Art
One of my favorite sketches. Done with the basic Bic ballpoint pen.
I recently picked up a new miniature Moleskin sketchbook, which the above drawing and many others in my collection were done in. It has been a while since I drew in this old standby, and I had forgotten how much I love the smaller format, the heavy cream colored paper, the ease in transporting a continuous art project.
Looking forward to sharing more snippets from the new Moleskin...
On Thursday night I attended Mark Fox's opening at Robert Miller Gallery in Chelsea.
The work on view is whimsical but also painstakingly rendered. Pieces simplistic in theory become complex through the layers of meaning created in the overlapping of cut-out text and doodles. Words take on and lose meaning as they hang in mid air or weave through other seemingly non-related text. How does each word relate? Is there a hidden message behind each piece?
The idea of creating painted sculpture completely fascinated and inspired me. Seeing a return to painting and being able to get a sense of the artist's hand in each piece was so refreshing.
A definite must see.
Shot at Robert Miller Gallery, 524 West 26th Street, NYC. All photos by Nicole Weiler.
Another piece from the ink drawing series I began a few years ago {first seen here}.
Both sketches are inspired by fashion advertisements - the woman on the left was discovered in an old Ralph Lauren ad and the lips on the right were cropped from a David Yurman feature.
What initially drew me to these images was the sense of drama inherent in each photo. Each seemed to harbor a secret, somewhat foreboding story. Further cropping the subjects with my pen, I accentuated and heightened the sense of mystery and danger lurking beneath the surface. Together, the sketches speak to each other and create an even more complex and dark tale... left for the viewer to create.
A colorful silk scarf is my go-to accessory, oftentimes the final piece I throw on to complete an outfit. An instant mood booster, a quick pop of color, a conversation starter... I love a good scarf.
That being said, I am very excited about Alexander McQueen's collaboration with Damien Hirst.
The fashion house has teamed up with the artist to create a collection of 30 limited edition scarves incorporating the iconic McQueen skull and elements inspired by Hirst's Entomology series.
While I am not always the biggest fan of Hirst's work (depends on the piece), I do love his Entomology series. The exactingly symmetrical overall patterns Hirst constructs using butterflies, beetles, and other entomological specimens are stunning. For me, they recall ancient mural works and weavings.
"Tityus" by Damien Hirst, 2012
Hirst's trippy, kaliedoscopic patterns translate beautifully into scarf designs.
And the film shot for the collection by Sølve Sundsbø {below} is just as beautiful and inspiring.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK_-Ycn69sg&w=560&h=315]
{scarf images courtesy of www.damienhirst.com}
Last weekend I took a break from the city and ventured out to Montclair, NJ. It was my favorite kind of crisp autumn day. The trees were afire in shades of yellow, orange, and red. A bright blue sky provided the perfect backdrop.
The destination was the Montclair Art Museum, which I had never visited. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the museum has an exceptional collection. An exhibit on Native American art was followed by a show featuring some contemporary artists I am very much interested in - including Cindy Sherman, Alex Prager, and Nan Goldin.
However, my favorite part of the visit was just outside the museum walls.
Artist Jean Shin was commissioned by the museum to create the fascinating sculptures that currently reside near the front entrance. Her three pieces are constructed from stainless steel knives, forks, and spoons. Welded together, the cutlery is transformed into a tree stump, a log, and a spindly tree.
Shin has successfully transformed these mundane, everyday objects we usually never give a second thought to into breath-taking art objects. Highly recommended and definitely worth the trip.
Shot at the Montclair Art Museum. All photos by Nicole Weiler.
Halloween always catches me off guard. I spend months looking forward to the holiday, to the opportunity to get creative with costuming. And yet, when the special day finally arrives, I am caught off guard, usually costume-less.
Luckily I was able to improvise with glow-in-the-dark necklaces this year. Neon instantly adds an element of fun to any get-up.
The Whitney Museum provided the colorful necklaces at their opening party for "Rituals of Rented Island," on view through February 2nd. A Halloween celebration followed the exhibition viewing.
"Rituals of Rented Island" focuses on the radical performance art that took place in downtown Manhattan during the 1970's. Artists in this group performed anywhere and everywhere - in private lofts, on the stage, in store fronts. Some performance pieces lack any film documentation; photos and posters are left to tell their stories.
