Gotham Gal: The Annual Art Show at the Armory

Some years I have gone, others I haven't. This year, thanks to my friend, we went to the annual Art Show at the Armory. The best time to go is definitely when there are as few people there as possible. The booths are not large and neither is the space. We went when the door opened at noon and as always, it is interesting to see what people are showing.

Some stuff is absolutely god awful. Pink and blue horse statues but we didn't wander into that booth. Some stuff is really great. Some stuff is way way overpriced, at least we thought so. Some stuff is right on.

Vic Muniz, who I have always been a fan of, is shown at Brent Sikkema. I loved his 3 pieces. He has taken hole punch pieces and layered them into designs and then took digital pictures of them and enlarged the photo. I was really drawn to them immediately. The prices are still reasonable. Obviously more than 4 years ago when I first saw his stuff but my guess is the price of his work will continue to rise.

The other artist I really liked was Kate Shepard. She was being shown at 2 different galleries, one being Barbara Krakow Gallery from Boston. Barbara is the best contemporary art gallery in Boston. Kate's work is very architectural. She has created lines and images under an enamel based process which makes the painting really stand out. Her pieces seem to me something that you would love more and more each day.

Barbara also represents Julian Opie. About 5 years ago, we almost bought 2 huge Julian Opie pieces but decided not to at the last moment and bought something else. Alas, his work has more than tripled in value but I'm not in for that anyhow even though it is always nice to know the work you purchased has gone up in value. Julian has work all over the world. It is very recognizable. He is from London. It's all over the Tate. The piece today was a computer image that had the characters walking on a flat panel. Extremely cool!

Lastly, my favorite piece. Luhring Augustine represents Christopher Wool. Fyi - their website is horrible, I hate the pop-up thing. For the life of me, I can't understand the cost of it. The piece I loved was $250K and supposedly the buy of the show is his smaller pieces at $80K. Seems outrageous to me considering they are just words on a canvas but I'm not setting the prices. I really loved this piece. It just made me laugh out loud. It did not say RIOT like the piece on the side but it was in the same bold letters. The piece I loved said IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE. I just cracked me up. Maybe I have watched too much Larry David.

I'm glad I got up to the show. It's always fun to see what galleries are showing and to see where the prices are. All and all, it's a bummer that I'm not willing to blow $250K on the piece. I think I'd get a kick out of it every day I would walk by but maybe I'll make my own and just blow it up and hang it near the front door.

books of the moment

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Loved it. If you love food and the industry that has sprouted across the globe, read it!
Cristina Alger: The Darlings: A Novel
i LOVED this book. First time novelist. Well written. She does a great job of describing each character. The story is loosely based on a Madoff type character. Total NY story. Page turner. She knows her town and these people. Really LOVED this book.
Stephen King: 11/22/63: A Novel
This is my first King book. He is an incredible story teller. Quite a book, very creative, interesting idea and story. It is so long. 850 pages. I get why he is one of the best selling authors
Whitney L. Johnson: Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream
I was so graciously asked to write a blurb for this book. It doesn't come out until May when I will write a post but for the time being you can pre-order. Here is my blurb; Every woman, regardless of age or profession, should read this book. Through stories of real women, their dreams and their struggles, Johnson's book has created an instant community. What's more, she has opened the door for women to empower themselves to dare, dream and do.
Russell Banks: Lost Memory of Skin: A Novel
An interesting novel about the underground topic of child molesters. Banks takes on a disturbing topic as he weaves a variety of strange characters into the fold. Maybe I wanted some kind of closure from the book. The book is a big idea which really navigates a slice of America. Really well written but not so sure I'd recommend it. I stuck with the book but I didn't love it.
Susan Weissman: Feeding Eden: The Trials and Triumphs of a Food Allergy Family
The name of the book says it all. Every parent and every teacher should read this book.
Tom Perrotta: The Leftovers
I have read a few of Perrotta's books. He is an incredible writer but I always feel so unfulfilled when his books end. This concept of this book is that one day random people disappear and the world changes. The book focuses on one particular community and a few families. At the beginning I was wowed by the premise of the book but as always his books begin to ramble and the end was so bad it was if he couldn't figure out how to finish it. Literally the last paragraph made me say to myself, "seriously"?
Alice Hoffman: The Dovekeepers: A Novel
I wanted to finish it, I really did. But half way in I moved on. Really beautiful book. A story of four women who lived on Masada who are thrown together through fate as they tend to the doves. Wonderful history and interesting paths of each character. Just super dense. I hope to return to finishing it. After all...it is on my kindle.
Deborah Copaken Kogan: Between Here and April
This book tracks a terrible tragedy of a mother who took her life and her childrens in the 70s. I was interested in it because it happened where I grew up. Unfortunately the book bounces all over the place and only focuses on the authors own issues that she believes to be connected to this but in essence it is a serious reach and rambling.
W. Bruce Cameron: A Dog's Purpose
It took me a while to get into this but a very clever book. Life through a dogs eyes. Really well done.
Kyung-Sook Shin: Please Look After Mom
International best seller. Not only a peak into a past generation of Korean life but a disturbing look at alzheimers. Sticks with you.
Kathleen Flinn: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks
Flinn writes about how she transformed 9 people to love cooking, understand food and what they are eating and basically changed their lives. Good book.
Julie Salamon: Wendy and the Lost Boys: The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein
What a fascinating life. I actually liked the last 25% of the book the best. A woman of the generation that was told she could have it all and with all her success she still felt unaccomplished. A worthy read.
Michael Ondaatje: The Cat's Table
A beautiful memoir of Ondaatjes solo journey from Sri Lanka to London as a young boy of 11 to return to his mother who had been residing there for 3/4 years. Those 3 weeks made quite an impact on his life as he threads those stories back to his life as an adult.
Jeffrey Eugenides: The Marriage Plot: A Novel
loved this book. brilliantly written, great character development, literature references abound, questioning of religion, depression issues, post college angst. loved loved.

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The Annual Art Show at the Armory

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