TGIF

It's been a long week.

Flashback to the position and location in which I'd like to spend every weekend.

Andy Warhol, Shadows, at Dia.

Photo by Meri Feir.

FRIEZE, FRAMED

Last night, I attended the VIP preview of Frieze New York, the yearly art fair housed in a giant tent on Randall's Island in NYC.  Among some of my favorite artworks on view were these paintings by Daniel Rich at Peter Blum Gallery's booth.  I wasn't familiar with Rich's work, but it called to mind the paintings of Charles Sheeler, with their technical detail.  Upon perusing further, I found that Rich paints similar works of different cities throughout the world, and the one I gravitated toward (pictured here) was from Rio de Janeiro.  I think a visit is in order!

Blouse and skirt: Clover Canyon

Sandals: The Kooples

Photos by Kathy Paciello and Christine Horgan.

RIP Chris Burden

Rest in peace, artist Chris Burden, who passed away yesterday at the age of 69.

From his seminal performance piece Shoot (1971), in which he was shot in the arm, to his retropsective last year at the New Museum (which was overwhelmingly expansive in theme and medium), Burden covered a lot of ground in his 40 year career.  This image is from my favorite Burden work, LA Police Uniforms, created in collaboration with the Fabric Workshop and Museum in 1993.  Read my full post here.

TBT: Morris Louis

I spent last weekend in Washington, DC, and visited the Hirshhorn Museum and the Phillips Collection, which both reminded me of my love for the work of Morris Louis.  The most well known Washington area Abstract Epressionist, Louis' Color Field work has always been very soothing to me.  See my post from 2011 here, wearing one of my favorite dresses (that needs to come back into rotation for spring).

JOYCE KOZLOFF: Maps + Patterns

On a recent most springlike day, I strolled from my office in Silicon Alley over to 22nd Street in Chelsea to see Joyce Kozloff's Maps + Patterns exhibition at DC Moore Gallery.

Described as "a cross between coloring books and illuminated manuscripts", the works on view are based on motifs that Kozloff encountered throughout her travels on the Silk Route.  The central image in these works is the Islamic Star, which Kozloff has returned to as a motif throughout her 40 year artistic career.

The pieces in the exhibition are mixed media collage, and include elements of previous works, studies, and ephemera Kozloff has collected along the way.

The exhibition closes on April 25, so make your way to the gallery ASAP if you'd like to experience these exuberant works of art.

Dress: Vintage silk, found at Lulu's in Chicago

Boots: Pour la Victoire (also worn in this post)

Photos by Kathy Paciello.

KEHINDE WILEY | BROOKLYN MUSEUM

Through the exhibition Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, which just opened at the Brooklyn Museum, New York based artist Wiley proves that it is possible to create a place for African Americans within the canon of Art History, and that it can be done beautifully and poignantly, while still eliciting questions and inciting change.

The exhibition highlights various series of Wiley's works, including many paintings as well as a grouping of stained glass pieces.  For much of his work, Wiley appropriates poses from heroic portraiture, but replaces the subjects with African American youth, usually male (though he branched out into female subjects with the series An Economy of Grace).  Generally, the subjects themselves choose the portrait they would like to be fashioned after, which gives them a sense of control over the outcome. 

Viewing Wiley's body of work as a whole, he continues to challenge the role of the black individual within Art History, combining hip hop culture with high brow, traditionally white, male portraiture.  It is a thought-provoking commentary on the way that art, and society, have been and continue to be further democratized.

Dress: Tracy Reese

Blouse: Vintage

Tights: H&M

Shoes: United Nude

Necklace: Vintage

Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic is on view at the Brooklyn Museum through May 24, 2015.

Photos of me by Kathy Paciello; other photos by me.

CLOUDS IN PARIS

#fbf to my last trip to Paris, when I floated through the Latifa Echakhch installation at the Centre Pompidou.  I'd take a cloudy day in Paris anytime, especially if the clouds are reminiscent of Rene Magritte.

Dress: Diane von Furstenberg (see the last time I wore it here)

Boots: Theyskens' Theory

Photo by Kathy Paciello.