The show was quite fitting for a Halloween opening night as I found much of the work on view somewhat eerie. Jack Smith's monstrous bras for men (from his performance "Irrational Landlordism of Bagdad") were captivating but left me uncomfortable. The crazily patterned props looked as if they may come alive at any moment and crawl toward me, bra straps threateningly raised.
Squat Theatre's area showcased a hanging severed head amongst posters and photographs documenting the group's plays. As someone with a bit of a dummy/doll phobia, this mask will leave me haunted for weeks. A large-scale mural of a demonic child played a film of a naked woman contorting her body into impossible positions - through its eyes. A Freudian reference?
While I did not understand much of the exhibition, I was at the very least relieved that the quirky art in the show stood out much more than my lack of a costume.
Shot at The Whitney Museum of American Art. Photos by Rachel Kozin and Nicole Weiler. Wearing {a somewhat festive Halloween pick... black seems to always do the trick!}:
Phillip Lim sheer black silk top, mandarin garnet yellow gold ring, stacked yellow gold diamond pinky rings, diamond solitaire necklace {my design}, dangling diamond/blue sapphire/tanzanite yellow gold necklace {my design}
Imagine. Sky scrapers at your feet. Sidewalks curved towards the heavens. Brownstones flipped and toppling downwards. Lush greenery spilling out in every direction.
Jennifer Williams makes these seemingly impossible feats a reality in "The High Line Effect," which opened on Thursday night at Robert Mann Gallery in Chelsea. The show is on view through December 7th.
Williams' show focuses on New York City's High Line, the recently constructed (and still expanding) elevated park that just happens to be in the same neighborhood as the gallery hosting her work.
Images in the photo collages highlight the ongoing transformation of this public space as it continues to grow and become an ever-increasingly popular attraction. Cranes, construction sites, and buildings under development collide with bustling streets, rich foliage, and towering skyscrapers.
These images are more than photographic references to the neighborhood in which they are displayed. Each installation reverberates with energy and embodies the sheer electricity of the bustling High Line. Williams' pieces come alive before you, exploding with color, crawling around corners, wrapping over ceiling beams, spilling out onto the gallery floor.
What blows me away most about Williams' work is her ability to capture a sense of movement and life through very simple, basic images. Her photographs are not static records of the world. Together they are mind-bending, lively creations that challenge traditional ideas on perspective.
The way that Williams arranges her photos together creates a new world that feels more real than any photograph does on its own. Despite the fact that buildings are flipped upside down and placed under foot (so far from physical reality) I felt that I could be standing in the middle of the elevated park when standing in front of each installation.
For me, the collages embodied the feeling of walking along the High Line... experiencing the chaotic world around the park, hearing the incessant beeping of taxis, squinting from the sharp light reflected off surrounding buildings, feeling the crisp wind against my face, watching the tourists and city strollers pass by.
A big thank you goes out to my old college buddy, Ethan, who helped prepare the show and invited me and some friends to the special occasion.
Shot at Robert Mann Gallery. Photos by Nicole Weiler and Christine Bilms. Wearing {a delicate one-of-a-kind treasure from the '60s that feels more special with every wear}:
vintage jacket with beading and pearls, Rag +Bone jeans, Rag +Bone boots, vintage bag
Beauty is present in the simplest of things. Over the summer I was inspired by the humble beauty in a cluster of freshly-picked, juicy-red tomatoes. Resting atop a crisp white tablecloth with bright blue lines dancing across its folds, the tomatoes glowed in the warm afternoon light.
I have been painting with pastels for almost fifteen years. Growing up, I spent my summers training one-on-one with artist Rosalie Nadeau in Cape Cod. A talented and thoughtful mentor, Rose taught me to truly see light, shadow, and the complexities of color.
Pastels are pure pigment. Rich sticks of color that can be layered, blended, and manipulated to capture the splendor of the natural world. When painting, I utilize my color palette to express the presence of my subject, the general feel of the moment as I experience it, the fleeting luminosity of light as it colors the scene before me.
There is a beauty and a sadness in the painting process. The painter races to capture the impossible, a brief moment of time that passes instantly and immediately becomes something new. Light fades, flowers wilt, a breeze alters the arch of a branch.
Nothing is permanent. Every moment is important.
For the past four years, I have had the pleasure of working for a private fine jeweler in Manhattan. During this time, I have received an education in jewelry design, diamond grading, color stone identification, metal smithing, luxury marketing, and so much more. I continue to learn (and get excited about) something new every day.
Working for such a successful and amazingly supportive company has allowed me the opportunity to discover my love for fine jewelry design. An art unto itself.
The design process is always exciting. Watching your mind's creation slowly to come to life piece by piece is a thrilling experience. The end product after so much thought and work is incredibly rewarding. Fantasy made reality.
Two years ago I found the most beautiful pair of watermelon tourmaline slices at a buying show in New York. After many trial sketches, I recently finalized an earring design for the stones.
My jeweler translated my sketch into a wax model that would fit the stones exactly. Using CAD (computer-aided design) software, he created the design plan for the CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) machine to print out the necessary waxes. More simply put, the wax models were created by 3D printing - a technology that is dramatically changing the jewelry industry.
Molds were made from the wax pieces, which are used to cast the final gold parts. After casting the gold my jeweler assembled the rest by hand - soldering the earring top's loop closed, attaching posts, creating a wire bezel for the dangling diamonds, polishing the gold.
The result: a stunning pair of 18K yellow gold watermelon tourmaline slice earrings rimmed in gold and dripping with dangling diamonds. A fantasy come to life even more beautiful than I imagined.
Art has been a constant in my life. From the time I could hold a pencil, I have been drawing, painting, sculpting, creating.
The sketch above was done with a simple Bic ballpoint pen. A few years ago, I embarked on an exploration of how sexuality and femininity are portrayed in fashion advertisements and editorials through simple pen drawings. Using a small journal as my canvas, I reinvented the fashion photographs that spoke to me. My pen further cropped and distorted the images - emphasizing and acting as an extension of the male gaze present in the original photo.
The two drawings here are framed together. Both exude a powerful, raw sexuality.
New York City is always beautiful to me - no matter the weather conditions. I welcome the rainy, grey days that create tiny, sparkling rivers trickling down the roadside. I treasure the snowy days that open the opportunity for a rare quiet moment in a usually bustling metropolis - still, white moments where time seems to stand still. I appreciate even the angry, windy days that twist my umbrella inside-out as I clomp through the tourist-packed, trash-ridden sidewalks - there is a certain beauty in the pure chaos of such a scene (despite my frustration and loud cursing in the actual moment).
And NYC certainly outdid itself this weekend. Clear blue skies, warm sunshine, mild temperature. The perfect conditions for an arts festival.
The DUMBO Arts Festival spanned from Friday night through Sunday evening. I visited the event on Saturday, specifically to see Andrey Bartenev's "Bubbles of Hope" performance. During the piece, dancers clothed in brightly colored spandex joyously frolicked inside an abandoned fortress-like space. The lively music, imaginative costumes, creative dance moves, and floating bubbles instantly lifted my spirits.
One could not help but smile in the midst of such revelry. Bartenev's mission to deliver a message of harmony and joy was definitely achieved. He also delivered an (unintentional?) education in human anatomy...
Another artist participating in the festival had created an art game on a side street. Colored tape labeled with random statements littered the street. Onlookers were asked to place a penny numbered by the artist on an applicable message and then to look up what emotion the penny's number corresponded to.
I placed my penny on "Everything looks beautiful to me." My number (256) indicated that I was feeling "Appalled." Honestly, all I felt was confused.
My favorite part of the day was walking beneath waving pink flags on a side alleyway. The flags bathed the cobblestone path a lovely shade of pink.
I do love viewing the world in rose colored glasses. Quite literally.
Shot in DUMBO. Photos by Nicole Weiler and Chris Weiler. Wearing {a grunge inspired outfit, a mix of unrelated prints that together somehow works, a sartorial choice that inspires risk}:
Gryphon mixed floral silk dress, Rachel Roy leopard print cardigan, by hudson black boots, ripped American Apparel black sheer tights, no-name sunnies, vintage black leather bag, assorted gold and silver jewelry
The Whitney Museum hosted an opening party for its newest exhibition, "Robert Indiana: Beyond Love," on Wednesday night. The retrospective explores the span of Indiana's work, featuring everything from an assortment of boxy Western-feeling sculptures to advertisement inspired paintings rife with coded messages to twinkling signs emblazoned with tiny flickering light bulbs.
Prior to the show, I knew very little of Indiana's work beyond the well-known "LOVE" pieces. The show, which runs through January 5th, provides an informative background on the 1960's Pop artist who so thoroughly explored the themes of Americana, road signage, and advertising.
Indiana's work feels a bit cold to me; I could not get a sense of the artist's hand in the pieces and had a hard time emotionally connecting with anything. Despite my feelings, I was completely engrossed by Indiana's art. The words, sentences, numbers, and symbols embedded in his pieces leave much for the imagination. I felt myself perplexed and intrigued by many of the artworks, desperately trying to solve the puzzle before me.
Also on view (through Ocober 6th) was "Hopper Drawing," an exhibition exploring Edward Hopper's creative process. As an artist, this show in particular spoke to me. Seeing Hopper's preliminary drawings next to his finished masterpieces allowed me to connect with the work in a personal, intimate way. I was able to get a sneak peak into the rough process that led to the immaculate finished painting and was reminded that not everything is perfect the first time around (or ever for that matter...)
What blew me away most of the Hopper exhibit was the juxtaposition of rough sketches with finished works. So often museums and art organizations present artwork in a sterile, calculated manner - perfectly framed and positioned on a bleak white wall with a rope or piece of tape blocking the viewer from getting too close - that can alienate the spectator. The experience of viewing any artwork is so influenced by the context in which the artwork is presented, and the Hopper exhibit allowed me the chance to feel less intimated by the paintings due to the incorporation of his humble, imperfect drawings.
Hopper's "Early Sunday Morning" was also presented on the original easel it was painted on - which Hopper actually built himself. Again, the presentation of the painting differed from the expected and also connected the painting with a sense of the artist. I could not tear myself away from the work.... but was forced to due to closing time.
I left feeling inspired to create, even if my work isn't perfect the first time around.
Shot at The Whitney Museum of American Art. Photos by Nicole Weiler and Chris Weiler. Wearing {wearable art, the pants remind me of an Abstract Expressionist painting... and feature a customizable zippered "skirt" at the back, an outfit that instantly makes me feel daring and inspired}:
Iris & Ink navy cashmere sweater, 3.1 Phillip Lim silk print pants, Vince blue suede heels, Loeffler Randall color block bag, an assortment of gold and silver jewelry
Wednesday night I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion on how galleries choose their rosters and maintain relationships with artists, museums, and other organizations.
The event was hosted by the Whitney Museum at the Suzanne Geiss Company in Soho. Alexxa Gotthardt from the Suzanne Geiss Company, Margaret Lee from 47 Canal, and Andrea Neustein from Miguel Abreu Gallery led the informative and intriguing talk.
Before the discussion began, the attendees and I were able to view the current exhibit at the gallery. Digital Expressionism, a show that explores the place of art objects in an age increasingly dominated by the digital, is on view now through October 17th.
The exhibit features works by Ben Wolf Noam, Greg Parma Smith, and Korakrit Arunanondchai, all artists experimenting with the production of art by digital means.
Upon entering the gallery space, I immediately responded to Wolf Noam's 15 foot digitally painted columns. The colors in the overall patterns were mesmerizing and energizing, and there was a strong sense of movement in the scribbly lines and rough shapes wrapping around the tall poles.
Standing amidst the columns I felt humbled by the sheer height of the pieces... yet energized by the explosion of color and freedom of form in the painting.
Following the talk, my friend and I took advantage of the crisp, mild fall weather and strolled to a tiny, hole-in-the wall sushi joint. There are so many advantages to walking around New York City (even in strappy heels)... there is so much to see at any given moment.
On the edge of Soho I spotted a particularly bright and busy street painting. Inspired by the colorful patterns and uplifting motion in the pieces featured at the Suzanne Geiss Company, I could not help but take a closer look.
While the graffitied wall was created in a different manner and presented in a completely different context than the Wolf Noam works, it shared the same positive energy through its pleasing patterns formed by electric colors and jarring shapes. Again, there was a strong sense of movement throughout this composition that elevated and energized me.
Sparked by the beauty in all of the art I had seen that night, I placed myself into the pattern plane, contributing my own energy and life to the art...
Shot in Soho. Photos by Nicole Weiler and Rachel Kozin. Wearing {an artistic power outfit, I love the unexpected red in the abstracted leopard print of this instantly sophisticated feeling dress}:
DVF wrap dress, Reed Krakoff white and black strap heels, DVF black leather jacket, vintage black leather bag, silver cuff bangle, vintage rings