DESERTX

"Do you want to go to an art scavenger hunt in the desert?" Without hesitation, my friend Jayne responded, "I'm in!"

A few weeks ago, I flew out to Palm Springs from New York, and Jayne drove to the desert from her home in Los Angeles.  We immediately got to the task of locating sixteen different site-specific artworks, the Desert Exhibition of Art (or DesertX), which were sprinkled throughout the Coachella Valley. Our favorites are shown here: Tavares Strachan's I Am, Phillip K. Smith III, The Circle of Land and Sky, Doug Aitken's Mirage, and Claudia Comte's Curves and Zigzags, which I painted a dress to match.

The most fun part of the whole experience was driving through the desert to locate the works.  Even though the exhibition had a map, there was still some creative visualization involved in pinpointing the exact location of some of the pieces.  Being told to watch out for scorpions was another high point.  It was so interesting to see how the various artists created site-specifics works, and the different themes that emerged throughout.  All in all, it was a unique experience, and I'm looking forward to the next edition of Desert X!

Photos by Jayne Clark.

CHAPEL OF JIMMY RAY

I’m back in New York City and am catching up on sharing some experiences from my travels over the past few weeks.  Thanks to those of you who followed along on Instagram!

I started my journey in San Miguel de Allende, a small, colorful town a few hours Northwest of Mexico City.  It is a haven for artists and artisans, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed roaming the quaint streets and peeping into colorful shops.

The highlight of my visit to San Miguel was the Chapel of Jimmy Ray, a complex outside the city where Anado McLauchlin, a California transplant, has established an artistic oasis.  A plot of land filled with his art, his home, a gallery, and his workshop, the Chapel is just one of the structures on the property.  Anado himself is a hilarious, warm, and chatty individual, and his husband Richard is equally inviting.  Anado and Richard showed us around their property, and we marveled at all the work that went into the many mosaics which cover most of the structures.  Their house is a wonder in and of itself, filled with colorful curiosities and their artwork as well as that of their friends.

I felt wonderfully inspired by all of the beauty that Anado and Richard had created, and the fact that they continuously work to bring more color and beauty to their surroundings.  I also felt a strong sense of gratitude at being able to meet Anado and see his work and hear him speak about it – so often the work of artists is only discovered and cherished after they are gone.  I was able to make a real connection with both Anado and Richard that I will treasure for years to come.

Photos by William Sealy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DALE CHIHULY!

"I never met a color I didn't like." 

With statements like that, of course I'm a fan of Dale Chihuly's work.  Today, on his 75th birthday, I'm revisiting my photos from last month's trip to Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle.

Chihuly is such a prolific artist and craftsman, and walking through CGG was like wandering through the mind of Chihuly himself - from things he collected (like Pendleton blankets) to hundreds of blown-glass beauties, to a magnificent greenhouse (another of his infatuations).  The experience truly made me appreciate his work in a new way.

Here's hoping that Chihuly will continue to be as prolific and will keep pushing the boundaries of what can be done with glass through his 75th year and beyond.

Happy birthday, Dale!

Photos by myself and William Sealy.

RAIN OR SHINE

I finally made it to the Renwick Gallery for the obligatory photo op with Gabriel Dawe's Plexus A1.

The Renwick did not disappoint, and I highly recommend that you make a visit the next time you're in the district!

Photo by William Sealy.

SALVATION MOUNTAIN

Yesterday, I drove to the middle of nowhere in California -- out of the glistening pools of Palm Springs; past the suburbs of Coachella; through farm land, then desert land; past date plantations; along the Salton Sea, riddled with abandoned property, to finally reach one of the greatest folk art treasures in the United States: Salvation Mountain.

Situated in a community characterized by both poverty and divergence from the system, Salvation Mountain stands as a monument to one man's dedication to his faith and determination to tell the story of Jesus.  Created over the span of 30 years by Leonard Knight (1931-2014), Salvation Mountain is made of clay from the earth mixed with straw and covered with hundreds and hundreds of gallons of latex paint.  It is a fragile monument set upon a dune in the middle of the desert, and has faced imminent ruin many times.  Since Mr. Knight's death in 2014, it is presided over by a non-profit organization, which helps to maintain the site and share Mr. Knight's story of diligence and perseverance and above all else, faith.

In anticipation of my visit to the site (which I'd been longing to see for many years), I made a necklace inspired by Mr. Knight's work of art.  While creating this miniature replica of a tiny piece of Salvation Mountain, I couldn't help but marvel at the determination and skill with which Mr. Knight wrangled a barren sand dune into a colorful homage.

Photos by Hilary Pollack.

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

LET ME BE FRANK

"I don't like to say I have given my life to art.  I prefer to say art has given me my life."  -Frank Stella

As I was perusing the textile rack at a local secondhand store a few years ago, I came across what I could only describe as the most beautiful piece of silk I'd ever seen - which I immediately recognized as a Frank Stella print.  Upon closer inspection, I found Stella's signature and the date, and clutched the scarf to my chest as I raced for the cash register, thinking the beautiful piece of silk would vanish from my hands before I could buy it.  I did a bit of research and found that the scarf was one of a limited edition of 500 produced by Stella for Barneys in 2004.  One of my prized possessions, I couldn't wait to wear the scarf for the opening of Frank Stella's retrospective at the Whitney Museum.

Stella is one of those art world luminaries who has been living and creating art throughout so many different time periods and movements, that it is difficult to categorize his work.  He is most well known for his Minimalist works of the 1960s and 1970s, but his more recent work (which I can comfortably describe as Maximalist) has become more and more interesting over the years.  The Whitney retrospective gives a high level overview of the artist's oeuvre and delves into some of the pervading themes and just touches on some of the others.

Silk scarf: Frank Stella Limited Edition for Barneys

Silk blouse: Yves Saint Laurent

Jeans: Hudson Barbara

Shoes:  Walter Steiger

Photos of me by Meri Feir; other photos by me.

PICASSO SCULPTURE

On Sunday, I ventured uptown through the Guatemalan Independence Day parade to see the blockbuster Picasso Sculpture exhibition at MoMA.  What awaited me was an expansive, varied journey through the artist's career and his work in three dimensions.  There were a few things that struck me:
1.  Many of the sculptures were smaller than I would have guessed.
2.  Much of the three dimensional work was very different formally than his paintings (albeit with similar subject matter).  However, I would have liked to see some paintings from concurrent time periods alongside the sculpture to provide a comparison.
3.  Picasso was a master of all media; though he was never formally trained as a sculptor, his work in difficult materials such as bronze was remarkable.

The exhibition is on view through February 7th.

Trench: Burberry (also worn here)

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Rachel Comey

Photo of me by Meri Feir; all other photos by me.