Broadway; Houston – Prince Sts – Zak Kitnick, Fashion Pictures, ONECITY

Right now at Clifton Benevento there is a vast array of produce but nothing to eat and a surplus of shelving but nowhere to store anything. This is the work of artists Zak Kitnick, who presents us with lattices of industrial shelving embedded in the walls and uber-detailed posters of produce varieties. Kitnick’s work exemplifies the compelling beauty of OCD. His posters and shelves present so much information in such an organized, lovely way. It’s hard to explain why this show is so good, so go see it and tell me what you think it is!

Venture up the block to Staley-Wise for an exhibition of highlights from renown fashion photog Deborah Turbeville’s new book The Fashion Pictures. Turbeville has a way of staging mysteriously beautiful scenes that draw you deeply into the lives of her subjects. They are gorgeous and chic and tragic and lonely, and their clothes are haute couture. It’s indulgent and fun to be a visitor in that lush world and then move on...

In stark contrast, Will Insley’s paintings at Westwood Gallery are lacking that rich detail. Rather, his “shape paintings” are sort of like Rorschach inkblots. These fragments are tools in Insley’s ONECITY, an architecturally elaborate, ficticious place that could house millions of people. They are bold abstractions that rely on you, the viewer, to piece the fragments together. The idea is that if you see a remnant of a wall, you can envision the building and by extension the city, the inhabitants, etc. Well, I’m sorry to say that here I see a pinwheel and not much around it. Can you help me out here? 

New York holds 8 million people and Insley's ONECITY was meant for 400 million. Mull this over while enjoying the fantastic baked eggs, paninis and pastries at Café Falai (on Lafayette). If you don’t have time to sit and ruminate, grab a to-go sandwich from Balthazar Bakery. As you stroll away, delicious latte in hand, look around and think about where all those extra people would go. Personally, I’m going to need a lot more than fragments to figure that one out!

Ingredients:

Venues: Clifton Benevento, Staley-Wise, Westwood

Artists: Zak Kitnick, Deborah Turbeville, Will Insley

Streets: Broadway; Houston to Prince Sts

Eats: Café Falai, Balthazar Bakery

Map:

Broadway - SOHO

As an art-project-obsessed little girl I diligently saved my allowance for months and months. Finally, I hit my goal and dialed that flashing 800-number on the infomercial to order my BEDAZZLER. Now, thanks to Bert Stern’s crystal-embellished photographs at Staley-Wise Gallery, the 10-year-old inside me is squealing with glee. Ms. Elizabeth Taylor, Ms. Audrey Hepburn and Ms. Marilyn (need I even add “Monroe?”) have been bedazzled, and they look more fabulous than ever. These stunning prints make me want to run home, throw down the old plastic “craft-time” tablecloth and cover everything with glitter. Mom, is that still cool with you?

For a starkly different exploration of iconic women, stop in Clifton Benevento for Sound Waves, Light Waves, Dance Waves. With Modern Dancers like Isadora Duncan and Loie Fuller as her muses, Polish artist Agnieszka Brezanska layers photographs and abstracts in studies of rhythm, movement and spirituality. The results are super interesting. 

We find ourselves back to photography in its most basic, unaltered form at Swiss Institute. The exhibition here is of prints by Karlheinz Weinberger, a self-taught factory-worker by day, who captured the teenage rebels in post-war Switzerland. These photos are intimate and unguarded in a remarkably different way than those of the Stern’s starlets. Who knew we could start with female American icons of the 50’s and 60’s and end with male ones (Marlon Brando, James Dean and Elvis) all within the span of one SOHO block? I so heart NY.  

Ingredients:
Venues: Clifton Benevento, Staley Wise, Swiss Institute
Artists: Bert Stern; Agnieszka Brezanska; Karlheinz Weinberger
Streets: Broadway; Prince St; Spring St; Broome St
Eats: (starving artist)
Map: