W 21st St – Paula’s Pleasure, Jim Hodges, Gentleman’s Relish

When you walk into Paula Copper Gallery, you pass by the long front desk, you turn right then turn left and then … WOW! Paula’s Pleasure smacks you in the face! Mark di Suvero (remember him from Governers Island this summer?) traps you in the force field of this massive new sculpture. You can’t help but circle around, cross under and explore from every angle. It’s enthralling! It’s enormous! And it has a swing!

Next door at Gladstone Gallery, Jim Hodges creates a similar allure. Hodges presents a simple, beautiful grouping of four huge granite boulders, each of which is inlayed with colored, reflective metal. The exterior of this formation remains stagnant, solid rock while the core refracts and evolves in a blend of shimmering color. The result is a mystical, earthy interaction of the elements, and it is powerful stuff!

Before you head back to the real world, pass through Matthew Brannon’s film noir adventure Gentleman’s Relish. This is a collection of prints, paintings and sculptures in varying shades of gray and pink that tells the tale of a private eye and his prime suspect. It’s cheeky and fun and quite lovely to look at (especially with the gallery walls painted a smoothing French Grey).

In the spirit of saucy film noir, treat yourself to a little Spice lunch special. I love the veggie dumplings for the accompanying plum dipping sauce and the SPICE cashew nuts entrée. What’s your favorite?

Ingredients:

Venues: Paula Cooper, Casey Kaplan, Gladstone Gallery

Artists: Mark di Suvero, Matthew Brannon, Jim Hodges

Streets: W 21st Street, btw 8th &11 Aves

Eats: Spice

Map: