tailor Steven Purvis under the notion that quality=traditional, the collection succeeds in "responding to tradition with a sensuous and independent femininity" and accomplishes "elegant self-respect in dress for working life." I was deeply impressed by the level of craftsmanship of each individual piece, as well as the timelessness of the collection as a whole.

Images from The Inventors of Tradition Collection 2011 Lookbook, Thea Westreich/Ethan Wagner Publications.

View more pieces from the collection and read more about Atelier at ateliereb.com.

Many thanks to my colleagues at Art Advisory Services for the gracious press packet and tour of the collection.

TWOMBLY

Although Abstract Expressionism symbolized the end of painting for some, there was a group of young artists who emerged in the 1950s who sought to re-establish painting apart from the medium-dictated supremacy of established artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

Cy Twombly (1928) is one of the most important post-AbEx artists, 1/3 of the artistic triumvirate consisting of Twombly, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg.

An American artist, Twombly's early position as a cryptologist for the U.S. Army greatly influenced his later artwork.

Twombly's work consists mostly in large-scale paintings reminiscent of graffiti, particularly that which would be found on a chalkboard or on a bathroom wall.

These works combine painting and drawing, and take the actual line or mark itself as their subject.

Twombly's work set the stage for later graffiti artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, and he continues to work in a handwritten, yet more representational style.

I'm wearing Ann Demeulemeester paint-splattered pants, a Free People silk blouse, Fashion Against AIDS necklace, Steve Madden sandals, and a Cynthia Rowley clutch.

[Twombly images from slowpainting.wordpress.com, mlbrownandco.wordpress.com, and creatives.posterous.com, respectively.]

NICK MAUSS

I'm returning refreshed after a spring break from blogging. After a few weeks spent working on some other projects, traveling, and looking at art, I'm full of ideas and inspiration.

I came across this dress while vintage shopping in Atlanta, and it ended up being the perfect piece to reflect the work of Nick Mauss.

Mauss (b. 1980) is a New York-based artist whose work I first admired at the Compass in Hand exhibition at the MoMA last year.

Each work encompasses multiple elements, including watercolor, acrylic, pastel, and carbon prints, resulting in multilayered collages.

Discussing these works in Art in America, Steve Pulimood wrote, "Colors explode and dissolve free of the restraint of form, flourishing with Kandinsky-like exuberance."

Incorporating images of well-known 19th-century dandies atop marbleized paper and paint, this body of work represents youthful vitality and frivolity.

I've long admired Mauss' subjects--such Victorian dandies as Oscar Wilde and Charles Baudelaire--and their respective influences on art and fashion.

Mauss' current work encompasses an even broader set of media, including video installation, and is represented by 303 Gallery in New York.

I found the marbled print of the dress to be wonderfully reminiscent of the swirling elements of Mauss' works on paper.

I'm wearing a vintage dress from the Clothing Warehouse in Atlanta, Michael Kors wood and lucite platforms, leather Lauren Merkin clutch, and a metal stud cuff from the Met Store.

[Mauss images from moma.org.]