In general, “Art imitates life,” but sometimes it is the other way around. That is the case when it comes to Brooklyn mural “Not One More Death.” Painted in the summer of 2007 by artist Christopher Cardinale at Third Avenue and Butler Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the mural was dedicated to the memory of children who had been killed in road accidents. The deaths were especially prominent at or near crosswalks. The mural was painted in partnership with a mural-supporting non-profit group called Groundswell, and an advocacy group which works to reduce fatal car accidents, called Transportation Alternatives. At the ceremony that took place on the day the mural was dedicated the Department of Transportation announced it was going to put into place new traffic measures along Third and Fourth Avenues to slow things down a bit. They added curb extensions and other devices, and now, ten years later, there are speed bumps, 20mph signs, and cameras watching for speeding cars. The mural has the distinction of being one of the first times street art worked to persuade government to respond immediately and tangibly to a serious neighborhood issue. “When we focus on children who were lost in needless preventable traffic crashes, it galvanizes everyone’s advocates, cities and the public to understand how important it is to re-envision our streets where families are,” Kim Wiley-Schwartz, assistant commissioner for education and outreach at the DOT, said. “It’s very fair to say that [the mural] was a catalyst for the conversation and has kept the dialogue going with the community.” Not many people know what Brooklyn looks like to a bird, but one muralist wanted to bring that special, elevated viewpoint to the pedestrians standing on the ground. Artist Vince Ballentine began designing a mural featuring the Brooklyn Bridge in December, 2016. Now the mural is finished and is available for viewing for anyone visiting at or living in Flatbush Gardens, an apartment complex at 1402 Brooklyn Avenue. Ballentine says he wanted to paint a scene...
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TEFAF New York is coming to the Park Avenue Armory soon and the exhibitors are getting ready. The opening night reception will be on October 21 to benefit the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. TEFAF New York will feature 93 esteemed exhibitors from around the world and will take place from October 21-26. This inaugural edition of TEFAF New York Fall is a joint venture between TEFAF Maastricht and Artvest Partners. The application for participants was open to galleries around the world and TEFAF New York received multiple applications for each available spot. There was a selection committee and a review process to create a balanced and objective analysis of each of the galleries and to decide on participants. The selection committee consisted of four members of the Board of Trustees of TEFAAF Maastricht and four external experts from the United States. The exhibitor’s list for TEFAF New York includes, among many others, A La Vieille Russie, Agnews, Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, Phoenix Ancient Art and Les Enluminures. Certainly, the exhibit will include some of the highe st quality items from around the world. Phoenix Ancient Art will bring such items as a two-handled cup of cobalt blue glass created by one of the most famous artists from the 1st century AD to have made such works of art, Ennion. They will also display a cameo with four portraits of Philip the Arab from the 3rd Century AD Roman period. These are but a few examples of the vast array of furniture, art, jewelry and other items that will be part of the exhibit coming...
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Lola Depraetere is only seven-years-old, but that has not stopped her from brightening up a few walls around Bushwick in Brooklyn, and Miami, Florida. Lola began drawing when she was only three, but now that she is already in second grade, she is ready for projects much bigger than she is. What does she like about painting murals with spray paint? Let her explain in her own words: “I thought it would be cooler than just drawing on paper. Spray-paint fills up more space than colored pencils,” she said. She was discovered by Joe Ficalora, the founder of the outdoor gallery Bushwick Collective, in a most appropriate way: while she was drawing on an intricate mural of a church painted by street artist Beau Stanton last May. The Collective invites artists from around the world to paint outdoor murals in Brooklyn. Lola’s mother Cécile, a teacher at a French pre-school, explained what happened: “We heard someone yell ‘What are you doing to my wall!’” she said. “The next thing we knew, he gave Lola her own wall, shook her hand and said, ‘Welcome to the Bushwick...
