Posted inArt

In the Schnabel Chapel, Part 1

Is it possible to look at Julian Schnabel’s “St. Sebastian” (1979) with fresh eyes, as if the past 34 years of Schnabel Sturm und Schnabel Drang never really happened? As if it were a new painting fresh out of an unknown artist’s studio, landing inconspicuously in a storefront gallery on East 10th Street between 2nd and 1st?

Posted inArt

What Is It About Pageantry That We Love So Much? (On Roger Brown and Julian Schnabel)

Roger Brown (1941–1997) died a decade after his retrospective opened at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. (August 13, 1987–October 18, 1987), and traveled to three other museums, none of which were on the East Coast or in a densely populated urban center. More surprising, the show didn’t travel to Chicago, where Brown first gained attention and with which he is associated.

Posted inNews

UPDATED: Ai Weiwei’s Zodiac Unveiled, Mayor Bloomberg Applauds Artist’s Courage

Today’s rain may have put a damper on the unveiling of Ai Weiwei’s “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” (2009) at the Pulitzer Fountain, located at Central Park South and Fifth Avenue, but what certainly cast a pall over the event was the artist’s own absence. After over a month since his arrest by the Chinese government, we still haven’t heard from the dissident artist. The opening of “Zodiac Heads” was met with widespread support for Ai’s plight and for his politically contentious work, both from Mayor Bloomberg and the city’s influential arts community.

Posted inOpinion

Palazzo Koons Rises on the Upper East Side

It seems as though all those hanging hearts, flower puppies and porn paintings are finally paying off for Jeff Koons, as the superstar artist has begun to plan the renovation of two enormous Upper East Side townhouses into one giant SUPERMANSION! The artist purchased 11 East 67th Street in 2009 for a cool $12 million while its neighboring 13 East 67th Street came in at $20 million. Now, architecture firm Ennead Architects is requesting permits for a $5 million renovation that will make the two buildings one, Curbed reports.

Posted inArt

The Brucennial: Piece By Piece (Part 3 of 5)

And the review marches on with art reviews a plenty in the seemingly impossible task of reviewing the whole Brucennial. Today’s installment reaches #175: 111. Kathe Burkhart – FUCK THE UNDERGROUND. Exactly.; 112. Dolores Haydon – The horror of porn. The porn of horror. Cool the way the scissors and cutting echo the nearby Man Bartlett piece …