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 Art Wynwood fair in Miami, the wider American art scene also provides plenty of action. Here’s a rundown of this week’s highlights.
Art Wynwood Tony Goldman Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award Honoring Shepard Fairey at db Bistro Moderne Miami
Celebrating the sixth edition of Miami’s Art Wynwood fair, Art Miami director Nick Korniloff held a dinner on February 17 presenting street artist Shepard Fairey with the Tony Goldman Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award, a distinction named after the late developer who helped turned Wynwood into a street art destination. Football legend Joe Namath, husband and wife gallerist team Fabien Castanier and Martine Marchand, and Art Wynwood director Grela Orihuela were among those at the intimate dinner.
Also in attendance were tennis star Martina Navratilova and contemporary artist Juro Kralik, collaborators on a painting series called “Art Grand Slam,” which was being shown at the fair by gallerist Gloria Porcella of Galleria Ca’ d’Oro. Part of the proceeds of the booth’s sales were set to go to the Perry J. Cohen Foundation, a nonprofit named after Korniloff’s stepson with wife Pamela Cohen, who was tragically lost at sea in 2016.
Korniloff spoke movingly of his stepson and praised Fairey for creating a logo design for the foundation. Also on hand was street artist Al Baseer Holly, known as ABH, whose “Portraits for Perry” commission series looks to raise money for the Perry J. Cohen Wetlands Laboratory at Jupiter Community High School, in Jupiter, Florida.
Presented with a trophy made by fellow artist Ryan McGinness from a wooden squeegee used for screening printing, Fairey admitted to equal parts nostalgia and PTSD upon hoisting the award, so similar to the tool he used so often as a young artist.
“I have a Peter Pan complex, so the idea that I’m old enough to get a lifetime achievement award is a little upsetting,” said Fairey, before praising the award’s namesake as a “brilliant, decisive, and warm” visionary who turned Wynwood into “the greatest outdoor gallery in the world.”
Shepard Fairey, Amanda Fairey, and Joe Namath attend the Art Wynwood Tony Goldman Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award Honoring Shepard Fairey at db Moderne Bistro in Miami, Florida. Courtesy of John Parra/Getty Images for Art Miami.
Shepard Fairey holding his Ryan McGinness-designed trophy for the Art Wynwood Tony Goldman Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award. Courtesy of John Parra/Getty Images for Art Miami.
Joe Namath, Nick Korniloff, and Martina Navratilova attend the Art Wynwood Tony Goldman Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award Honoring Shepard Fairey at db Moderne Bistro in Miami, Florida. Courtesy of John Parra/Getty Images for Art Miami.
“Zoë Buckman: Imprison Her Soft Hand” at the Project for Empty Space, Newark
The Project for Empty Space unveiled the second phase of its “Grab Back: PES Feminist Incubator Space” on February 22 with the opening of a solo show by British artist Zoë Buckman. Guests included actress Sienna Miller, the Cultivist’s Joey Lico, PULSE Art Fair director Helen Toomer, and gallery co-directors Rebecca Jampol and Jasmine Wahi.
“What they’re doing is leading Newark into a Renaissance,” said organization board member Tiana Webb-Evans of the Project for Empty’s space work to promote social engagement in the community.
The incubator project was actually planned at short notice, in response to the election of President Donald Trump, and especially with that in mind, Buckman’s work packs a punch—literally. Much of the work features boxing gloves covered in lacy white fabric that artist sourced from old wedding dresses, sending a clear message of female empowerment while questioning the way society clings to traditional notions of femininity.
Place settings at the dinner that followed included red self-defense cat key chains, a cute pair of “brass knuckles” where the cat ears double as an impromptu weapon—Buckman assured the guests the plastic device would not be a problem going through airplane security.
“Zoe Buckman, you rock and we’re so thrilled to have you,” enthused Jampol.
Zoe Buckman and Sienna Miller at the opening of “Zoe Buckman: Imprison Her Soft Hand” at the Project for Empty Space. Courtesy of Noa Griffel/BFA.
Jasmine Wahi, Zoe Buckman, and Rebecca Jampol at the opening of “Zoe Buckman: Imprison Her Soft Hand” at the Project for Empty Space. Courtesy of Noa Griffel/BFA.
Joey Lico and Helen Toomer at the opening of “Zoe Buckman: Imprison Her Soft Hand” at the Project for Empty Space. Courtesy of Noa Griffel/BFA.
Cerrie Bamford, David Antonio Cruz, Ashley Artis, and Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels at the opening of “Zoe Buckman: Imprison Her Soft Hand” at the Project for Empty Space. Courtesy of Noa Griffel/BFA.
Opening for “Julian Schnabel: New Plate Paintings” at Pace Gallery
Julian Schnabel unveiled his “New Plate Paintings” show at Pace Gallery on February 24, with the artist and gallerist Arne Glimcher welcoming guests including Stacey Bendet, CEO and creative director of clothing company Alice + Olivia; his son Vito Schnabel and daughter Stella Schnabel; footwear designer Arden Wohl; artists Dustin Yellin and Rashid Johnson; and dealer Mary Boone.
