Wooster St – Landscape, Transgressive

At first glance Jean-Frédéric Schnyder’s landscapes seem like sweet storybook pages. Look closer and you will find flies in the honey. There is a mushroom cloud rising over the pastoral countryside threatening to block the smiling golden sun. Swastikas light the sky over fairytale-like houses. Like in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, these lullabies slip softly into kitschy nightmares. However that makes you feel, Schynder isn’t concerned. “I do not care which associations my paintings provoke,” he says. “Swastika, crucifix and sugar cubes are just motives which are interesting to paint. To apply color—this is what painting is about, right?—is for me the common thread.” Do you agree?

Whether you’re on Schnyder’s side or not, don’t judge before you see the video installation downstairs. Titled Corso Schnapsparade it features mini hand-carved wooden horses pulling wagons with airplane-size schnapps bottles. It’s a toy liquor parade complete with brass-band soundtrack, and it’s kind of amazing.

Whip out your smartphone and take advantage of the new order online capabilities at Le Pain Quotidien. (There’s even an app for that!) As you make your way over to pick up your tartine, check out Transgressive, the window gallery exhibition at Leslie/Lohman. Featuring powerful large format prints by photographer Jess Dugan and oil paintings by Joelle Circé, the exhibition presents intimate portraits of individuals who happen to be transsexual and transgender. These arresting portraits will draw you in. Don’t linger too long, though. Your sandwich is waiting…

Ingredients:

Venues: Swiss Institute, Leslie/Lohman

Artists: Jean-Frédéric Schnyder, Joelle Circé, Jess Dugan

Streets: Wooster St

Eats: Le Pain Quotidien

Map: