Though it may seem that Armory Week and Frieze Week get all the action, the reality is that there is never a dull moment in the New York art world. From the East Side to the West Side, there’s always something happening at the city’s museums, galleries, and various event spaces. And as was the case this week, with the Jake and Dinos Chapman show at UTA Artist Space in Los Angeles, timed to the opening of the Art Los Angeles Contemporary fair; the wider American art scene also provides plenty of action. Here’s a rundown of this week’s highlights.
Celebration for Sarah Crowner’s New Site-Specific Installation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Wright Restaurant
The Guggenheim celebrated the unveiling of new work by Sarah Crowner in its Wright Restaurant with a reception on February 2. It’s the first change in decor since the upscale eatery, which previously featured site-specific work by Liam Gillick, opened in 2009.
Crowner’s design marries her hard-edge geometric painting, on a canvas that hugs the curve of the restaurant’s back wall, with large, hand-glazed terra-cotta tiles in a chevron mosaic pattern, which cover the floor (off-white), the entry wall (bright yellow), and the wall behind the bar (vibrant sea green). The painting is inspired by a tapestry designed by Swedish painter Lennart Reodhe for a Stockholm restaurant in 1961 and made by a Swedish women’s weaving collective, and the tiles are the handiwork of her friend and regular collaborator José Noé Suro at his Cerámica Suro workshop in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“We brought a little bit of Mexico to the Upper East Side, and that’s a beautiful thing!” Crowner told guests.
“Sarah is very rare in that she’s a painter that works with space in a very thoughtful and direct way,” Guggenheim curator of contemporary art Katherine Brinson told artnet News. The museum acquired a piece, titled Totem, by Crowner for its permanent collection in 2015, so when it came to redesigning the Wright, “I just thought she was a natural choice.”
Brinson praised Crowner’s work on the project, saying “she thought in so much depth about how the space would function on a very practical level, but also about this unique building that is, as we say, the greatest artifact in our collection.”
José Noé Suro, Sarah Crowner, Guggenheim curator of contemporary art Katherine Brinson, and Guggenheim deputy director Ari Wiseman in front of Crowner’s Backdrop (after Rodhe, 1961) at the Wright Restaurant at the Guggenheim Museum. Courtesy of Sarah Cascone.
Sarah Crowner’s site-specific installation at the Wright Restaurant at the Guggenheim Museum. Courtesy of David Heald/Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Screening of Jean Nouvel: Reflections at Hearst Tower
On February 1, guests gathered to watch Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary short Jean Nouvel: Reflections, about the Pritzker Prize-winning architect and his ongoing project, at Hearst Tower’s Joseph Urban Theatre. The evening was hosted by 53W53, the Jean Nouvel-designed condominium that will host the Museum of Modern Art’s planned expansion, and the New York Landmarks Preservation. Following a cocktail reception and the screening, Tyrnauer spoke with Paul Goldberger about the making of the film and the career of its subject.
Brandon Haw, Paul Goldberger, Matt Tyrnauer, and Corey Reeser at a screening of Jean Nouvel: Reflections. Courtesy of Star Black.
Caitlin Douglas, George Lancaster, Ken Hsu, and Donna Puzio at a screening of Jean Nouvel: Reflections. Courtesy of Star Black.
Michael Chait, Bertram Beissel Von Gymnich, Jerry Karr, Jasmine Mir, Amanda Ortland, Christina Davis, and Richard Davis at a screening of Jean Nouvel: Reflections. Courtesy of Star Black.
Opening reception for Jake and Dinos Chapman’s “To Live and Think Like Pigs” at UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles
January 28 marked the opening reception for UK favorites Jake and Dinos Chapman’s new show, titled “To Live and Think Like Pigs,” at the UTA Artist Space in Los Angeles. In their usual “anti-aesthetic” manner, the brothers aim to startle viewers with compositions that raise questions about religious beliefs, moral standards and political tradition, a topic that feels extremely timely. The show explores darker themes including human decay, Nazi war crimes, Satanism, and conflict. Yet the crowd that turned out for the opening was decidedly not somber, despite the material on view. Spotted in the mix were UTA’s Joshua Roth; musician and former husband of Kate Moss, rocker Jamie Hince; musician Courtney Love; and comedians Whitney Cummings and Sebastian Maniscalco.
Lana Gomez, Sebastian Maniscalco, Joshua Roth and Sonya Roth at UTA Artist Space. Photo Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for United Talent Agency.
Courtney Love and Jamie Hince attend UTA Artist Space. Photo Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for United Talent Agency.
Dino Chapman and Jake Chapman. Photo Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for United Talent Agency.
Installation view of “To Live and Think Like Pigs,” Jake and Dinos Chapman’s new show at UTA Artist Space in Los Angeles. Photo Jeff McLane, courtesy the artists.
Art Los Angeles Contemporary Opening at the Barker Hangar
The international art world was out in full force in on January 26 for the opening of the Art Contemporary Los Angeles art fair, with Performa founder RoseLee Goldberg; Ali Subotnick of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Elsa Longhauer of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; curator Douglas Fogle; Sonya Roth of Christie’s; gallerists Sean Regen, Timothy Blum, and Jeffrey Poe; collectors Anita Zabludowicz and Michael and Susan Hort; Kenny Goss of the Goss Michael Foundation, Dallas; and actresses Eliza Dushku and Rhea Perlman all in attendance.
In a statement, art advisor Veronica Fernandez called the fair “a linchpin to our now exploding contemporary art-scene where global gallerists, collectors, artists, curators, critics and art advisors crowd each January to engage, build and buy.”
Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal of the Los Angeles Reader with Puppies Puppies, Red Carpet. Courtesy the artist and Queer Thoughts, New York. Photo © Gina Clyne Photography.
Tim Fleming and guest at Art Los Angeles Contemporary. Courtesy of Art Los Angeles Contemporary, © Gina Clyne Photography.
Art Los Angeles Contemporary. Courtesy of Art Los Angeles Contemporary, © Gina Clyne Photography.
Huang Rui, Ping Pong 2017. Courtesy of Art Los Angeles Contemporary, © Gina Clyne Photography.
Collective Design Studio Tour With Ceramic Artist Peter Lane
In advance of Collective Design, which returns May 3–7, 2017, the fair hosted a studio visit with Peter Lane in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on January 31. The ceramic artist, who will show his large-scale wall installations in an immersive environment at the upcoming fair, offered a behind-the-scenes tour of the cavernous space, showcasing his artistic process.
Guests included design world influencers such as Yolande Milan Batteau of Callidus Guild, David Mann of MR Architecture + Decor, Francine Monaco and Carl D’Aquino of D’Aquino Monaco, and Brook Klausing of Brook Landscape.
In addition to cocktails and conversation, highlights of the evening included a peek at the massive industrial kilns in which Lane fires his work.
Peter Lane shows guests his Bushwick studio. Courtesy of Collective Design.
Peter Lane’s Bushwick studio. Courtesy of Collective Design.
Peter Lane’s Bushwick studio. Courtesy of Collective Design.
Additional reporting by Eileen Kinsella.