Schnabel announced his return to Pace in May, ending a nearly 15 year-run with Gagosian Gallery. Other works from the series in the new exhibition are currently on view in “Julian Schnabel Plate Paintings 1978–86” at the Aspen Art Museum, while “Artists Select: Julian Schnabel,” which the artist curated, can be seen at the Clyfford Still Museum, Denver.
Arne Glimcher and Julian Schnabel at “Julian Schnabel: New Plate Paintings” at Pace Gallery. Courtesy of Sam Deitch/BFA.
Arden Wohl at “Julian Schnabel: New Plate Paintings” at Pace Gallery. Courtesy of Sam Deitch/BFA.
Rashid Johnson and Julian Schnabel at “Julian Schnabel: New Plate Paintings” at Pace Gallery. Courtesy of Sam Deitch/BFA.
Dustin Yellin at “Julian Schnabel: New Plate Paintings” at Pace Gallery. Courtesy of Sam Deitch/BFA.
Jewish Museum Purim Ball at the Park Avenue Armory
Some 700 guests turned out for the Jewish Museum’s 31st annual Purim Ball on February 22, raising $2.2 million in support of the institution and dancing late into the night.
In honor of the holiday, David Stark Design created a 24-foot-tall, 100-foot-wide installation of Purim noisemakers, crowns, and other festive party favors, hanging like a beaded curtain from the Park Avenue Armory ceiling. The night kicked off with a speech from former New York city Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a Purim pageant featuring giant puppets from Great Small Works.
The honorees on the night were Deborah Kass (each guest was treated to a mask based on a self-portrait by the artist), philanthropist Fanya Gottesfeld Heller, and Wang Jian of HNA Group, the global corporate honoree. Other guests included museum director Claudia Gould, Thelma Golden of the Studio Museum in Harlem, Charles Renfro of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and artists Jonathan Horowitz, Laurie Simmons, Arlene Shechet, and Izhar Patkin.
Wang Jian, Fanya Heller, Claudia Gould, and Deborah Kass at the Jewish Museum’s Purim Ball. Courtesy of the Jewish Museum, @ Julie Skarratt
Michael Bloomberg giving his remarks at the Jewish Museum’s Purim Ball. Courtesy of the Jewish Museum, @ Julie Skarratt
Guests at the Jewish Museum’s Purim Ball 2017 After Party. Courtesy of Stephen Smith/Guest of a Guest.
Party decorations by David Stark Design at the Jewish Museum’s Purim Ball. Courtesy of the Jewish Museum, @ Julie Skarratt
Museum of the City of New York Winter Ball at Cipriani 42nd Street
The Museum of the City of New York welcomed former New York Governor David Patterson and Nicky Hilton Rothschild and her husband James Rothschild at its Winter Ball, held February 23. The event raised $650,000 in support the institution, including educational programming and new permanent installation “New York at Its Core.”
Nicky Hilton Rothschild at the Museum of the City of New York Winter Ball at Cipriani 42nd Street. Courtesy of Sylvain Gaboury, © Patrick McMullan.
The Director’s Council chairmen at the Museum of the City of New York Winter Ball at Cipriani 42nd Street. Courtesy of Sylvain Gaboury, © Patrick McMullan.
Chele Farley at the Museum of the City of New York Winter Ball at Cipriani 42nd Street. Courtesy of Sylvain Gaboury, © Patrick McMullan.
Hauser & Wirth Roller Disco at the old Roxy
Hauser & Wirth bid farewell to its cavernous space at 511 West 18th Street, the former Roxy discotheque and roller rink it had called home since January 2013 (it’s moving into a new space on West 22nd Street), in the most fitting way imaginable: with a roller disco party on February 24.
Guests donned some of the hundreds of pairs of roller skates saved from the old Roxy and enjoyed music, skating, and plenty of beer and hot dogs.
They were also free to pose in a photo booth and graffiti the venue walls in spray paint, with Hauser & Wirth director for Asia development Vanessa Guo tagging the gallery name in Chinese. (artnet News’s Jessica Zhang reported that the gallery staff “are very talented graffiti artists.”)
The classic film Downtown 81, starring Jean-Michel Basquiat, was projected on the walls as close friends of the gallery celebrated the end to a successful chapter in its history.
The Hauser & Wirth roller disco. Courtesy of Andrew Schwan.
artnet News’s Jessica Zhang and friends at the Hauser & Wirth roller disco. Courtesy of Jessica Zhang.
Anders Bergstrom and Regan Grusy at the Hauser & Wirth roller disco. Courtesy of Andrew Schwan.
Oliver Renaud Clement and Vanessa Guo at the Hauser & Wirth roller disco. Courtesy of Andrew Schwan.