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Simple in conception, yet awesome in execution, Fly by Night is a performance that transforms the commonplace into the sublime. Conceived and presented by Duke Riley, this incredible public art project takes 2,000 common urban pigeons- you know, the kind you wish would disappear from city life forever- and fits them with tiny LED lamps, and then lets them fly overhead at the Brooklyn Navy Yard just as the sun sets. The result is almost beyond description. The majority of the birds fly in swooping, circular patterns above the mesmerized onlookers, creating a lovely light show of streaks in the sky reminiscent of falling stars. Not all the birds follow the flock, however. The strays can be seen tracing their own unique paths, adding to the feeling that the art you are seeing is nature-based and unique- a pattern only revealed once, by forces us humans simply cannot control. The birds take off from their home on board the docked, decommissioned navel aircraft the Baylander which has been retrofitted as a roost for the thousands of pigeons used in the project. The display can be seen at the Brooklyn Navy Yard every weekend until June 12. This is one New York experience you will want to...
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The New York art world is getting ready for one of its most fun events of the year: the eighth annual Asia Week New York. Beginning on March 10 and continuing for nine days until March 19, Asia Week New York will have participants from 45 international galleries and five auction houses. Lark Mason, Chairman of this year’s event, explained: “For connoisseurs and collectors who want to immerse themselves fully in the wonders of the Far East, they know there is a once-a-year celebration that they must attend. And it’s no wonder. Asia Week combines top-flight galleries and world-renowned Asian art specialists for over a week of outstanding events and exhibitions–all sprinkled around the world’s most exhilarating city, New York!” This year nine galleries will be participating for the first time: Phoenix Ancient Art, New York, will feature Chinese bronzes Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, featuring Japanese photography Berwald Oriental Art, London showing Chinese ceramics, pottery and more DAG Modern, New York, featuring modern Indian Art Fitzgerald Fine Arts, New York, showing Chinese ceramics and contemporary art Gallery Japonesque, San Francisco, featuring contemporary Japanese ceramics and works of art Alan Kennedy, Santa Monica, Chinese textiles and paintings Renaud Montméat Art d’Asie, Paris, featuring Indian and Himalayan Art Tenzing Asian Art, San Francisco, with Hindu and Buddhist art If you are thinking that major art events like Asian Art Week are only for the wealthy, Mason says this ain’t necessarily so. “Although there is a superabundance of exquisite objects on the market, the focus by the press is invariably on the high end, leaving many less expensive works under-publicized” he said. “For the beginning collector, now is one of the best times ever to acquire gorgeous artworks at very attractive prices.” Collectors looking for something beautiful yet unusual should stop by Phoenix Ancient Art at 47 East 66th Street. The irresistible combination of the ancient world with the faraway lands of the East, makes a trip to Phoenix thrilling. One piece on hand there is...
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A new sculpture now graces the grass in Brooklyn Bridge Park, expressing itself in a quite Brooklynistic manner. Created by artist Deborah Kass, the sculpture is a painted aluminum giant, loudly declaring the emphatic declaratives Oy and Yo, depending on if you are gazing at the sculpture from Brooklyn or Manhattan. This is the first time Ms. Kass, who calls herself a “”total, absolute, 100 percent provincial New Yorker” has created a piece of these dimensions, 17 feet long and 8 feet high. “The fact that this particular work resonates so beautifully in so many languages to so many communities is why I wanted to make it monumental” Ms. Kass said. The work was commissioned by the Brooklyn developer Two Trees Management Company, and was installed on the renovated Main Street Lawn in the park last week. It will remain in the park until August next year. Although the sculpture seems like a perfect fit in the culturally diverse New York environment, Ms. Kass points out that any city in America with a diverse population could be home for Yo/Oy. Wherever blacks, Latinos and Jews live together would make a great backdrop for this artwork. However, Brooklyn seems somehow like the best place of any: “This is New York, baby. We’ve got it all. And the sculpture covers it all” she...
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